Support for UNICEF’s Vaccinaid campaign from Chief Rabbi Mirvis
Judaism teaches us that ‘if you save one life, it is as if you have saved the world.’ That’s one reason why Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis is supporting the Vaccinaid campaign, UNICEF’s drive to deliver a coronavirus vaccine to 2 billion people, all over the world, by the end of the year.
Speaking in a video published across social media channels, the Chief Rabbi said, “So many of us have already been blessed to have been vaccinated. This privilege confers upon us the responsibility to consider the plight of the millions of people around the world who don’t have access to a vaccine. Today, the health and wellbeing of so many people depends upon the loving kindness and generosity of ordinary people like us.”
You can #GiveTheWorldAShot by donating at Vaccinaid.org.
The Jewish News are strongly supporting the campaign with a banner on their website declaring, “Help perform the greatest mitzvah: Save a life. Speaking to the Jewish News newspaper, the Chief Rabbi said, “So often we quote that marvellous saying of our sages from the Talmud that if you save one life it is as if you have saved the whole world. We have the opportunity to achieve that; every single of us now has that opportunity.”
In an interview with the Jewish Chronicle newspaper, Chief Rabbi Mirvis encouraged the community to donate, saying, “What better way to enable people who don’t have access than to be blessed in the same way as we are? The aim by the end of 2021 is to enable people in 190 countries to have access to this essential, incredible gift. We have the opportunity to give the gift of life.”
Describing the campaign as an opportunity for thanksgiving, the Chief Rabbi ends his video with this plea:
“Please, do visit Vaccinaid.org, and please do be as generous as possible.”
