Rabbis’ mass head-shaving inspired by ‘Superman Sam’ raises nearly $600K

JTA –  Seventy-three North American rabbis will be missing something when they go to Shabbat services: their hair.

As part of a campaign that raised more than $570,000 for pediatric cancer research, approximately 60 male and female rabbis voluntarily shaved their heads at the the Reform movement’s Central Conference of American Rabbis convention in Chicago.

Many of the shaved were inspired by the death last December of Samuel Sommers, the 8-year-old son of Rabbis Phyllis and Michael Sommers, from refractory acute myeloid leukemia. Phyllis Sommers, an associate rabbi at Am Shalom in suburban Chicago who had documented her son’s struggle on a blog called “Superman Sam,” came up with the idea for the shaving campaign along with a fellow rabbi shortly before Samuel’s death.
While Samuel inspired the shaving campaign -- done in partnership with St. Baldrick’s Foundation, a group that funds pediatric cancer research – it inspired a new Jewish ceremony.

Originally called “36 Rabbis Shave for the Brave,” the campaign that culminated in the group head-shaving on Tuesday night ultimately recruited twice that many rabbis and raised more than triple its original fundraising goal of $180,000.

According to Rabbi Charles Briskin, one of the newly bald rabbis, the campaign brought in more money for St. Baldrick’s Foundation than any other single head-shaving event this year.

Founded in 2000, St. Baldrick’s coordinates group shave-a-thons in which volunteers shave their heads to show solidarity with cancer patients who have lost their hair to chemotherapy, raise awareness and solicit donations.

Afterward, Briskin said, “we just hugged one another, admired our new looks, and of course rubbed one another’s heads.”

Julie Wiener is a features writer for JTA