Grab the Chance  

You might know Steve Savitsky as a savvy, successful businessman, or as a longtime communal leader who’s been president of the Orthodox Union and chairman of a dozen other prominent organizations, but today, his mission’s focus is on the individual as much as the klal: He wants all of us to seize the moment when an unexpected chesed opportunity comes our way, and he even wrote a book to help us open our eyes

Steve Savitsky needs no introduction — the former president of the Orthodox Union and chairman of its board of directors has already received hundreds of them during his long-standing speaking career. Savitsky is a savvy and successful businessman who founded and serves as president of ATC Healthcare, one of the largest medical staffing firms in the country, but his public service and connection to the klal is where his heart is. He’s the past president (and the initiator, together with Rabbi Dovid Fuld, Steve Orlow, and Rabbi Peretz Steinberg) of the Kew Gardens Hills Eruv Committee, served for 20 years as chairman of the board of Partners in Torah and personally recruited hundreds of mentors, is a past board member of the Jewish Agency and the Mesorah Heritage Foundation, sits on the executive committee of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, holds board and trustee positions in at least a half dozen other organizations, has been a popular podcaster probing contemporary Jewish life, and runs a 800-member WhatsApp group focused on tzedakah opportunities.

But you also might be familiar with him from his Kan Tzipor book series (Feldheim publishers) — inspiring stories about regular people seizing the moment to do chesed when it just happens to come their way. True, he’s a visionary whose bold initiatives continue to impact the communal landscape. And yes, he’s a leader’s leader who brushes shoulders with presidents and kings the world over. But as much as his radar is tuned into policy, it’s also laser-focused on regular people.

And that’s why so many stories have come his way. He’s not shy about stressing a call to action — that if we’d tune in with just a bit more sensitivity to the opportunities that Hashem grants us, we’d turn everyday moments into something eternal. And he’s the first one to do it. Because despite his long and impressive résumé, he sees himself as the most regular member of the Jewish people. He just never stopped dreaming and acting, never waited for permission, and simply kept pushing forward. And somehow, by putting one foot in front of the other, he ended up having an impact on the entire Jewish world.