Dallas, TX – As one of the founders of a Texas yeshiva continues his desperate quest for a stem cell transplant, Dallas’ Jewish residents took the opportunity to pay tribute to a man who has been described by many to be a pillar of the city’s Torah community with an evening of music and inspiration featuring Yaakov Shwekey.

Ivan Sacks, a driving force behind the creation of Dallas’ Texas Torah Institute, was diagnosed with lymphoma eight years ago. Officially classified twice as being in remission, the 57 year old stockbroker finds himself once again fighting cancer and has been told by doctors that he needs an immediate stem cell transplant.

While Sacks’ sister had initially been identified as a perfect match, doctors later decided that she was not a potential candidate because of a medical condition. Three stem cell drives, two in Dallas and a third in South Africa, have yet to locate a proper match for Sacks, the father of two adult daughters and a special needs son.

Below video: Yaakov Shwekey holding a musical evening on September 15th to raise awareness of Ivan’s plight.



Sacks is known throughout Dallas as someone whose lives to help others.

“Ivan is the most incredible person,” close family friend Av Rodin, who considers Sacks to be his mentor, told VIN News. “G-d forbid when someone passes away and money is needed, he raises it. If someone is making a wedding and needs help with funding, he is there again.”

In fact, Sacks who together with his wife Melanie was honored by TTI in 2013, used his initial cancer diagnosis as a way to raise funds for the yeshiva.

“His words at the time were, ‘People know I have cancer and their hearts are open; let’s raise money for the yeshiva,’” recalled Sacks’ close friend, Queens attorney and community activist Rezzo Chachanashvili.

It was Rodin who introduced Sacks to Yaakov Shwekey and the two met at the singer’s most recent concert in Caesaria this past August.



“When Ivan saw the unity at the show with the soldiers, it really hit him in a place in his heart that he could not believe,” said Shwekey. “He bought out all of my CDs and he gave them to friends back home from secular backgrounds. He wanted to do something in Dallas to give them a taste of what we had in Israel.”

Shwekey found himself impressed by Sacks’ dedication to Dallas’ Jewish community.

“Ivan helped bring a yeshiva there and there was a total turnaround. He is an unbelievable individual and what struck me about him right away is how real he is,” said Shwekey.

With news of the failed stem cell match, Rodin and his brother Rabbi Shalom Rodin of Jewish Education Texas, decided that the time was right to do something for Sacks to buoy his spirits. They contacted Shwekey and asked him to come spend an evening in Dallas as a way to inspire Sacks and to bring the community together to pray for his speedy recovery.

“As soon as they contacted me, I cleared my schedule and said yes right away,” said Shwekey. “I saw someone so genuine, so real, a person who helps anyone. He works tirelessly for kollel people, he uses his talents to help the yeshiva and yeshiva guys. What better way to open up the Yomim Noraim?”

The musical evening took place on September 15th at the home of Rabbi Tzvi Wachsman of JET, with close to 200 people in attendance, with some coming from as far away as New York, Colorado, Toronto, South Africa and Australia.

“I couldn’t believe how many people came out for Ivan, how many people care about him, people who have no shaychus to Yiddishkeit,” said Shwekey. “People tell me I am inspiring but all these people who came out inspired me even more than I could have ever inspired anyone.”

Diane Calmenson, a friend of the Sacks’ shared her thoughts on the event in writing.

“I don’t know if God is a regular concertgoer, but I do know He was at this concert. Like the rest of us there, He came for the music and the camaraderie. But most of all, God came to be with Ivan. Please don’t get me wrong. Yaakov Shwekey is a talented musician with a beautiful singing voice. And his songs touch your heart and soul. Likewise, the people at this special concert were all friendly, warm and happy to be there. Our hosts—who let some 200 people pile into their backyard for the night—could not have been more hospitable. But those weren’t the reasons any of us came to this concert. We came because we love Ivan, and this was a chance to support him in his third battle with cancer.”

Below video: Ivan Sacks giving an emotional speech after the musical.



One of the best moments of the night came when an emotionally overwhelmed Sacks took the stage with Shwekey.

“He just stood there for three to four minutes, totally silent, with music playing in the background,” said Shwekey. “It was three to four minutes of silence and probably the best speech I ever heard.”

A blog post written this morning by Sacks expresses his hope a suitable donor will be found shortly and urges his followers to consider becoming stem cell donors for the sake of doing a mitzvah and possibly saving a life.

“I wanted a donor after Yom Kippur (not before) because I figure I may as well get good cells that are sin free…When will a suitable match be found? I don’t know although my doctors seem genuinely hopeful as opposed to “pretending hopeful” to fake me into hope. I take their cue and as long as I remain connected to G-d I have no fear and in fact I feel at peace…I accept it happily and with responsibility.”

As the effort to find a proper match for Sacks continues, the public is requested to say tehillim for Yisroel ben Malka.

“Our tefilos can make it happen,” said Shwekey.

To find out more about being a potential stem cell donor for Sacks contact Barbey Sloven at [email protected] or contact www.giftoflife.org and tell them that you hope to be a match for Ivan Sacks.

Below video: Dallas Community members speaking about Ivan.

