Click here to view video.
Jewish giving has always been important to the Goldfarbs. Sandra credits her parents for setting an example. A certified public accountant, she served as Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley treasurer for six years and chaired the Lion of Judah campaign; she is now a vice president and chairs the Jewish Foundation's Endowment Committee.
Harold became a bar mitzvah on May 15, 1948, the very same day the State of Israel was born. When his parents offered in advance that he could have a party or give the money to the as yet unnamed state, he said, "Give the money and have no party." The first day Israel bonds were sold, in 1951, Harold pounded Boston's pavement, selling four $50 bonds. In 1967, while in the U.S. Army, during Israel's Six Day War, an anxious Harold raised $3,000 from among his fellow American Jewish officers. An ophthalmologist, Harold was one of the first to join Federation's professional division, a precursor of today's Maimonides Society, and for some 25 years was Lehigh Valley's Israel Bonds chairman.
Harold and Sandra, who married in 1992 and between them have six children and 14 grandchildren, have established the Goldfarb Family Fund. This is a Legacy Philanthropic Fund at the Federation that enables them to make annual contributions to their favorite charities. The two are members of Congregation Keneseth Israel and Temple Shirat Shalom, Temple Beth El and the Jewish Community Center, and actively support the Jewish Day School.
A few years ago Sandra used her IRA Charitable Rollover to endow her Lion of Judah-level Annual Campaign gift. "It's my legacy to the future," she explains.
Likewise, Harold inserted a bequest into his will that, upon his passing, is to distribute assets into a Federation fund to be known as the Harold J. Goldfarb, MD, Memorial Fund. This fund will support Harold's favorite organizations in the manner he has prescribed, far into the future.
