By Carl Zebrowski
Editor

Dr. Larry Levitt is one of the people you think of when you think of the Jewish Federation’s Maimonides Society of healthcare professionals. He was there at the very start—which happens to be 40 years ago this year. 

“I’m proud to have been involved in the beginning of the Maimonides Society in the Lehigh Valley, which was held in my friend and colleague’s basement,” said Levitt, founder of the neurology department at what is now Lehigh Valley Health Network. That basement owner was Mickey Ufberg z”l, a founder of Gastroenterology Associates in Allentown. “We used to take walks around the block and try to solve all the problems of the world,” Levitt said.

Of course, they didn’t quite accomplish that, but they did help found the Maimonides Society, which today counts over 100 doctors, psychologists, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, dentists, nurses, and other healthcare professionals among its members. This May 7 the society will be celebrating the 40th anniversary of that watershed moment with ripples across the continent and through the years: this was first Jewish Federation society of healthcare professionals. Today dozens of Federations across North America have their own Maimonides Societies patterned on this one.

Dr. Dorit Nitzan, director of the emergency medicine program at the School of Public Health at the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, will speak at the celebration event on “The Future of Medicine as Seen by Ben-Gurion University.” She’ll bring her years of expertise as professor and administrator at Ben-Gurion and, for 17 years before that, at the World Health Organization.

For four decades, members of the society named Maimonides for the medieval Jewish philosopher, theologian, and physician come together regularly to do volunteer work in the community, raise funds for the Jewish Federation Annual Campaign for Jewish Needs, and hold educational and social programs. 

In 2025, the Maimonides Perpetuity Fund was set up to keep our Jewish community thriving into the future. A member can set up one of these funds, and every year, a predetermined amount is given from it to the Jewish Federation to meet Jewish needs locally, in Israel, and elsewhere. The member’s annual society dues are then paid from that amount, keeping their name on the roll as an active, contributing member. It’s no coincidence that Drs. Levitt, Gene Ginsberg, and Bob Kricun—all among the 1986 founders of the society—were the first three members to sign up for the new fund.

In upcoming issues of Hakol, we’ll be covering the past, present, and future of the Maimonides Society and its members as we get ready for the anniversary celebration event in May. Make sure to page through each edition to find the latest—including a generous selection of current members’ fondest memories of the society and what it means to them. 

Also keep an eye on Jewish Federation emails for more information on the event and for the soon-to-be-posted registration page to attend. If you’re a healthcare professional and you’d like to become part of the Maimonides Society’s 40-year legacy of philanthropy and leadership in our community, contact Aaron Gorodzinsky at [email protected] or 610-821-5500.