Marcus J Freed needs a miracle. Let that miracle be you. Nov. 3 while Marcus was walking home from synagogue, he was hit by a car and rushed to Cedars Sinai hospital for emergency brain surgery. His parents flew in from London on a one-way ticket and began praying by his side. Miraculously Marcus came out of the surgery successfully, but his brain continued to bleed and Tue Nov 7 he returned to the ICU and had a second brain surgery. He miraculously survived and finally had the tubes removed from his brain, but is still recovering in the hospital. Please pray for a full recovery; his Hebrew name is Harav Matisyahu Joel Baruch Ben Gitel.
TRAGICALLY we do not have the identity of the driver who hit him. Thus no one’s insurance is going to cover Marcus’ medical costs. As an artist, Marcus does not have private insurance or disability coverage to cover his bills and keep him afloat while he recovers. There is no safety net when you are an artist.
Marcus J Freed has dedicated his life to being a Jewish teacher, actor, and author. He has taught Torah values and life lessons globally through his writing, one-man plays, books, bibliyoga, and the hundreds of dynamic, creative Shabbat services he’s led throughout the world. He’s made us laugh, stretched our bodies and souls. He’s given so much to so many of us, now it’s time for us to give back to him.
But Marcus only has basic public health insurance, which covers very little. Thank G-d he survived. The doctors are amazed at his resilience and are hopeful he will make a full recovery, but beyond medical bills insurance doesn’t cover, Marcus will not be able to work for awhile. He has no sick leave, no disability coverage. I started this campaign with a goal to raise $100,000 to help cover medical costs, post-care and living expenses while he recovers, but because he had a second brain surgery and we don’t know how long it will take him to be back to 100%, so I increased it to $250,000.
This is an impossible number for Marcus alone, but if everyone whose lives he’s touched and who are inspired by his life, gives we can reach this goal, enabling him to continue to enlighten our world.
NEW: 11/8 the Jewish Journal wrote an article on this inspiring story and campaign.
If you’ve seen Marcus perform one of his one man shows on the biblical kings, read one of his Kosher Sutra books, listened to one of his lectures, ate Shabbat dinner at his home, taken one of his biliyoga classes, attended one of his Sabbath services, was inspired at one of his Soul Revival sessions, prayed with him at a JConnect festival tent, heard him blow the shofar or give a dvar Torah at Pico Shul, is lucky enough to be his friend or received the kindness he shows everyone, please give today and share this campaign.
If you haven’t seen Marcus perform, click HERE to view his YouTube page.
His parents, standing watch at his bedside day and night, are concerned the lack of support for US citizens and are terrified of this financial burden. They were planning to sell their home. They reluctantly and graciously said yes when I asked to create this campaign. They are deeply grateful for everyone’s generosity.
Together we can surpass $250,000 and give him enough funds to pay his bills, take time to recover, regain his strength and continue to feed our souls. If we’re able to reduce the medical bills or find other sources of support, we will donate any additional funds to Jewish charities.
We are proud this campaign is under the Rabbinic supervision of Rabbi Yonah of Pico Shul. Obviously, he knows Marcus, he knows me well and knows the CEO of Jewcer that is hosting this fundraiser and donating their fees.
Give now, give generously and share this with everyone who has had the honor to have met Marcus OR is inspired by his life. Now is your chance to uplift an artist, teacher, and actor who’s uplifted so many of us! Thank and G-d bless you!
Jewcer is generously waiving its fees so more money goes to help Marcus (credit card transaction fees still apply).
Update on Marcus J Freed’s recovery and small acts kindness you can do for him…
It’s Dec 4 and Marcus continues to recover from being hit by car and two brain surgeries. Not being able to be on his own for awhile, is Mum Gil is still staying with him looking after him. Marcus was warned by his doctors about the long journey and pain of recovery, how he cannot drive or work for at least 4 months, how little sounds can bother him, how debilitating pain will come and go, BUT they did not warn him how others would respond to his good and bad days.
Marcus looks normal and when he feels good he appears to be perfectly healed but a bit tired. If Marcus is upbeat and lucid, visitors may assume is normal and overstay their welcome and wear him out. Or when he wants to take a walk to the store or go shul, friends may think Marcus is a walking Miracle.
He’s not.
What you don’t see is how if he pushes himself, he crashes, not being able to take in any stimulation. Using his brain hurts and he has to go back to hibernation to allow the brain to rest. Every day slowly he will get better. He will be himself again, but we all must accept will take 6 months or longer.
I know this on a small level. Last year, I had an accident and a serious concussion which took six months to recover from. The hardest part of recovery is people assumed I was fine and expected me to get back to life at the same pace as before. Some of my work colleagues were rude enough to suggest I only took time off for a holiday. I tried to be understanding. How could they know my pain? How many people know the experience of recovering from a traumatic brain injury? They could not see how I could not look at a screen, read, write or think about big issues for more than 30 minutes without a massive headache overtaking me. But I recovered and so will Marcus J Freed
So please, I beg of you, be patient with Marcus. If he does not respond to you, give him time. He’s trying. He so wants to have the mental and physical energy he had. And he will. His doctors are confident. So if you see him out and about, be gentle. He may only be able to stand the stimulation and have to go home and rest. If he seems to be doing amazing give him encouragement and love.
If you want to go above and beyond please bring him a treat to his home at
8829 Alcott St, Suite #5, Los Angeles, CA 90035.
Here’s what he loves
Pressed Juicery
https://www.pressedjuicery.com/products/juices
Juices: “Greens 3”, “Roots 3”, Orange, Tumeric, Apple & Lemon, Chocolate Almond or Strawberry Almond (he loves it!!)
Closest Locations
430 N Bedford Drive Beverly Hills, CA 90210
8714 Santa Monica Blvd West Hollywood, CA90069
Kreation Juices
https://www.kreationjuice.com/collections/cold-pressed-juice
Gluten-free double-chocolate brownie
Thank you for your love, Marcus is feeling more gratitude in his life than ever before!
Love, Audrey Jacobs
Nov 23
Gratitude! Marcus is home, his mother still staying with him. He goes in and out of bouts of horrible pain where he must be in dark silence. When he’s feeling better he’s lucid and hopeful. We made a thank you video for all who’ve helped Marcus. Words cannot express the gratitude he and his family and friends have for all who have supported him in this tragedy. Dramatic brain injuries have a long road to recovery. Please watch the video and share. Thank you for your love and support.
https://youtu.be/-0Iwa7dFva0
Nov 17
A long and frustrating day from Marcus and his family. Last night his head pain from the two brain surgeries was so severe he went back to the hospital for a CT scan to see if there was a hemorrhage. Thank G-d he’s OK but the pain is so debilitating. Also frustratingly today, we realized that none of the synagogues, Jewish schools or stores that were near where Marcus was hit by the driver has video footage that we can use to try to catch the person who hit Marcus and ran. You haven’t already given to the campaign to help Marcus cover the cost of this tragedy and support him as he recovers please do and please share. He’s an extraordinary human being that’s touched so many of us.
Thank you!
Sat night Nov 11- Miracle of Miracle, my dear friend Marcus J Freed is home his apartment with Mum sleeping on the couch watching over him day and night. Dad is nearby managing the aftermath.
It’s been quite a terrifying journey for Marcus and his family. Even though he stood up after he was hit by a car a week ago while walking home from shul, he was unaware that he had a traumatic brain injury and his brain was bleeding. After being rushed to the hospital, the doctors twice in four days had to drill into his head sticking in tubes to drain out the blood.
Yet his brain would not stop bleeding and the doctors were concerned multiple times that he wouldn’t make it. Your prayers and the blood platelets transfusions kept Marcus alive. Thank you.
Marcus lost a lot of blood but none of his wits. Mentally he’s 100% himself however without the morphine, and only Tylenol he’s in tremendous pain. The nurses couldn’t find vein’s in his arms so they’re black and blue. The scar on his head is throbbing. His brain hurts. Right now he cannot look at a screen, he cannot read a paragraph. At best he can speak to a loved one for 10 minutes at a time. Then he must rest.
If you would like to visit Marcus, please reach out to his father Barry directly to schedule a time. If you do not have his number, please message me.
The police still have not found the man who it hit Marcus. We are collecting resources and opportunities on how to handle the long journey of expenses and healing ahead.
Thank you all who’ve given your love, prayers, help, suggestions, connections and generous donations.
We are halfway to our goal. Please continue to share the Marcus Needs a Miracle Fund to give Marcus time to heal and rebuild his life: https://www.jewcer.org/project/marcus-needs-a-miracle/
Warmly, Audrey Jacobs
Texasjewess@gmail.com
Fri Nov 10
Dear Generous Family, Friends, Fans and Supporters of the Marcus Freed Miracle Fund,
THANK YOU so much for your generous support. Marcus and his family are speechless with gratitude. It’s been such a whirlwind for Marcus’ parents with Marcus in and out of brain surgery and the ICU.
Marcus has only been out of intensive care unit for 1/2 day but the hospital is trying to push him out. If he is released today or after Shabbat he will be far too weak to stay on his own, but his parents will stay for him until they figure out in-home care. Following the CT scan yesterday morning, all tubes, including the head drain, were removed and Marcus was transferred into the main ward. His parents are advocating for more time in the hospital until they have time to set up in-home post-care. They are afraid if he’s released to early he might have to be rushed back to the hospital.
The good news is yesterday Marcus had a restful day. He stayed off his phone and all electronics. He got up and walked for the first time since the accident. His parents and the nurses were finally able to get the visitors under control. The head nurse told the pretty young women who came by, “Marcus needs his rest, write him a love letter and leave it for him.” The letters piled up. It pained Marcus the fair maidens were turned away, however his head pain was far worse.
You know Marcus’ mind is sound when he makes ridiculous jokes like, “I’ve given up my heroin addiction after a week on fentanyl! Miraculously the Marcus we all know and love is alive and well, though his head is shaven with a few holes in it. He’s too weak to do much but make us laugh and remind us how much we love him.
Thank you to everyone who sent messages, called, visited and gave to this campaign. Special love to frequent visitors Rachel Bookstein, Metuka Lawrence and Barak Raviv. Also a huge thank you to Amir Give’on, CEO of Jewcer who reached out to me to host this campaign for free, no fees. Such a mitzvah.
As it our custom for Jews to give charity before the Sabbath, please before sunset tonight email and share on social media the Jewcer “Marcus Needs a Miracle” page
https://www.jewcer.org/project/marcus-needs-a-miracle/
We are so grateful to all who give so Marcus can cover all his accident related bills and have a safety net to support him for his long recovery ahead.
Thank you. G-d bless you and Shabbat Shalom,
Audrey Jacobs
Facebook: audrey.jacobs613
Thursday Nov 9 – Thank G-d, Marcus is out of the intensive care unit and is recovering in a regular room. We are hopeful he will be home after Shabbat.
It appears he will make a full recovery. We believe this is due to the amazing global prayers from his family, friends, fans and strangers. He will have a long recovery as this was a major head injury and brain surgery but we believe he will continue to light the world with his creative love of Torah. Thank you again for all of your support and sharing this campaign.
Tonight Wed Nov 8 Marcus is still recovering from his second brain surgery in intensive care. We’ve had to cut visitors way back as it strains his brain to receive guests. We hope he’ll be out of the ICU tomorrow. The generous output of support on this campaign is truly stunning!
Tonight the Jewish Journal posted a story I hope you read as it features the heartfelt gratitude of his parents. http://jewishjournal.com/news/los_angeles/227209/fundraiser-launched-marcus-freed/
Also Drorit Gaines has set up a meal train to bring meals to Marcus and his parents, click to sign up to bring a meal: https://www.mealtrain.com/trains/6goggz
We’ve just about reached $100K on this campaign. Amazing! It’s still far too early to know what the medical bills Marcus will face, but the fear now is gone thanks to you. Marcus has basic medical health coverage. People are reaching out to me on Facebook at audrey.jacobs613 with other sources of support that could help with Marcus’ medical bills. Please keep sending me ideas. I’m compiling them all for his family.
I will also now start talking to a tax attorney on how to set up an independent fund to manage your generous donations to pay Marcus’ medical bills and his living expenses while he’s in post recovery. I welcome any advice or resources.
Again I thank all of you who gave, but my biggest gratitude goes to the CEO of this website Jewcer, the Jewish crowdfunding site. Amir GIve’on has been working tirelessly around the clock to support the donations 24/7 AND he is donating the fees to Marcus. The crazy story today is when celebrity actress Mayim Bialik posted the campaign on her Facebook page, the traffic temporarily jammed the site check it out! https://www.facebook.com/MissMayim/posts/10159633807380008
I am constantly travelling while this is all going on but I’m speaking to Marcus and his parents daily. ;
Thank you! Audrey Jacobs
texasjewess@gmail.com
Facebook: audrey.jacobs613
Wed Nov 8.
Yesterday Marcus’ head wound began seeping again and he went back into the intensive care for a transfusion of platelets (to help clot) and further scans. The situation became worse and he went back into emergency brain surgery at Cedars-Sinai Hospital.
Many hours later, miraculously he came out of it well but is still recovering in the intensive care unit with tubes continuing to drain blood from his brain. He is in good spirits as he says they give you better drugs here! He’s so grateful to be alive, he began spouting Shakespeare soliloquies, but what else would you expect from Marcus?
The love and support from everyone globally is overwhelming. Marcus did not realize how many lives his teaching had touched around the world.
His parents flew in from the UK and are by his side being an advocate for his health while researching what the medical care and post care will cost. Most of all they are grateful for the amazing fundraising campaign. WE ARE 80% THERE please give and share and let folks know how Marcus inspires you!
https://www.jewcer.org/project/marcus-needs-a-miracle/
The driver that hit Marcus was not identified but the police are working on the case. Maybe miraculously we will find him and he will have good auto insurance, but we must prepare for the worst – Marcus paying for everything.
Marcus wants you to know that all of your messages, prayers and generous donations have empowered him to miraculously heal from two brain surgeries in four days. The doctors are amazed at his progress and wants to know who his angels are.
Right now the challenge is keeping him calm, rested off-line and limiting his visitors and shortening their visits. Especially the pretty girls!!! Please only post on his Facebook wall or email him. His parents will read him the notes when he’s feeling up to it. Do not text or call him. Please limit visits and if you come and only stay 10 minutes and listen to his parents as they are trying to ensure he has time to rest. He can only fully recover if we give his brain time to heal.
If you do come, please bring healthy snacks and fruit for his parents. Feel free to leave a little care package at Marcus’s apartment door as his parents are staying there.
Please continue to keep Marcus in your prayers for a full recovery. His Hebrew name is Harav Matisyahu Joel Baruch Ben Gitel.
We are only $20,000 away from our goal, please continue to share the campaign and G-d bless you. https://www.jewcer.org/project/marcus-needs-a-miracle/
Tue Nov 7 at 9:30 am. PLEASE PRAY NOW! Marcus went back into brain surgery this morning. The brain will not stop bleeding. G-d willing he will be back in the ICU in 4 hours. Marcus’ Hebrew name is Harav Matisyahu Joel Baruch Ben Gitel. Thank you!