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Mata gala honors ABC’S “The Good Doctor” David Shore, Rabbi Shai Held and Aaron Kaufman
Courtesy of Matan
Closter, NJ (May 30, 2024) – Over 200 attendees convened at Temple Emanu-el in Closter, NJ, for Matan’s Spring Event, culminating in a profoundly moving display of disability inclusion.
Matan is a New York-based, national nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting disability inclusion and belonging in Jewish communities.
Matan’s prestigious Trailblazer Award was presented at the event to David Shore, the ABC drama “The Good Doctor’s” Emmy Award-winning creator. The award expresses the organization’s heartfelt gratitude for the show’s profound impact on viewers by raising awareness about disability inclusion and fostering a sense of belonging in our society.
“We are honored to recognize the show's remarkable impact on raising awareness of disability inclusion and belonging,” said Matan’s Executive Director Dori Frumin Kirshner.
For seven seasons, leading to its finale, the show has captivated audiences worldwide with its compelling storytelling and groundbreaking portrayal of Dr. Shaun Murphy, a young surgeon with autism and savant syndrome. The show has both entertained viewers and sparked crucial conversations about the abilities, challenges and aspirations of individuals with disabilities.
Shore, the program’s executive producer and co-show runner, has been writing and producing television for more than 20 years. He created, and was the show runner on, the groundbreaking medical drama “House,” which ran on Fox for eight seasons. “House” earned Shore an Emmy in the category “Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series” and several Emmy nominations for producer.
“I am very proud of (this award) and accept with a great deal of pride and humility because the people that work for Matan and all of you here today make the world a better place, and you are honoring someone who goes every day to work and pretends to make the world a better place,” Shore said in his speech. “I often say if you’re not entertaining your audience, you’re not doing your job; and if you’re only entertaining your audience, you’re wasting your job.”
Also in attendance was actor Robert Sean Leonard, best known as Dr. James Wilson in the television series “House,” and Neil Perry, best known from the 1989 film “Dead Poets Society.”
At the event, Matan also presented its Leadership Award to President and Dean of the Hadar Institute in New York City, Rabbi Shai Held, who is one of the most influential American Jewish thinkers and leaders.
In his speech, Rabbi Held talked about his own chronic fatigue syndrome-related health struggles: “In my own small ways, I have tried to bring people’s attention to those who are invisible, or, in the case of the chronic fatigue syndrome that has plagued me for just about 25 years now, to help people see that even those who ’look and seem fine’ are often carrying unbearably painful burdens … More fundamentally, I wanted to challenge us all to look and see those we tend not to,” he said.
Matan’s Impact Award was presented to Jewish Federations of North America’s Senior Manager of Legislative Affairs Aaron Kaufman, who focuses on disability and poverty issues and is a member of the Maryland House of Delegates.
