Why Did God Create Us with Two Kidneys? A Story about Kidney Donation

As we face the scary reality that one of our dear ones Scott Sorrentino desperately needs a new kidney to live on, I found myself wondering about something I had never thought about before.

Why did God create us humans with two kidneys?

If one kidney is enough to live a healthy life, why not just create us with one? The redundancy just doesn’t make sense.

Why two kidneys?

I started imagining the Six Days of Creation.

The first day, God created light.

The second day, sky.

The third day, land and sea.

The fourth day, sun, moon, and stars.

The fifth day, fish and birds.

And somewhere during that sixth day, after creating a bunch of other things, God begins designing human beings, with a Design Oversight Committee of the angels.

God creates humans with two eyes.

“Why two?” asks the angel.

“So they can see the beauty of My world. And with two eyes, they will gain depth perception, the ability to understand that there is always more to a person, a story, and a situation than first meets the eye.”

“Makes sense,” said the angel.

God then creates two ears.

“Why two?” asks another angel.

“So they can listen twice as much as they speak.”

“Smart!” comes the response.

Then two lungs.

“Why two?”

“One to carry them through an ordinary walk, and the other to help them run when life calls them forward. And with every breath, they will remember that life itself is My gift.”

The angel nods.

Then God creates two kidneys.

The angels pause.

“Now hold on. One kidney would do the job.”

God smiles.

“I know.”

The angel looks puzzled.

“If one kidney is enough, why give them two?”

And God says:

“Because one day, one of My children will pray for just a few more years with the one they love.

One day, a mother will pray for the chance to watch her child grow up.

And one day, another human being will discover that they carry within themselves the power to help.”

The angels grew quiet.

And God says:

“So I will give them two. Most will never need both. But one day, love will need one.”

Now, I know that’s not how biology works. It’s a rabbi’s imagination.

But sometimes imagination helps us uncover a deeper truth.

The Torah teaches that we are all created b’tzelem Elohim, in the image of God. Perhaps part of being created in God’s image is that generosity is built into us from the very beginning.

Tonight, we will hear from people whose lives have been transformed by kidney donation. We will hear from people who are waiting and hoping. We will learn from experts and from those whose stories carry wisdom beyond any textbook.

As we listen, may we remember that Judaism does not ask all of us to do the same thing. But it does ask all of us to open our hearts.

To learn.

To care.

To imagine what is possible.

And perhaps, for some here tonight, to discover that we carry within ourselves the power to become the answer to another person’s prayer.

A sacred gift can save a life.

Amen.