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All Hashem's Children
Inspiring stories about children with challengesCompiled by Leah Grangewood and Zeisel Blumenfeld (Mandelcorn)
All Hashem's Children
Five-year old Dina will one day walk despite the pessimism of the specialists.
Orly's mother withstood a barrage of criticism while she fought for a diagnosis: severe ADHD.
Frummy’s mother is bearing the pain of her children’s disabilities, without the support of friends and family.
Yochanan, barely able to read, enters the neighborhood Mishnayos contest—and wins.
In this soul-stirring collection of essays, we are granted a privileged glimpse into lives hallmarked by struggle and challenge. One thread unites them all: an unyielding, unconditional love and an iron commitment to treat every child as a special gift from G-d.
The children featured in these essays are living with an array of physical, social, and psychological disabilities. The emotions are raw, the experiences real.
But the hope is real, too, and so is the faith.
Exceptionally moving and beautifully written, this book makes us realize that regardless of our handicaps, we are all Hashem’s children.
Book Excerpt from All Hashem's Children
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All Hashem's Children:
In
this soul-stirring collection of Jewish stories & essays
featuring special Jewish children & their families, you'll meet
extraordinary people who face life's challenges with astounding faith
& grace. An inspiring, moving Jewish book that shows how we are
all G-d's children, no matter our handicaps.
|
If He Can, You Can
Barry
It was only two years ago that I threw away the bottle of Mennen’s After Shave that I had saved for thirty years. It was a gift given to me by Barry, one of my students from my first teaching job. The truth is that I feel much gratitude to Barry. He taught me, and his whole class, a valuable lesson.
I was starting out as a physical education teacher in the New York public school system. A new class had been started called “An Adaptive Physical Education Class.” It was a swimming class for all kinds of challenged children. The rule of that school, in those days, was that everyone was required to learn to swim in order to receive a high school diploma.
Since I was new, I was assigned to the catch-all class. The children had various physical issues. I remember that one boy was partially blind. Another had diabetes. Yet another was epileptic. The boy most obviously limited and physically disabled was Barry. He entered the class dragging his right foot, swaying his whole body as he moved forward.
Barry suffered from cerebral palsy, brain damage at birth, which manifested itself as paralysis on the right side of his body. Yet Barry came into my class with the ardent desire to learn to swim.
“Mr. Bell, please. I really want to swim. Please teach me.”
I must admit, I looked at Barry and thought, “Impossible!”
However, since he was so earnest, I answered, “I’ll try.”
We started with the side stroke. It was the only possibility I could imagine. Barry was determined. Each day he fearlessly plopped into the water and worked on his side stroke. The first several days I stayed very close to him in the water. I feared he might drown. I was ready to rescue him.
No one had a stroke quite like Barry. He could only use one leg and one arm. He would seem to be sinking, maybe drowning, and then, all of a sudden, he would pop up to the surface.
Barry was amazing. He did one lap. The next day he did two laps. He was so proud. So was I! He was so happy at being able to swim. He would come to the pool practically every day when he had free time. There is no doubt in my mind that Barry learned to swim from pure determination. Maybe he wasn’t exactly elegant but he sure was afloat and moving. Barry’s success became the inspiration for the whole class. Whenever Jake or Daniel would whine, “I can’t. I just can’t do it, Mr. Bell,” I would say, “Barry, get in the water.” Barry would happily comply. “Okay, Barry is not giving up. Come on guys, you can try, too.”
Barry was always there. They saw him. They knew how hard it was for him, but he kept going and going.
That year, the entire special class passed the swimming course. Barry was the inspiration.
The Mishnayos Champ
Yochanan
My name is Yochanan. When I was ten years old, I started going to masmidim (an after-school club for Jewish boys) in my hometown in the USA. Everyone in the neighborhood is invited no matter which school he goes to, whether a cheder (religious day school), talmud Torah (after-school religious education classes) or a public school. The counselors encourage participation, good behavior, diligence and cooperation. Children are rewarded for positive involvement. Basically, we like to go to the group meetings. We learn part of the time and that’s okay. Then there are activities and we get prizes and treats. That part is good, for sure.
Sometimes, around holidays, special activities are planned. For example, we have contests. Every time we did something good we got stickers — a sticker for coming, a sticker for good behavior, and three stickers for sitting and learning. Stickers are added up and exchanged for prizes. The more stickers, the bigger the prize. Everyone comes out a winner.
I attended a special education cheder. But when I went to masmidim, I was like everyone else. I rode my bike to the building where it was held. I sat with my sefer (holy book), collected my treats and spent quality time with my friends, under supervision of really nice counselors. I liked being with my friends. My mother was happy that there was supervision.
The highlight of my masmidim days took place two Pesachs (Passovers) ago. An exciting contest was set where we had to learn mishnayos by heart. Even though I couldn’t read too well yet, I could listen and I could memorize. That is what I did. I listened as boys read aloud the mishnayos and I memorized them.
Then I listened to other boys and learned by heart the mishnayos they recited. In the end it turned out, believe it or not, that I learned 232 mishnayos by heart! I won! I learned the most. I had managed to learn and recite more than anyone else even though I couldn’t read well. I felt very proud then. I still feel really good about it even today, whenever I think of that mishnayos contest.
The Student Who Tried the Hardest
Uri
“It’s a boy! Call the orthopedist.” Thus the doctor heralded little Uri into the world.
Within an hour, Uri’s parents were unceremoniously told by the orthopedist that their new baby’s feet were in terrible shape, and that with long and arduous treatment there might be some marginal improvement over the course of time. There were no promises, no mention of eventual walking, just a tenuous “maybe.”
The going was not easy. There were three major surgeries, tens of casts and special shoes. During the course of ten years, Uri went through three rounds of learning to walk while stumbling, falling and bearing the brunt of gibes and teasing from some of his peers.
There were times when Uri’s parents thought he must have reached the limit of his endurance, but it never happened. His feet were misshapen, but inside there was determination, a joy of life and a most unique level of emunah (faith) for such a young child.
After his first major surgery at age five, Uri was lying in bed, both legs in full-length casts. The head surgeon, who had operated on him, arrived with his entourage of young doctors to examine him.
“Well, Uri,” said the surgeon, “who made your feet straighter?” Without missing a beat Uri answered, “If Hashem wants my feet to be straight they will be. You are only the shaliach (agent).”
The professor raised his hands and said, “I surrender!”
Time passed. More surgeries. More therapy. Then, in fifth grade, after his third operation and wearing heavy orthopedic shoes, Uri was on the field with his gym class about to do a 200-meter run. Everyone set out at once, but after thirty meters Uri had to stop. Time out — up and run again — forty meters — stop. By that time, all the others had passed the finish line.
“Uri,” asked his teacher, “do you want to stop here or do you want to finish?”
If finishing was an option, that was surely Uri’s choice. The class formed two lines and he ran between them as everyone cheered him on. Run — stop — run — stop — run and finish! He received a citation for “the student who tried the hardest.” Laurels to this special teacher!
Logically, under the circumstances, Uri should have chosen extra-curricular activities that demanded minimal footwork. But, for better or worse, his first choice was sports. His “best times,” as he called them, were when he was in walking casts, for then he was chosen as goalie in football games. One whack of all that plaster and the ball went flying. When he was out of the casts, he was out of the game. Without them he could not possibly kick a ball. It hurt to sit on the sidelines and not be included, but in sports, a team wants to win. Sentiment takes a back seat.
As he matured, Uri’s life was one of giving, of doing and of not having an hour of his day unaccounted for. He learned, led youth groups and volunteered to tutor weak students. After four years of study within Hesder (a program that combines advanced Talmudic study with military service in Israel), he hoped to serve in a combat unit in the IDF (Israeli army). As was to be expected, the army turned him down after his physical, because of the condition of his feet. But Uri was determined to “fight his way in” and do his share. Having grown up in a home where his parents always allowed him to try, even when the task seemed to be totally inappropriate, he asked the same of the army — “Let me try.”
After many sessions with doctors and officers, Uri was accepted with the stipulation that if anything problematic arose involving his feet, he would then be related to as a volunteer (and not as a recruited soldier).
Can one march, walk and climb on will-power alone? Uri proved the answer to be “yes.” He finished basic training as an outstanding recruit, went on to higher levels of training, earning awards of excellence, and finally, became a tank commander.
When asked by his grandfather what the most important thing was that he learned in the army, he replied, “I learned that I can trust my body.”
Today, Uri is a husband and father of a beautiful family as well as a creative and highly admired teacher. His feet are still misshapen, his back is often painful. Standing and walking are always a chore. His will-power continues to be his “secret weapon.”
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