More Articles on Inclusion and Judaism

This week I discovered that my teacher was correct. It is indeed true that the disabled have greater merit than the rest of us . . .

Each day the old woman put the yoke over her shoulders and went down to the river, filled the cans, and walked back to her modest hut...

It was back to basics. Actually, it was back to much less than basics. It was back to virtually nothing...

Hodaya, my sixteen-year-old, walked in last night, past midnight, after the first day of camp. She was so exhausted she could hardly speak. But she told me the name of her camper and she said to me, "Ima, this work is a lesson for life..."

Chaim was born 13 years ago, a healthy child to healthy parents. Then one day, out of the blue, Chaim contracted a "virus" (funny, how when they don't know what it is, they call it a "virus"...)

Though he can no longer walk or speak, and needs assistance with many basic daily functions, he is determined to continue living as he would have before his diagnosis...

There was an undercurrent of raw emotion in the large room. Entranced, I watched the circle of dancers and the smiling onlookers who clapped along.

Suddenly—but maybe not so suddenly—it’s as though a bizarre spell has been cast upon your beautiful three-year-old. You begin the appointment maze . . .

More powerful than all his pain was the refined light shining out of this young but old man. He was simply an exquisite human being. With a special charm, clearly the result of years of struggle, he had emerged with a very rare type of warmth...

The winner of this race, Kirani James from Grenada, approached him, shook his hand, hugged him and then removed his name tag, exchanging it with the South African runner. The winner then held up this other runner’s name for recognition and applause, to which many responded with a standing ovation. I know their names only because I searched them online. But I will remember that lesson for a lifetime . . .

An inside perspective of special children, their families, volunteers, community members and Friendship Circle coordinators who bring them together.