Toronto’s Josh Kadysiewicz, a 26-year-old with global developmental delay, celebrated his bar mitzvah last week at the historic Beirav Synagogue here, one of the 19th century places of kabbalistic worship in this historic centre of Jewish mysticism. For the 12 Canadian and five American participants aged 18 to 26 in the Taglit-Birthright/Yachad the National Jewish Council for Disabilities tour, Kadysiewicz’s aliyah at the Rosh Chodesh Elul (new moon) service marked the highlight of their free 10-day pilgrimage to Israel.
“I like that people came to see me,” a beaming Kadysiewicz told the Jewish Tribune.
In a heartfelt speech, he addressed his fellow special needs tour participants:
“Thank you for coming to celebrate my Bar Mitzvah. I am so happy that I can celebrate my Bar Mitzvah with all of you in Israel. Although I really miss my amazing family in Toronto, you are all like family to me! This past week on Yachad Birthright has been really, really fun. I loved spending time with everyone and seeing the incredible sights around Israel.
“One of the highlights of this week was becoming an Israeli Army commander. I think that I was a really good commander and it was a lot of fun. Bar mitzvahs are about growing up and becoming an adult. I think that I am becoming more mature and I am happy to finally celebrate my Bar Mitzvah.
“Shabbat was also really great. We prayed, ate delicious food, spent time with friends, went for a nice walk and had a lot of fun activities. I have made so many friends on this trip, and I’m so lucky to be with all of you for my Bar Mitzvah. I think that Israel is a special place to have a Bar Mitzvah. It is a very holy and meaningful land, and there is no better place to celebrate a Jewish milestone like here. I really enjoy Judaism and I have learned a lot on this trip. I like to sing, dance, play games, pray and learn new things.
“The Kotel last week was very special for me, too. I loved how the rabbi came to make a special speech for me, and the singing and dancing for me was great fun.
“Although I am excited to go home, I am really going to miss this place. Fortunately, I have such good memories of this trip and especially my Bar Mitzvah. I’m sure these memories will last with me for the rest of my life.
“I really hope you all enjoy celebrating my Bar Mitzvah with me in Israel. I can’t wait to go back and tell my family all about it. Thanks again to everyone for being part of this occasion with me. You are all such good friends to me, and you make me so happy.
“Thanks everyone!”
Yachad has been bringing special needs adults to Israel every six months for a decade, said Nicole Bodner, a social worker with the New York-based social services agency. She herself accompanied her first special needs trip in 2007, and has been participating in every tour since 2012.
For Bodner, now the staff director, and her 12 North American and three Israeli staff, the bar mitzvah was a transcendent moment.
“It was an unbelievable experience for Josh and for everyone involved,” she said. “We’ve become a family together.”
Confronting the participants’ various disabilities – including autism spectrum, anxiety disorders, developmental delay, OCD, ADD, speech and motor challenges, Tourette’s Syndrome, learning disabilities, and ADHD – wheelchair accessibility was not the problem, she said.
It was a question of overcoming stereotypes and labels.
While in some ways extraordinary, this was also an ordinary Birthright tour, said Bodner. The group toured many of Israel’s most popular tourist destinations, including Masada, the Dead Sea, and Jerusalem’s Western Wall and the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial. They had meetings with Israel Defence Forces soldiers some of whom joined them for five days of a well-deserved break from the current Gaza war.
Especially moving was a meeting with special needs adults serving in the Israeli Air Force. As part of the Israeli army’s policy of serving as a social melting pot for the country’s society, the IDF inducts teens in wheelchairs notwithstanding that their profile is too low to qualify to be drafted. For such young adults, service in the IDF is their ultimate challenge in being mainstreamed.
The 10-day special needs Birthright group flew back from Israel last Thursday.
The Beirav Synagogue was chosen as the venue for the Rosh chodesh bar mitzvah service because, unlike the other houses of worship in Safed’s Old City, it has wheelchair accessible. Built following the great Safed earthquake of 1837, the building originally served as a religious academy and was named after Ya’acov Beirav, one of the great rabbis of 16th century Safed. For decades, Safed’s Hungarian community used the synagogue but when their numbers diminished, the synagogue ceased functioning. In the 1990s, members of Safed’s English-speaking community renewed services. Today the Beirav Synagogue is home to a congregation following the musical tradition of Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach.
This article was written by Gil Zohar, a correspondent for the Jewish Tribune.
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