The Journey of a Lifetime
Zev at the Kotel for the first time
“I can’t say it was a ‘dream come true’ because it wasn’t even a dream,” says Miriam Kahn, a single mom from West Hempstead, New York. “There was no way I could picture my son Zev ever going to Israel. Because of his multiple health issues it takes a lot of planning just to take a short trip, let alone send him thousands of miles away for ten days.”
When Miriam first heard that Yachad was offering a free trip to Israel for young adults with special needs, a gift from Taglit- Birthright Israel in conjunction with OU Israel Free Spirit, she dismissed the idea of including Zev. Though he wears braces on his legs he can walk with a walker, but he would have to be in a wheelchair for such a rigorous trip. Moreover, he is medically fragile, has had numerous back surgeries and can eat only puréed food.
But possibilities began to perk in her mind. What if she could find a way to make it work? Would Yachad take on the responsibility for his care? “I decided to go ahead and apply, to see what would happen. I didn’t really think they’d accept him.”
She had underestimated the perseverance, resourcefulness and idealism of Yachad staffers. Nicole Bodner, director of New York Yachad who runs the Birthright Israel trip, told Miriam she was willing to make all the arrangements necessary for Zev to go on the trip. Yes, extra steps would have to be taken, but she was quite sure that she and her staff could deal with them.
“They were great! Nicole was so willing to take on the challenge,” says Miriam. “I started getting excited that Israel would become a reality for Zev, because I go there often to visit my married daughter. All Zev knew of the experience is that I get on a plane, and I bring back pictures. To him, Israel was just photos of family members at the Kotel, not a real place.”
The first thing to plan was how Zev would have the food he needed. As it happened, Miriam had planned to be in Israel in November for a family event, just six weeks before the Yachad trip. “So I bought my daughter a freezer as a gift and I spent a few days cooking and puréeing and packaging food for Zev. I also prepared powdered soymilk in little packets, so the Yachad staffers could just shake them with water to give him his drinks.”
With all in readiness, she returned home. When the big day came, she accompanied the group on the flight. “It was Zev’s first time on such a long flight and I was little nervous about it. But right after we took off, I went over to where he was seated, among the group of Birthright Israel participants and wonderful counselors, and asked him, ‘How’s it going?’ He gave me a broad grin and a thumbs-up. When we landed, my daughter was at the airport with ‘Round One’ of Zev’s food supply, enough for their upcoming three-day trip to northern Israel.”
While Zev was touring with the Yachad group, Miriam stayed with her daughter in Ramat Eshkol, Jerusalem. She resisted the temptation to follow the tour bus all over Israel in her car. “I davened well that there should be no medical emergencies, believe me. But overall I felt calm and optimistic. The Yachad staff understood all of his restrictions and I saw that I could trust them. They were so attentive to Zev’s every need and determined to include him in every activity. I wasn’t sure how they would accomplish that, but I felt confident they would try.”
“Miriam Kahn was fantastic,” attests Nicole. “She kept us supplied with Zev’s food, including a thermos to keep it hot till lunchtime. Dinner was heated in the hotel’s kitchen. When it became clear that it was not always possible to do that, she supplied us with a microwave for Zev’s room. We carried it on trips with us. She seemed surprised that we would go the extra mile for Zev to join us in all of the fun.”
Like all of the twenty-four participants on the trip, Zev made new friends, traveled the length and breadth of Israel, visited a chocolate factory, took the cable car to the top of Masada, took in parks, danced, played the drums, and went jeep-riding in the Negev. “We had to be mindful that Zev had back surgery, so he rode in a jeep that stayed on the road, rather than bumping over the sand, but we all met at the same destination,” Nicole explains. At Beit Hagalgalim (House of Wheels), a recreational/ educational center for children with physical challenges in wheelchairs, the Yachad group prepared flowerpots to landscape the site. Then one of the Yachad participants suggested painting them, to make them even more beautiful. Zev painted happily along with the rest – even playfully painting the face of a nearby staffer.
Zev Kahn & Max Cohen- Thumbs up at the chocolate factory!
“Zev brought laughter and joy to the whole group,” beams Nicole. “He has a sparkling personality and a great sense of humor. And he had a specific tease for everyone – like a high-five, or a thumbs-up he assigned to every member of the staff. Everybody wanted to hang out with him.”
The high point of the trip was when the group went to the Kotel. Miriam and her family were waiting when they arrived at the overlook from where you can catch a first glimpse. As two staffers lifted Zev up so he could see, his face lit up with recognition and he gasped, “Oh my God!” He had made it. He was at the Kotel, the Wall he had seen in photo after family photo. “It was incredible to see Zev go with the group across the plaza, right up to the Kotel and put a kvital (prayer on a paper note) in one of the chinks,” says Miriam. “Everybody was dancing and singing. I couldn’t stop crying.”
In the several months since they returned to the States, Zev keeps up with his Yachad friends on Facebook and Face Time. “And he looks at the pictures taken in Israel every single day. It gives him such joy,” says Miriam. “I had always dreamed of making Aliyah,” she confides, “but I didn’t know how Zev would adjust. Now that I see how much he loves Israel, I’m going to make plans. I’ve got to research how we will manage there, but from our experience with this trip, I’m sure it can be done. Now that would be a dream-come-true.”
For more information on Taglit-Birthright Israel: Israel Free Spirit Yachad trips to Israel contact Nicole Bodner at bodern@ou.org.
Charlotte Friedland is the editor of Belong.
This is an article from Belong Magazine 2014. For more information, or to receive your own copy contact belong@ou.org
Yachad Member Blasts Off Into Computer Game Career
Deep in the heart of Texas a star is shining bright, and his name is Aaron Winston. A dedicated Yachad member born and bred in the Lone Star State, Aaron is pursuing a career at the nonPareil Institute, where he works as a staff programmer on various projects released on the iTunes store, or the Google Play store. He is the creator of SpaceApe, a quick, single player game that involves maneuvering a Russian Cosmonaut Ape named Dmitri around outer space; players aim to scoop up bananas while dodging asteroids, comets and aliens.
“Socially, I believe Yachad prepared me for my job at nonPareil, as it gave me confidence in myself,” Aaron, 22, shares. “I have autism and Asperger’s. I didn’t always want friends; but Yachad helped me to understand the importance and benefits of having friends, of having a social network, and that I don’t have to do anything alone.”
Aaron was diagnosed six years ago and participated in Yachad’s Getaway summer program the following summer, at age 17. Yachad Getaway is a two-week retreat where Yachad members and staff create all of their activities and meals. “Yachad Getaway was the first time Aaron spent away from home, yet I felt confident in the program from the questions they asked my son to assess if the program would be a good fit,” recalls his mother Cindy. “It was an eye-opening experience for all of us to see how much he benefitted from independence. He introduced us to his friends. It was amazing to see what he was capable of in the right environment.
“Yachad was such a plus for him! But when we picked him up from that first positive experience of Getaway, we were thinking, ‘now what?’ He’d had a glimpse of what friends were, so it was hard to go back to the solitude that had been ‘normal.’ Until then, he hadn’t realized how small his world was.”
Aaron joined the small Yachad chapter in Dallas, participating in various Shabbatonim and in numerous Yachad summer programs including Yad B’Yad, an inclusive summer trip touring the Jewish homeland. He always looked forward to the next Yachad event. It was at Yachad Summer Program’s Simchaton, a reunion taking place over Simchat Torah, that Aaron learned about Team Yachad. He had already been working with a trainer, so he decided to sign up and added more treadmill time to his exercise regime. 
Mostly fast-walking, he completed the 2011 ING Half-Marathon in Miami as a proud member of Team Yachad. He went on to complete it again the following year.
And the Simchaton was the source of another important discovery. Aaron’s parents learned of the nonPareil Institute in nearby Plano, Texas, which provides technical training and employment to individuals on the autism spectrum.
“ I ha d a l w a y s b e e n interested in video games and was good at school, pretty detail oriented – but I had tried college and found it too overwhelming; I had a lot of anxiety,” Aaron states frankly. “The only pre-requisite for nonPareil is to be on the autism spectrum. I didn’t have real experience in the technology field, but I was willing to apply myself.”
Aaron went through a series of training courses in software development and programming before the company hired him fulltime. “I find working here fun as well as gratifying in many different areas,” Aaron says. “And while I do enjoy programming software, I realize that working here is not entirely about being a programmer – it’s about helping others build skills. One of the strengths of this company is that we employees are not competing against each other.”
Cindy Winston notes, “From the beginning, Aaron was ready and excited to put in a full day at nonPareil. I think a lot of that enthusiasm was from positive experiences he had at Yachad. With Yachad, he felt that he didn’t have to pretend, and once he found that same acceptance at nonPareil, he hit the ground running.”
Aaron agrees that there is something special about working with others on the spectrum. “Not that everyone here is the same, but you can understand what it’s like to be in their shoes,” he says. “I’m not perfect interacting with everyone, but my main goal coming to work every day isn’t just getting my job done. We’re a community, caring about each other. When that’s the main thing, it helps people get along and feel they’re in a safe environment.”
“Aaron has been the very type of person our company needs to be successful,” states Dan Selec, founder and chief executive officer of the nonPareil Institute. “As a student, he invested his time well, and was always reaching for more knowledge and ability than he had the day before. Aaron came into our program with little computer knowledge, but showed himself to be a hardworking and dedicated member of our nonPareil crew. Step by step, Aaron has built himself into a productive part of our organization.”
Aaron can be found at the office 10:00 am to 6:00 pm, though he’s often sighted there early and after-hours. He has numerous responsibilities: as a games and software programmer for the company, he works with a team to create tools for program scripting. SpaceApe took him a month and half to create, working with a team of artists on design concepts and implementation. Smaller games could take less time, according to Aaron.
He also serves as a mentor, spending time daily helping others learn how to learn, building their confidence, and trying to help them achieve personal success. “Aaron has great leadership skills: he is patient and concerned for his teammate’s growth and participation. This may be in helping them with coursework, or by simply being there for them when they need someone to talk to. He also leads group sessions, ranging from coding to design,” Selec confirms.
Aaron credits his involvement with Yachad for building up his self-confidence to be a success socially and to apply himself on the job. That boost of confidence from Yachad carries over into Judaism as well. As a proud Jew, Aaron wears his yarmulke to work every day. He learns Torah every morning with a rabbi before work, a practice he has enjoyed for the past five years. As tzedakah is one of his favorite mitzvot, he’s careful to give ma’aser (tithe) from his salary. In fact, in recent months, as Aaron would sit down to figure out his finances, he has applied his ma’aser money to support the members of Team Yachad.
One mark of his success is that last October Aaron was invited to participate in a panel discussion at Yachad’s High School Leadership Conference, where high school leaders from across the country come together for a weekend of leadership training aimed at helping them enhance the Yachad program in their community. Aaron shared his own story, explaining to the teenagers how his disability actually helped him succeed in securing and keeping his job.
“For me to have a job means that I have a mission in life to do positive things for myself and for others,” Aaron reflects. “Being busy is very good for me, and making money is good, of course. Having a job that pushes me to expand my capabilities is positive, and I find that very fulfilling.” 
For information on the Dallas chapter of Yachad contact DallasYachad@ou.org.
Batya Rosner is a staff writer at the Orthodox Union.
This is an article from Belong Magazine 2014. For more information, or to receive your own copy contact belong@ou.org
