Jackie & Stephen Moster: Pursuing Yachad’s Mission Together
In the summer of 2007, Yachad brought Jackie Green and Stevie Moster together, and today they continue their work as a married couple, extending Yachad’s mission in the Jewish community.
Both Jackie and Stevie, from Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, became counselors on Yad B’Yad, Yachad’s summer program that brings typically developing teens together with young adults with disabilities on a tour of Israel. During Yad B’Yad, high school students and Yachad members experience the Jewish homeland to the fullest as they ride camels, hike up Masada, participate in special Shabbat programs, and volunteer for community service work. Jackie and Stevie first became a team when they were assigned to similar responsibilities on Yad B’Yad. Their working relationship quickly developed into a friendship, and that friendship eventually evolved into marriage.
Jackie first began her involvement with Yachad through weekend Shabbatonim when she was in high school, soon realizing she was “surrounded by people who brought out the best” in her. She came to view Yachad as a place that “despite everyone’s differences, [we] were getting together, had a common need, interest, and love for Yachad.”
What’s Jackie’s advice for someone’s first time at a Yachad event? “Experience the array of emotions, ask questions, and assume a leadership position when there is a need. Create a welcoming and accepting place for everyone.” 
Jackie and Stevie continue to live by Yachad’s mission of “addressing the needs of all individuals with disabilities, ensuring their inclusion in everyday life.” Stevie spreads Yachad’s message about education and advocating for greater understanding, acceptance, and outreach by creating a disabilities study major at University of Maryland. Jackie is a behavior specialist, working in a mainstream school supporting students with challenges in multiple areas, such as social skills. She believes that inclusion is reality. “People should not be included only in certain situations; it should be a way of life.”
The couple brings Yachad’s mission to everything that they do at home as well, teaching their ten-month-old son, Sammy, self-acceptance, sensitivity, and respect for others – all others.
Doria Miller is a Yachad Social Work intern
This is an article from Belong Magazine 2014. For more information, or to receive your own copy contact belong@ou.org
An Inclusive Tu Bishvat Seder
An Inclusive Tu Bishvat Seder
By: Daniel Schwartz
A highlight of the year for the entire New England Yachad community is the Tu B’Shevat Seder with K’sharim and Shaarei Tefillah Synagogue, which was held recently in Newton, MA. The Tu B’Shevat Seder ceremony commemorates the new year for trees, which falls on the 15th day of the Jewish month of Shevat. Individuals of all ages with disabilities, their families and the broader Jewish community participated. Congregation Shaarei Tefillah and its rabbi, Benjamin Samuels, have consistently shown eagerness to take initiatives to include people with disabilities into their community. Shaarei also co-sponsored the event and was recently recognized nationally by the Hineinu Initiative as one of the most “Inclusive synagogues in the country.”
Over 130 people attended the Tu B’shevat Seder. Over forty teen ‘peer participants’ also attended the Seder to enjoy the evening alongside their Yachad friends. At Yachad we don’t have “volunteers” because everything we do is inclusive – so our cadre or middle and high school students without disabilities, who attend activities alongside the individuals with disabilities, are called peer participants.
The Seder opened with two activities: working on a community mural with artist Tova Speter and completing a make-and-take arts and crafts project. The tables of the Shaarei Tefillah social hall were adorned with art supplies, make-your-own flower pots, stencils, and ceramic tiles waiting to be decorated. As the Seder participants began to create these bright, nature and/or tree-related projects, the atmosphere was one of friendship. Around the room, people helped each other out with their art, offering Tu B’Shevat inspired ideas for each other’s art projects and socializing. Eventually, the vast majority of people in the room had their own project to take home– either a decorative tile or a flower pot– and each was specific to each participant’s taste, yet united as part of one general theme of Tu B’Shevat and renewal.
Yachad tu bishvat
Perhaps most impressively, the girls of The Binah School in Sharon, MA led an array of activities. First, these motivated students publicized their recent projects in school that were part of a Binah School unit that focused on inclusion. Then, the Binah School invited the seder participants, table by table, outside into the synagogue’s atrium to contribute to their mural. The mural created by the Binah school and Tova Speter is traveling in pieces to disabilities groups and programs from across Greater Boston in addition to Yachad and K’sharim and is set to be the first public mural on display in the town of Sharon. The mural represents values of community and sharing. Every participant who wished to contribute had an opportunity to draw his or her own design in an individual portion of the mural. This activity was a great builder of self-esteem for all, especially the artistically talented Seder participants. (Unfortunately, I do not fit into this category!)
The Tu B’Shevat Seder continued with eating fruits and nuts of all kinds- from papaya to mango, kiwi to apricots, carob to cashews. The goal was to commemorate the new year for the trees and celebrate what they bring forth.
This year’s Tu B’Shevat seder was fun, inspirational, and unifying for our communities. We hope we can reach even higher heights in Seders to come!
Daniel Schwartz is a senior at The Maimonides School in Brookline. Among his many other hobbies and interests, which include baseball, acting, and Jewish learning, he has been involved for the past three years in New England Yachad. Daniel writes, “Our local Yachad club began as a small group of Maimo students who would go together to events within the Jewish community with a handful of people with disabilities. It remained small for many years. After a few of us attended Yachad’s National Leadership Shabbaton 2 years ago, we became committed to helping transform our Yachad chapter. Our commitment to doing more programs with individuals with disabilities received a huge boost with the support of Liz Offen, an inclusion expert, hired as the Director of New England Yachad. In a short time, our chapter grew to more than 250 participants– students and adults, people with and without disabilities, within the broader Jewish community.” Contact New England Yachad at NewEnglandYachad@ou.org
Member Remember- Nechama Drebin
Dedication, passion, and positivity are three words that describe Nechama Drebin’s extensive commitment to Yachad. Her welcoming and friendly personality could be one of the reasons why she stands out in the Yachad community. Nechama’s involvement with Yachad spans twenty years and exemplifies how an individual can grow alongside an organization. At the age of ten, Nechama began her journey when she attended her first Shabbaton as a Junior Yachad member. While she enjoyed traveling throughout the metropolitan area with Yachad, Nechama especially took pride in attending Shabbatonim in her home town of Brooklyn.
Growing with Yachad through the years, Nechama graduated to Senior Yachad and eventually to where she finds herself currently in the Rayim Yachad division. To Nechama, Yachad has always been much more than Shabbatonim. During the years she has attended many of the various Yachad summer programs, including Yachad Mesorah, Yachad Getaway, and Yad B’Yad. Looking back on her years of experience, Nechama says Yad B’Yad remains her favorite program because it was a great place to “meet new friends!” Nechama has had the great fortunate to have traveled to Israel with Yad B’Yad (and Birthright Yachad ) many times and recalls each trip fondly.
After so many years with Yachad, stepping into leadership roles came naturally for Nechama. She’s worked at the Yachad Mesorah day camp and currently works for Yachad’s Day Hab program in Brooklyn. When asked why she’s continued to make Yachad a central fixture in her life, Nechama explains that “at Yachad we sing together, dance, give dvar Torahs, and the friends are nice to us.” The Yachad community is as close as family for her; in fact, her siblings Avi and Ruchi have followed their sister’s lead and participate in Yachad events as well!
When she’s not dedicating her time to helping other Yachad members, you can find Nechama at home in Brooklyn working on puzzle books and word finds. She’s a proud aunt to her niece and three nephews and enjoys spending time with her family.
Dr. Jeff’s Corner Spring 2014
I hope this finds you well – here at Yachad we are thrilled over the near-explosive and constantly expanding growth that we are experiencing.
Yachad, the single largest provider of Inclusive summer programs with new programs opening on the west coast, Canada, and Israel.
Yachad, providing clinical services for the entire family, from individual counseling to Sibshops to mothers and fathers support groups to groups for dating and marriage.
Yachad, responding to perhaps the single greatest need of adult Yachad members – jobs, vocational services. We have expanded these services to NJ and Chicago with more families and chapters requesting the same all over the country.
Yachad, in an increasingly segregated and isolating Jewish community has pioneered Hinienu, a historic initiative to have all religious denominations work to promote Inclusion within their stream and synagogues.
Yachad, continuing to provide more and more of our signature Inclusion social/recreational programs from shabbatons to Sunday and after school programs; still focusing and caring about the growth, self-esteem, and happiness of EACH and EVERY Yachad member and family.
So why are we sweating even though the windows are open? Because notwithstanding continuing to have the very best staff bar none and our sky rocketing growth, so much more still needs to be done!
So we need your help. We need our best former staff to join with our current amazing staff to help us respond to the many needs of our Yachad members, their families, and our entire community.
So please join us again, help us again. Do you have a job, full or part-time to offer a capable young adult? An internship or volunteer position?
Can you be the ambassador for us in your community? Can you help us with housing for a shabbaton or to organize a program at your child’s school? Can you speak at the Yachad Shabbaton the importance and meaning of inclusion for, a Yachad member, a peer, and for yourself?
Limited time? Then can you help us with financial support. Scholarship for Yachad members to go to camp or Yad B’Yad, scholarship for IVDU schools or clinical services. Whatever you can do – big or small, a lot or a little; to us it means a lot and to our Yachad members and their families it really means so much – as you no doubt remember.
So please do contact Naftali or me or anybody at Yachad and tell us how you can help. Join us, reconnect, help us help so many! Summer is just around the corner and I hope to see you very soon.
Wishing you and your family a chag kasher v’semeach!
Fondly,
Dr. Jeff
Alumni Spotlight Spring 2014
Ask Abby (Feldman) Basalay about Yachad and she’ll have a lifetime of memories, experiences, and wisdom to share with you. For Abby, participation in Yachad was a family affair. From a young age her parents hosted a number of Yachad members and advisors in their Queens home. She recalls sitting at the dinner table and listening to the zmirot, surrounded by a sense of warmth and happiness. She notes that these events were always inclusive, with no off-hand whispers or cliques; she remembers only the warmth and joy of shared song and dance. After attending a particularly inspirational Simchaton when she was eleven, Abby knew she wanted to get involved with Yachad for the long term.
As the years progressed, Abby transitioned from a high school participant, to an advisor, and finally served as a counselor for Yad B’Yad and Birthright Yachad. Her outstanding dedication to Yachad’s mission, to promote inclusion among Jews with diverse abilities, shines through in her caring nature, easy smile, and passion for infusing fun into any situation.
Abby shared that some of her favorite memories come from her time with Yad B’Yad, particularly while staying at the Kibbutz Ein Tzurim in Israel. She laughs as she recalls that “no teenager in their right mind would wake up early to gather eggs and clean a coop or the cow barn.” Yet, much to her surprise, the Yachad participants were so eager and excited to help out that in the end they all “jumped in and cleaned, sprayed, raked leaves, and had fun with something that I would have never imagined could be great.” Spending time in Israel on Yad B’Yad was a transformational experience for Abby, who can spend hours retelling stories filled with laughter and joy. 
Today Abby resides in Kew Garden Hills, Queens with her husband, Daniel, and two children, Menashe and Ellie. She’s currently a pediatric intern at Cohen’s Children’s Medical at LIJ Hospital. Although her counseling and advising days are over, Abby looks back on her experience with Yachad with fondness and warmth. Undoubtedly this all-star alumna will share her memories with her family and perhaps, inspire her children to continue the tradition.
In the summer of 2007, Yachad brought Jackie Green and Stevie Moster together, and today they continue their work as a married couple, extending Yachad’s mission in the Jewish community.
