Most people who read The Link are familiar with the term “to kvell.” For those who are unfamiliar with it, who actually could have been all of my Sefardi friends in Montreal, it is the Yiddish term that best describes regaling in something. A person might “kvell” when their toddler walks for the first time, and grandparents are usually known to kvell every time they see their grandchildren!

Last week while I had the great pleasure of attending the Yachad New Jersey Gala on March 20, I kvelled throughout the entire evening.

I remember well the days when there were absolutely no Jewish activities for kids with special needs. In many cases while their siblings went off to day schools and yeshivot, the child with special needs attended, if fortunate enough, schools that had names such as the one my daughter attended—the MacKay Center for Deaf and Crippled Children. Honestly, no one even gave a thought to the fact that perhaps the name was offensive. At that time it was not. It was an amazing school.

Until I had the good fortune to hear through my daughter Chavie about Chana Zweiter and Rafi Butler starting an organization called Yachad in 1983-84, I would never have thought such a thing could be possible. It is through the OU and their belief in the programs that Chana suggested to them that such a dream became a reality.

Let us fast forward to 2023. A New Jersey gala honoring very special people. The first honoree was the recipient of the Women’s Leadership Award. Abbey Sophia shared with the audience how she got hooked on Yachad from the moment she began to take photos of various events. As she explained, which is heard time and time again, when working with Yachad and its participants one receives more than one gives.

Another very special award close to my heart was the recognition of the Gorelick family. Rabbi David and Jackie Gorelick, together with their son Eli, were recognized as a family who has given substantially to Yachad and received that much more. I have a special place in my heart for Eli, who delivered a beautiful speech, and I must say was dressed almost as if he were a chatan. All of us at The Link are charmed by Eli each week, as he works in our office on Tuesdays accompanied by Anthony, a coach from Yachad. One day I came into the office and there was Eli sitting at his desk anxious to greet me and show me that he had cut a picture out of The Link from a previous week, which was of me together with my newest great-granddaughters. He had carefully placed it into a zip-lock bag so that I could have it as a memento. I look forward each week to our discussions.

The third honorees of the Business Leader Award were Jeffrey Wilder and Sean Charnow of the Wilder Ventures Hotel Investments. From these very special gentlemen we learned that not only were they interested in helping Yachad by donating funds, but even more relevant for those attending was the amazing video we all watched of Yachad member Micah Lippe working at the Best Western Paramus. He was one of the guys working along other employees and he himself could not stop kvelling as he stood on the stage next to Jeff and Sean, Yachad heroes.

The special moment came when Micah was awarded the Employee of the Year Award at the Best Western Paramus. Micah’s face said it all. It was not only an honor well deserved but it was an honor to be in the presence of two gentlemen who realized that those with special needs have the ability to be job trained if they are given the chance to do so.

I worked on this process diligently in Montreal. Businesses need to open their hearts and doors to people who may not look or speak as well as others but who have the capabilities to do much more than the opportunities they are often given.

There have to be readers at this moment who know of businesses that might be willing to get involved in this amazing program. We are fortunate that there are several Yachad members who are employed locally, but certainly not enough.

Awarded as well were the amazing senior high school students who give so much of themselves to Yachad members by attending activities at the Mendel Balk Center, accompany Yachad members on shabbatonim and in many cases spend time with their Yachad friends outside of Yachad activities. Parents and grandparents again kvelled with pride as each teenager’s name was mentioned.

This evening also celebrated the five-year anniversary of the Mendel Balk Center, which is basically a drop-in center where Yachad members spend afternoons after school, hanging out, participating in activities, eating dinner, learning with local rabbonim, davening and much more. Under the loving supervision of Raquel Selevan, director of Yachad New Jersey, it is a shining light in the Yachad organization.

I cannot even imagine how different our lives would have been if our daughter Naama had the opportunity to attend such amazing programming. Keep in mind that as much as these programs are godsends to the members, they may be even more so for the families who are able to have some down time with other family members and grab some moments alone: couples with each other or just alone themselves.

To every person beginning with Chana and Raphi, and the leadership of the OU and the thousands of people who have worked over the years to make Yachad the stupendous organization that it is, I thank you for myself and everyone else who not only participates but is able to observe its miracles.

Nina apologizes for skipping her column last week. Will try not to let it happen again for quite a while!