{"id":40388,"date":"2015-07-02T11:00:18","date_gmt":"2015-07-02T16:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/?p=40388"},"modified":"2015-07-02T11:00:18","modified_gmt":"2015-07-02T16:00:18","slug":"the-impossible-bar-mitzvah","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/inspiration\/the-impossible-bar-mitzvah\/","title":{"rendered":"The Impossible Bar Mitzvah"},"content":{"rendered":"

Five years ago, I was in a store when an eight-year-old boy from our community saw me, came over, and said one word: \u201cRabbi.\u201d I didn\u2019t think anything of it until later that evening when the boy\u2019s mother texted me to say that I had witnessed a miracle. I didn\u2019t know what she was referring to until she explained that her son, Joe Greenbaum, is autistic.<\/p>\n

Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder that often includes social impairment, challenges with communication, and repetitive patterns of behavior. On top of that, Joe also has a form of apraxia, an uncommon speech disorder in which the brain struggles to develop plans for speech and as a result has difficulty making accurate movements when speaking.<\/p>\n

\"Joe
Joe with his parents<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The combination of autism and a form of apraxia meant that for Joe, learning to speak and communicate would be nearly impossible. And yet, through incredible tenacity on his part, and with the boundless love, encouragement, and support of his family, at eight years old, Joe successfully learned how to speak. When he said the word \u201cRabbi\u201d that day, an insignificant event for most people, was for Joe and his family an absolute miracle.<\/p>\n

Interacting with Joe, it is clear that he understands that there is a world around him that he is connected to, but yet not fully part of. He desperately wants full access and full interaction, but his primitive receptive language skills simply hold him back and deny him that full access.<\/p>\n

Making the Impossible Possible<\/h2>\n

While at times it can be hard to fully know what Joe is thinking or feeling, there are times when it is clear what he loves and cherishes. At the top of that list are his beloved family members, who have shown incredible devotion, dedication, patience, love, and care to him and his siblings, including two others with autism, throughout his life. In a close second place is Joe\u2019s love for Judaism. Since his early childhood he has been drawn to the sound of the Shofar, enjoys listening to Jewish music (Shlock Rock in particular), loves coming to Shul and kissing the Torah, and most recently puts on his Tefillin<\/em> with more enthusiasm and excitement than most Bar Mitzvah boys.<\/p>\n

\"TheThis past Shabbos was Joe\u2019s Bar Mitzvah<\/a> at Boca Raton Synagogue. While other parents struggle to choose a venue for the party, select a caterer, narrow down the invite list, and finalize a menu, for the last few years, Joe\u2019s parents were struggling with the question of if \u2013 and how \u2013 he would have a Bar Mitzvah altogether. It is hard enough for an autistic child with apraxia to learn one language, but to read and speak a second is practically unthinkable and unimaginable.<\/p>\n

And yet, rather than be fatalistic or resigned to their son not being a candidate for a public Bar Mitzvah, Joe\u2019s parents chose to imagine, to envision, to dream, and ultimately to make the impossible possible. With the help of Dr. Harold Landa as a Bar Mitzvah teacher, and Joe\u2019s Aunt Nina, who worked tirelessly to help him learn Hebrew, they set a goal of Joe receiving analiyah<\/em> on the Shabbos of his Bar Mitzvah. Almost everyone around this devoted group told them it was impossible, unattainable, and an unrealistic and perhaps even unfair expectation to set, as receiving an aliyah<\/em> involves the recitation of two blessings on the Torah. Nevertheless, with the support of Joe\u2019s team, which includes his amazing grandparents, incredible therapists, as well as Rabbi Gershon Eisenberger and Rabbi Matan Wexler, Joe\u2019s parents defiantly shut out the voices of negativity and of defeatism and tenaciously persisted towards the goal of Joe learning how to receive an aliyah<\/em> and recite the blessings.<\/p>\n

The next piece of the puzzle was Joe\u2019s cooperation. An autistic young man will typically not do something that he doesn\u2019t want to do. Over the last few months, Joe not only cooperated in the pursuit of his parents\u2019 goal, but he has far surpassed it. With God\u2019s help, this young man, who did not learn to speak until he was eight years old, not only received an aliyah this past Shabbos, but read the maftir <\/em>as well. <\/b>Watching Joe kiss the Torah, say the first blessing, recite the Torah reading and articulate the second blessing like any other Bar Mitzvah boy was to literally witness a miracle before our very eyes.\u00a0 As Joe was called to the Torah, the entire Shul without instruction, spontaneously stood and with tears in everyone\u2019s eyes, every person listened attentively and supportively. \u00a0Joe did fantastically and after we shared a few words about him, we sang and danced as he jumped up and down with unbridled joy and excitement.<\/p>\n

Relentless<\/h2>\n

There is so much for us to learn from this extraordinary family and their outstanding son. Firstly, as the Chida famously taught, \u201cNothing stands in the way of will.\u201d Joe has worked relentlessly overcoming all odds to be able to achieve what almost all of us take absolutely for granted. He has taught us that if we dedicate ourselves to achieving a dream, we can make the impossible a reality.<\/p>\n

This accomplishment for Joe far surpasses almost anything any of us have done far beyond the age of thirteen. The Chazon Ish and the Steipler Gaon stood up in honor of special children as they entered a room. While others saw children with special needs labeled by society as disabled or even handicapped, these Torah giants saw only special souls capable of extraordinary things whose lives brought out the best of those around them.<\/p>\n

Joe\u2019s team has taught us to never stop believing in every single child<\/a>, no matter his or her limitations. They have modeled how to never stop dreaming or setting the bar high, even when others tell you it is impossible, unrealistic, and unachievable. They have taught us how to persevere, despite being physically and spiritually tired, how to keep going, even when at times you desperately want to give up. They regularly remind us how to be grateful for the things that almost all others take for granted.<\/p>\n

This past Shabbos, there was one last piece of the puzzle necessary to complete the picture for Joe and his family: the role played by us, his community and Shul. Enabling Joe and anyone like him to experience his Bar Mitzvah is not only the responsibility of his family, but is a duty of our entire community. Facilitating a Bar Mitzvah for an autistic young man requires patience, flexibility, and cooperation. We adults can learn from Joe\u2019s classmates who just completed 7th<\/sup> grade at Hillel Day School. They, too, are part of his loving team and regularly make accommodations to enable his participation.<\/p>\n

Every special needs child and their families deserve our unwavering support, love, patience, inclusiveness, and, when necessary, accommodations. Raising special children requires superhuman strength and sacrifices that are beyond our imagination. Lessening their challenges, being supportive and encouraging, are not extra acts of kindness. It is our responsibility, duty, and obligation to fill in our piece of the puzzle.<\/p>\n

If you don\u2019t believe in miracles, speak to anyone who was present at our shul this past Shabbos for Joe\u2019s bar mitzvah and they will testify that we witnessed one together.<\/p>\n

Rabbi Efrem Goldberg is the rabbi of the Boca Raton Synagogue.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Five years ago, I was in a store when an eight-year-old boy from our community saw me, came over, and said one word: \u201cRabbi.\u201d I didn\u2019t think anything of it until later that evening when the boy\u2019s mother texted me to say that I had witnessed a miracle. I didn\u2019t know what she was referring<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":733,"featured_media":40392,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[85],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40388","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-inspiration"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Impossible Bar Mitzvah - OU Life<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/inspiration\/the-impossible-bar-mitzvah\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Impossible Bar Mitzvah - OU Life\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Five years ago, I was in a store when an eight-year-old boy from our community saw me, came over, and said one word: \u201cRabbi.\u201d I didn\u2019t think anything of it until later that evening when the boy\u2019s mother texted me to say that I had witnessed a miracle. 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