Chaim Mordechai Zylberminc Speech

Good evening Yad B’Yad Trips 1 and 2! My name is Chaim Mordechai and I am from Far Rockaway, NY and I’m a part of Yad B’Yad Trip 2. This is my second summer being on Yad B’Yad and although it didn’t look like I was gonna come back, my family and I put in a great effort to get me here because we know how important the YBY experience is.

When I think about my time on Yad B’Yad so far, there are so many highlights that stand out to me. Some of my highlights have been the boat cruise, touring Tzfat, enjoying shabbat with my friends and the endless amount of dance parties to music from The Greatest Showman. Last night, we even had an awesome lip sync battle night activity where my roommates and I made an amazing dance to the song A Million Dreams. I really value the opportunities we have on Yad B’Yad to make so many new friends whether it be through rooming with new people at each hotel, having walking groups while walking around the old city or Ben Yehuda and in my attendance and learning groups.

The reason why YBY is so important to me is because it allows me to be comfortable being myself and brings out the best in me in addition to forming life-long friendships with fellow participants as well as counselors who I know will do anything for me. Touring through Israel and seeing Hashem’s holy land with a great group of people who share my passion for inclusion is truly amazing. Speaking here at Yom Yachad is the perfect example of Yad B’Yad pushing me to new heights. There are many programs that tour our amazing homeland of Israel and many people that have the values of torah and inclusion but only YBY combines those aspects in such a special way and I feel so grateful to be a part of this group of people.

Thank you to my counselors and head staff, Dovie and Jen, and everyone who is involved in Yachad for making this experience possible.

Last but not least, thank you to my fellow trip 2 participants for being so fun and awesome! I hope you all enjoy the rest of the evening and have a wonderful Yom Yachad experience together!

Aliza Kahan Speech

Hi Everyone,

My name is Aliza Kahan. I am really honored to speak tonight about Yad B’Yad because I’ve always had a strong connection to the special needs community. My brother Elie has autism, and although he is nonverbal, we’ve always had a special relationship. Over the past several years, Elie has started communicating on his Ipad. We are now better able to understand his wants, needs, and thoughts. There have been times when I have been down and have sat with Elie, pouring my heart out to him and asking him what he thinks about my friends, social situations, etc. He is quiet and comforting in his own unique way- no judgment – just a lot of love. The reality is that as I and my two other siblings, Ariel and Liana have gotten older, we have spent more time socializing with friends. This means having them over for meals and after meals on shabbat, or even for a full shabbos. We often hang out in the living room or den, while Elie quietly sits on a chair reading and listening to our conversations but of course not being able to contribute. Liana, Ariel, and I all have made efforts to point out his strengths and get our friends to notice him but we notice very little attention and interaction and we are often left feeling split – are we going to leave Elie alone and go elsewhere to socialize? Or are going to stay there making our friends feel a little awkward?

On Yad B’Yad thus far I’ve realized that the entire environment is built to answer these questions- providing a place where everyone can feel comfortable socializing, interacting, connecting and having fun with those around them. Aside from the incredible counselors and amazing friends I have made on Yad B’Yad, the programming is outstanding and it is doing exactly what I had hoped- teaching the world how to interact, socialize, benefit and enjoy strong relationships with people with different abilities. For example, finding a forest in the middle of the golan that is accessible for everyone to use the zipline, lip sync battles where everyone felt comfortable singing on stage, and weekly circles times where people show off their incredible rapping skills.

Now we have 77 participants and over 130 participants, if you count Trip 1 and 2, that share my experiences but even more importantly can be ambassadors to the rest of our communities- to lead by example and show the world how powerful inclusion is not only on a global scale but on a personal scale as well.

We all face challenges in our lives. The goal of Yachad is to have our challenges bring us together and not divide us. Let us continue to grow and strengthen ourselves from the meaningful relationships we have developed this summer. And thank you Yachad for helping us reach this goal.

I’ve been on many summer programs and camps before and while I always enjoy, I also feel excited to get back home and in routine. I literally can say I do not want to ever leave this experience and these powerful moments. I know this is an experience I will never forget and I feel so grateful to be having this experience with the incredible people on YBY Trip 2