Original Article Published On The Chabad.org

Collaboration between the Navy, Aleph Institute and the Orthodox Union

When Petty Officer 2nd Class Daniel DiLiscia sets out this month for two years on the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier, the nuclear engineer and electrician is hopeful that his kosher-food experience will be better than it was during his first five years in the military. DiLiscia has endured long periods both on land and at sea, where he described himself as a “starving serviceman.”

When he deployed on the USS Roosevelt just before Chanukah, 2020, kosher MREs (Meals, Ready to Eat—shelf-stable, self-contained food rations) did not arrive on the ship.

“From Chanukah until Pesach, I ate salad with beans and tuna from cans. Your mouth goes numb. I started to look for kosher hot sauce to put on it. I worked 20 hours a day, was malnourished and lost 35 pounds.”

As Passover approached, and DiLiscia and his shipmates were in the South China Sea, he was gearing up for a holiday without matzah and other kosher provisions. “The kosher kits were stuck in Australia,” he laments. “Three hours before Pesach, a Pesach miracle occurred—boxes and boxes of matzah and other food arrived!”

Thanks to a recent collaboration between the Navy, Chabad, the Aleph Institute and the Orthodox Union, eating nutritious kosher meals daily will be much easier for Jewish sailors on many of the 280 Navy vessels, which include aircraft carriers, cruisers and destroyers.

During the visits, and in months of interviews, Jewish sailors talked about the challenges and triumphs of keeping kosher.

New Agreements Cut Through Red Tape

While kosher food has technically been available for Jewish sailors for many years, sailors on board various naval vessels began sharing some of their frustrations and difficulties keeping kosher with Rabbi Elie Estrin, military personnel liaison for the Aleph Institute and editor of The Jewish-American Warrior.

“There was kosher food on ships before,” said Estrin. “The issue was how to provide each type of ship with a unique and workable system.” He points out that different types of ships have different systems, storage capacities and methods for restocking at sea, and that keeping kosher aboard a naval vessel involves complex logistics, including carefully scripted food menus, limited storage space and resupply opportunities, and strict fire-safety and food-handling measures necessary on the Navy’s ships. “We set out to bridge the gap and show the Navy that they have kosher food on board and that it is not difficult to solve.”

Standardizing New Systems With the Orthodox Union

After compiling feedback from kosher-observant sailors, Estrin patiently and systematically began to address the issues with the Navy in 2019. The process started with brainstorming sessions and phone conferences with the Navy’s senior Jewish chaplain, Cmdr. Aaron Kleinman, and a third individual, a Jewish Navy Supply Corps officer. They met with senior logistics officers who began studying the various problems and possibilities.

While these conversations did not resolve every issue, a significant breakthrough occurred when Rabbi Eli Eleff got involved. Eleff, rabbinic coordinator and community relations for OU Kosher—the world’s largest kosher supervisory agency—began consulting with Aleph on questions regarding military chaplaincy. Estrin quickly realized that Eleff had both the food systems knowledge and the organizational impact of the OU to move the process forward. A team got to work.

Eleff worked closely with Kleinman, who was now stationed at Norfolk Naval Station in Virginia, and other senior Navy officials at Atlantic Fleet Force Command. Kleinman obtained permission for Eleff and senior OU kashrut supervisor Rabbi Daniel Sharratt to tour three ships docked at Norfolk Naval Base, including the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, the amphibious assault vessel USS Bataan and the destroyer USS Cole. Chaplain Capt. Brian Stamm, Atlantic Fleet Force Command Chaplain, led the tour, accompanied by both Kleinman and Estrin.

“The professionalism of Rabbi Eleff and Rabbi Sharratt was incredible to observe,” says Estrin. “They clearly impressed the sailors, supply personnel and leadership of the ships with their understanding of food systems, clarity and sensitive investigative work, asking incisive questions and assessing the actual kosher possibilities from numerous angles.”

The work of the rabbis helped the Navy see that they were already on the road to providing a kosher experience to their sailors. The team found that 80% of dry foods and the fruits and vegetables used were already certified kosher or were inherently kosher.

In addition, it became clear to the senior Navy staff that complications arise when foods are prepared in kitchens that cannot be made kosher. The rabbis helped the Navy see that there were usually simple ways to allow sailors to enjoy three nutritious kosher meals each day aboard most Naval vessels—as long as there is good communication and clear explanations about the basics of kashrut.

The group toured three ships docked at Norfolk Naval Base, including the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, the amphibious assault vessel USS Bataan and the destroyer USS Cole.

A Comprehensive Report

Eleff and Sharratt next prepared a comprehensive report, which will be distributed to Naval supply officers, chaplains and Jewish sailors. It provides guidelines for requisitioning kosher supplies and how to use kosher meals on different classes of vessels.

Rabbi Aaron Lipskar, CEO of the Aleph Institute, says he is pleased with his organization’s role in helping meet Jewish service members’ needs. “Aleph is at the forefront of ensuring Jews who serve in the U.S. military are fully supported, materially and spiritually. This is a great win for Jews in the Navy, Coast Guard and Marine Corps, and it’s a great win for our country.”

DiLiscia is hopeful that his upcoming deployment will provide him with delicious and nutritious weekday, Sabbath and holiday foods. He will be at sea for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, where he will be leading the High Holiday prayers in addition to his electrician duties.

While DiLiscia is proud of his continuation of a family tradition of military service that goes back several generations, he says he relishes his time on land where he can daven and learn in person with Chabad. He says he takes his experiences with Chabad back on board, where he can influence other Jewish sailors.

“I hope my fellow sailors will have an easier time with it,” says DiLiscia. “A system to make kosher food available on board will transform not only our relationship with G‑d but also our professional relationships.”

“Everything they’ve done is appreciated not just in the abstract, but has improved my military experience practically,” he continues. “I am grateful that the U.S. Navy understands the desire of Jewish sailors to keep kosher and is willing to work to accommodate this basic element of Judaism.”

Read more

Original Article Published On Facebook

In three days at Camp Ramah in the Berkshires, I witnessed both a continuation and a wonderful evolution of a long Tikvah tradition. Tikvah’s founders, Herb and Barbara Greenberg, persevered as so many objected to a program providing inclusive overnight camping to children and young adults with disabilities. As the Greenbergs recount, people worried that “normal” campers would leave Ramah, the level of Hebrew—and the camps finances—would decline, and the overall structure of camp would suffer. Luckily, one director realized that including people with disabilities was very much in line with Ramah and Judaism’s values. Tikvah was born in 1970 at Camp Ramah in Glen Spey, NY and soon moved to Camp Ramah in New England in Palmer, MA.

I was lucky enough to begin my tenure with Tikvah and the Greenbergs in 1984. I have essentially never left. After decades working as a counselor, rosh edah and Tikvah director at Ramah New England, I have been privileged to direct our National Ramah Tikvah Network. In that capacity, I convene our Tikvah directors to share best practices and support each other. I also visit many camps each summer to see inclusion in action.

Coming to Ramah Berkshires this week was extra special. Our newest Tikvah program is now underway at Ramah Berkshires. Five boys with disabilities lived in bunk B3—next to neurotypical peers—where they participated in swimming, boating, zip lining, Jewish studies classes, cooking, rock wall climbing, sports and tons of socializing with peers.

As I watched staff members and campers of all ages interact with our campers— including with one who uses an augmented communication device–in the dining room, at tefillot and on the kikar—so many thoughts went through my mind. Interacting with and including people with disabilities seemed so natural. I felt hopeful for the future expansion of Tikvah and for the inclusion of campers and staff with a range of support needs and differences.Of course it helps that our Tikvah director, Elisheva Layman Salant, is also the Director of Community Care and Inclusion. Elisheva heads a large team charged with helping campers and staff receive the supports and accommodations they need to succeed. On a personal level, I felt like a proud parent watching Elisheva and her assistant, Elizabeth Chipkin, former head of the Breira inclusion program at work. The three of us have deep roots in Tikvah gong back decades.

When I arrived in Tikvah in the mid-1980s, I worked with Elisheva’s mother, a respected Jewish special educator in the Washington, DC area. Many years later, Elisheva was a counselor in my Tikvah Program. She then became a rosh edah, where my son worked for her in Tikvah. Elisheva has also had siblings work for me in Tikvah at Ramah New England.

Elizabeth Chipkin was our long time inclusion specialist at Ramah New England—arriving there in 2005. It is a great feeling of naches to watch them in action at Ramah Berkshires!

Elisheva has been working closely with Ramah Berkshires leadership to start our newest Tikvah Program. This year’s 12-day program will likely grow in to a one-month program for returning campers and will offer another short-term program for new campers. In the near future, a Tikvah building will support even more campers as they build friendships with peers from throughout the Ramah community.

The word is already getting out! In two days, we welcomed Jewish educators and funders who were excited to see Tikvah in action and spread the word. Another Tikvah counselor of mine from the late 1980s, Rebecca Wanatick, director of Disability Inclusion and Belonging for the Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest NJ came to visit—she attributes her decades long professional involvement in the Jewish disabilities inclusion world to her years working with Tikvah.

As we helped the Tikvah campers pack to go home, make memory books and share beautiful good byes with new friends—within Tikvah and throughout camp—I am envisioning a day in the not too distant future where Berkshires campers return to camp to work on Tikvah staff. It won’t be long before they launch careers as rabbis, therapists, business owners and funders—all dedicated to a more inclusive world!

Read more

Original Article Published On The Jerusalem Post

Yuval Wagner was an IDF pilot who became paralyzed after a helicopter crash. Now he runs the NGO Access Israel with the goal of making the Jewish state more accessible to people with disabilities.

A group of 29 adults with disabilities stood near a Cobra helicopter at Palmahim Airbase in Israel, mesmerized as Yuval Wagner recounted that fateful day in 1987 when the helicopter he was piloting abruptly crashed and left him paralyzed and his commander dead.

Wagner also explained how his new life as a paralyzed man with a desire to embrace life, travel and make his beloved country accessible for all, led to the creation of Access Israel, the Israeli NGO he founded nearly 25 years ago.

The former pilot, used to navigating Israel from the controls of a helicopter, now gets around with the help of a sophisticated electric wheelchair he operates with a joystick. He moves so quickly that it is hard to keep up with him. The community members from Chapel Haven in New Haven, Connecticut, Wagner’s guests at Palmahim, had to work hard to follow the fast-moving Wagner as he showed them the ins and outs of the base.

The group first toured the hangar housing Black Hawk helicopters and listened to mechanic “H” explain how engines are repaired and replaced. When the group later met young pilot “D,” they had a chance to board a Black Hawk and experience what it feels like for 18 people to cram into such a small space usually used to transport crew members, including pilots, mechanics and medics on rescue missions.

Wagner led the group from the Black Hawk hangar to the Cobra helicopter replica, which serves as a memorial to the events of March 18, 1987. Wagner began by giving the group a sense of what it means to be a pilot serving in the Israel Defense Forces and of the centrality of one’s aircraft.

Wagner holds the Access Israel logo. (credit: YUVAL WAGNER)

“It was my dream to fly Israel’s most advanced helicopter,” he told the group. “The time you become a pilot, you learn that you live not only with your wife or girlfriend, but with your aircraft too.”

The group gathered around Wagner in front of the helicopter as he recounted the story of the helicopter’s unexpected crash. 

“We were eight helicopters – four pairs of two. It was a beautiful day, and we took off from Palmahim on a training mission. We flew to the Dead Sea and from there made a turn north. A little before Beit She’an, the helicopter began shaking wildly, and suddenly we crashed in the fields.

“We fell from 400 meters [1,300 feet]. Lt.-Col. Zion Bar was killed immediately. He had a wife and three kids. I could not feel or see anything. There was mud in my eyes and I didn’t know if I was blind. I broke my neck and was taken by rescue helicopter to Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem and was between life and death. I eventually went to a rehabilitation hospital.”

The large group, standing around Wagner on this hot day didn’t make a sound as he recounted the impact of the crash on his life. 

“This is the second that life changes for you and your family. You have options. Where do you take your life from here? I chose to make the most of the situation and become stronger, to take a second that is terrible and make a life that is better, to make the most out of our lives, to enable people with disabilities and their families to live and do. It is tough. You can’t hide it.”

Wagner then recounted the issues he faced day to day in the aftermath of becoming paralyzed. 

The sudden challenges of becoming disabled

“The first challenges are medical. Then, how do I live with myself as a disabled person? How do I live my life with the thoughts, reactions and stigmas of others?” He then began to tell the story of how and why he created Access Israel. 

“I didn’t know about accessibility,” though he acknowledged having some experience, as he spent his life living with a disabled IDF father who also used a wheelchair.

“The next challenge was how to go out of the house. I got married and had three kids and wanted to go to a hotel in the Galilee.”

Yuval begins to tell the well-known story of how Access Israel got its start.

Wagner and family prepared for their first family vacation by taking steps to ensure the accommodations were fully accessible. They were in touch with the guesthouse about elevator size, door sizes of the room and bathroom and more. They were reassured it was accessible. Wagner stops the story mid-sentence and promises to tell the whole story later that evening when the group will gather for dinner in his home.

CHAPEL HAVEN community member Jonah Sabol found Yuval’s talk at Palmahim to be the highlight of a 10-day Israel trip. 

“That was an inspiring story. I can’t imagine what he must have been feeling,” he said.

Later that evening, at a poolside dinner at Wagner’s fully accessible Hod Hasharon home, Access Israel’s CEO Michal Rimon welcomed the group and told the longer version of the story of Wagner founding Access Israel.

“Twenty four years ago, Yuval went on vacation, and the door of the bathroom was too narrow to get his wheelchair in,” Rimon explained. “He had to make a choice between disappointing his family and going home or staying. The staff told him to go get a cup of coffee and worked to make the door frame bigger. When Yuval went home, he wrote a letter to Israel’s then-president Ezer Weizman.”

Wagner explained to the president and former pilot what had happened and expressed disappointment about Israel’s lack of accessibility. 

“A day later, I got a call back from the President’s Office. They said the President read the letter and wants to speak to me,” Wagner said. “After talking, he gave me the responsibility for starting an organization that would make Israel accessible in every way possible. And he told me to come back in six months to the President’s House with a report on the status of the organization.”

Rimon, who has heard and recounted this moving story dozens of times, succinctly shared Weizman’s message to Wagner with the group. 

“He said, ‘I apologize on behalf of Israel. Do something – establish an NGO and stop kvetching. And you have a six-month time table for the launch!” Access Israel was launched on the lawns of the President’s Residence in June 1999.

Wagner returned to the army to complete his service – now focusing on coding over flying – and worked with friends and colleagues to come up with a business plan to show the president. They began with work on a website to identify accessible and non-accessible places in Israel. They have continued in three areas: awareness, consulting to organizations, and legislation.

While Access Israel’s vision has always been to create a world where people with disabilities can live their lives with respect, equality and independence in all areas of life (including work, education, culture, travel and leisure, commerce, health and transportation,) the scope of their work has expanded over the years.

They work to raise awareness among decision-makers and engage the Knesset to initiate new legislation and regulations regarding accessibility. The organization also manages projects to implement accessibility.

A Feel Accessibility 2023 family event took place May 12 to raise awareness around accessibility, disabilities, sports, and people with disabilities in general. The educational and experiential event included a flotilla of sailboats and yachts, and helicopter and aircraft flights over the beaches of Tel Aviv, Jaffa and Herzliya.

In Israel, Access Israel has hosted international conferences on inclusion and accessibility and has rolled out the Purple Vest Israel initiative, which provides a toolkit for implementing preparations to evacuate and assist individuals with disabilities in emergency situations.

This initiative has expanded beyond Israel and has been implemented effectively at the Ukraine-Poland border. Since February 2022, participants have helped rescue 4,000 people with disabilities and the elderly, while providing support to 10,000 people by providing essential equipment and medications.

Online initiatives with an international focus include webinars on topics around disabilities, access and inclusion. Their May 24 webinar on Accessible Tourism, their 13th such event, attracted more than 200 people from 80 countries.

Despite Wagner’s extremely busy schedule, he finds time to keep up his connection to the air force and flying – and to connections with his comrades. In December 2021, Wagner had the opportunity to return to a helicopter – this time as a passenger – along with Noam Gershony, a fighter pilot and Israeli wheelchair tennis star who was also paralyzed in a helicopter crash.

Each Remembrance Day, Wagner joins the family of Zion Bar, his deceased comrade, on the beach for brunch. Bar left behind his wife, Naomi, and three children – Yaeli, Assaf, and Michali, all in their 20s now. 

“He loved the beach,” Wagner said. Each year on the anniversary of Bar’s death, Wagner visits the cemetery in Tel Aviv where Bar is buried.

Wagner’s professional colleagues are impressed with his drive and dedication. James Lassner, executive director of Accessibility Accelerator, an Access Israel partner, reported, “One who has the opportunity to meet Yuval gets to see the focused and dedicated commander of Access Israel that he is. As his collaborative partner, I get to see the same and I am blessed to see deeper into his golden and very caring heart. This mission we are on with him is to make a focused effort each day better than the day before for people with disabilities and the elderly.”

Catherine Sullivan-DeCarlo, vice president of admissions and marketing at Chapel Haven Schleifer Center, Inc., who got to know Wagner on her group’s recent trip to Israel, added, “I was deeply impressed with Yuval’s story and his determination to make his country more accessible. He turned a personal tragedy into a lifetime of advocacy and it is evident throughout Israel. We saw many historic sites that are being made accessible for people across the globe. I also was impressed that Yuval is still active with the Israel Air Force. Visiting the airbase and his home and experiencing the depth of his commitment was a deeply moving part of the trip for me.”

While Wagner runs a complex and very ambitious organization, it is all pretty simple. 

Wagner noted, “I came to a moment of acknowledgment that my life story, my fortune and luck to stay alive after the accident is for a reason – to make Israel fully accessible and inclusive for people with disabilities and their families and to share knowledge and best practices to the world.” ❖

Read more

Original Article Published On Camp Ramah Wisconsin

Thanks to a special partnership with Camp Ramah in Wisconsin, several Eagle River businesses are helping provide meaningful job training and work experiences for members of Atzmayim. Participants in this vocational program, serving young adults ages 18-22, come to breakfast each day dressed for work. They then head out to their jobs in our local community at Eagle River Roasters, Trigs grocery store and Walgreens pharmacy.

In past years, Atzmayim participants have also worked at a local children’s museum, toy store and resort. Some members of the program work at Camp Ramah. Charlie currently works in the kitchen and does dining room set up between breakfast and lunch. Andre, a graduate of Atzmayim, is a full summer salaried employee in the woodworking and arts departments. He proudly points out Adirondack chairs he has helped build, various things he has sewn, and hand washing signs he has made.

At Eagle River Roasters, Praveena works independent of a job coach.  She starts her day by tidying up the outdoor garden dining area. She then sweeps the floor of the roasting room, places labels on coffee bags and organizes shelves in the café gift shop.  Owner Daniel Beihoff, who has a nephew with autism, is pleased with Praveena’s work and with the long-standing relationship with Camp Ramah.  “We and our customers get a lot out of it.”  He and members of his team have come out to camp for meals and to see plays, his coffee is served in the dining hall and a special Ramah coffee blend is available for purchase at camp. “It takes a village. We are one big circle. We are all in this together and we all have something to offer!”

At Walgreen’s, Elijah and Nathan work with their Ramah job coaches as they sweep, stock, and perform the crucial job of “outdating.” They carefully check the expiration date of such products as candy, batteries and medicine and pull from shelves if they are too close to the date.

Four participants—Sasha, Nathaniel, Lily and Molly—work at Trig’s grocery store where they keep the freezer section clean, make sure “facing” of products on shelves is done properly and keep the dining area clean. Several participants assist cashiers with bagging groceries. Several proud participants were excited when they received tips from satisfied customers!

While learning a job skill is important, the “soft skills” of a job are equally important.  At the various job sites, employees learn to interact appropriately and professionally with customers. They learn to greet customers and answer questions, how to stay on task, sign in, use the break room, ask for assistance and dress professionally.   

It is our hope that the experience from these various work settings will help Atzmayim participants be “employment-ready” when they return home!

Read more