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Adam Berdichevsky at Paralympics ’24 Photo Credit | Keren Isaacson

You can view the original article here at www.melangeandco.com

For most elite wheelchair athletes, the road to the Paralympics involves years of intense physical and mental preparation. For Israeli tennis player Adam Berdichevsky, the year leading up to the recent Paris Paralympics was also a year of fighting off terrorists and multiple relocations. Despite these extraordinary challenges, Berdichevsky proudly represents his country and serves as a role model for people with disabilities on and off the court. His efforts continue to pay off.

Berdichevsky, 40, picked up wheelchair tennis after losing his left leg in a 2007 boating accident in Thailand. Berdichevsky and his then girlfriend (now wife), Hila, encountered a fierce storm.  Their vessel capsized, sending both in to the rough waters.   While saving Hila, Berdichevsky was reportedly sucked in to the engine, resulting in the loss of his leg.

In the years following the ordeal, the two married, Berdichevky became a mechanical engineer, and the family soon included three children. The family made their home on Kibbutz Nir Yitzchak, the same collective community where Adam grew up.  Life on the kibbutz was usually tranquil, though missile threats from Hamas were not uncommon given their proximity to Gaza.   Usually, the sounding of an alarm meant a short stay in the family’s safe room until the imminent threat passed.

A family selfie taken outdoors at sunset with a rocky, desert landscape in the background. The group consists of two adults and three children. The man in the foreground is holding the camera, smiling with the woman next to him leaning close. The three children, standing in front, are smiling happily, with one wearing a cap and another wearing a blue shirt. The sky is a warm, golden hue with the sun setting behind the distant mountains, creating a serene and joyful atmosphere.
Adam Berdichevsky and family

This all changed on October 7, 2023 when Hamas launched 4,300 rockets in to Israel and 6,000 Gazans breached the border into Israel in over 100 locations. On that day, 1,200 people were killed and approximately 250 were taken to Gaza as hostages. Israelis near the border hid and feared for their lives.  

 Adam and Hila Berdichevsky and their three children–ages six, eight, and ten- survived the Hamas invasion at Kibbutz Nir Yitzchak by remaining in a safe room and clutching the door handle for 14 hours to keep it shut.  Once the imminent danger passed, the family then relocated to Eilat (in the south of Israel) for two months.  

Berdichevsky’s friend and fellow Israeli wheelchair tennis player, Guy Sasson, had been living in Houston, Texas with his family at the time as part of his wife’s medical training. Sasson suggested that the Jewish community bring the Berdichevsky family to Houston during these difficult times. “We are so thankful to the Houston Jewish community who provided us with a home, a car and school for the children,” reports Berdichevsky. “We were very welcomed!”  

Two men in athletic gear, both seated in wheelchairs, are posing together outdoors on a paved area. They are both wearing blue shirts and have tennis racquets and sports gear attached to their wheelchairs. The man on the left, wearing a black cap, has a prosthetic leg visible and is smiling while resting one hand on his lap. The man on the right, wearing a white cap, extends his arm to rest a hand on his friend's arm. They appear to be at a sports venue, with metal barriers and a signboard visible in the background. Photo Credit: Credit -Keren Isaacson
Adam Berdichevsky and Guy Sasson | Photo Credit – Keren Isaacson

The family spent six months in Houston before returning to Eilat. Berdichevsky continues traveling around the world to tennis tournaments and the family is currently considering their next move, which may include returning to their adoptive community of Houston.

Berdichevsky shares, “I always loved tennis and also wanted to play a professional sport so the two naturally combined.” But he acknowledges that playing wheelchair tennis in light of recent events has presented some of the biggest mental challenges he has ever faced. “After learning that six hostages, including a former classmate, were murdered in the tunnels by Hamas, I had to compete in my Paralympic match—but it was incredibly difficult.”   

This served to further motivate and inspire Berdichevsky as he played tennis for his beloved Israel in the Paris Paralympics this past September. “I cannot say how much fun it was to represent my country like this,” reports Berdichevsky after his first round wheelchair tennis win in Paris. “The win, it was the first time I played in front of a crowd like this, and it felt like I played at home – it was very special. I was very happy I could give some good times to people amid all the bad days.”  

Earlier that same week, Berdichevsky served as the Israel delegations flag bearer. “The flag bearing was amazing, to walk with the whole Israel team was amazing – and everyone saw me on TV.” Berdichevsky lost his second-round match but he maintains his perspective given the ordeal he and his family survived on October 7th and the fate of so many others in his country. He observes, “It is much more important than ever to represent the country because of what happened and to be a model for all the soldiers who got injured.”  

And his advice to young people with disabilities: “Play a sport, whatever it is. It would make your life much happier.”

An adult with a prosthetic leg and a young child hold hands as they walk together on a rugged, desert-like trail under a clear blue sky. The adult is wearing a white T-shirt, red shorts, and black athletic shoes, while the child is dressed in a gray T-shirt, turquoise shorts, and sandals. They are walking away from the camera, creating a sense of connection and adventure against the natural landscape
Adam Berdichevsky and his son on a hike
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Jacob Sharff, wheelchair mechanic

You can read the original article here at www.melangeandco.com

While the top junior wheelchair singles and doubles tennis players in the world battle it out on court in the US Open Junior Wheelchair Championships in New York, a very attentive man sits in a wheelchair nearby with a large black toolbox on his lap. Jacob Sharff, the wheelchair mechanic and owner of How I Roll Sports: Adaptive Sports Equipment for Adaptive Athletes waits to be summoned by walkie talkie to courts where wheelchair matches are taking place. When he is called, the clock begins ticking. “I have 15 minutes to make a repair or the player has to default.”

Sharff proudly reports that he can fix a flat tire in 4 minutes. “That would give me 11 minutes if something else happens.” Sharff humbly reports, “My biggest worry is that I won’t be able to make the repair.” 

This has happened in past US Opens—when the top men and women players in two divisions—wheelchairs and quads—were also in town for the competition. This year, and every four years when the Paralympics take place, the US Open wheelchairs tournament takes a year off–though the prize money for those who would have participated is shared to help cover costs of travel and lodging.

Scharff laments an incident last year in the adult competition when a man in the quads division’s backrest post “cracked in half.” He reports sadly, “I couldn’t fix it—there were no parts.”

Sharff playfully reports, “I know how a firefighter must feel—we are either a hero or that guy who is always on edge, waiting!”

Sharff, a resident of West Palm Beach, Florida, didn’t set out to become a mechanic at the US Open and other pro and college wheelchair tennis events. When he became paralyzed and a wheelchair user after a car accident in 1999 at age 16, the now 42-year-old Sharff, who competes in paratriathlons around the world representing Team USA, discovered that the only source of sports equipment was medical supply companies. “You had to get your chair in the same place that sold catheters and hospital beds!” He began thinking, “How cool would it be if adaptive sports equipment could be sold in its own place?!” Sharff, who already owned the internet domain name howiroll.com—where he was blogging and sharing photos for what he describes as the “newly injured,” left his 9 to 5 job as a production coordinator at a tea company to start his own company in 2013. He reports, “20 to 25% of our business is international—I have sold to the Middle East, Australia and New Zealand!”

Several years ago, Sharff was approached to work at several university wheelchair tennis events and other USTA (United States Tennis Association) events. The USTA reports that it is “dedicated to providing top-flight programming and developmental opportunities to wheelchair athletes of all ages and backgrounds“ and invest in tournaments and player development.

Sharff can’t wait to be back in New York next year!

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After the experience, participants asked a single question: “When can we come back and do this again?”

View the original post on the Jewish News Syndicate

Volunteers on a disability inclusion trip sponsored by Birthright Israel, September 2024. Photo by Howard Blas.

(Oct. 8, 2024 / JNS) Eight days in Israel leading the first-ever Ramah Tikvah Birthright Israel Onward disabilities service trip provided insight into how a group of adults ages 21 to 41—all with intellectual and developmental disabilities (most on the autism spectrum)—are capable of connecting deeply with the Jewish homeland and its people, and of making important contributions through their volunteer efforts.

The delegation, all current participants or alumni of Ramah Tikvah disability inclusion programs, have spent many summers at Ramah camps, where they have forged ties with Israelis from their mishlachot (Israeli delegations), learned Israeli songs and dances, and grown to appreciate the importance of the Jewish state in their lives.

When the war with Hamas in Gaza broke last October following the Hamas terrorist attacks in southern Israel, participants in Ramah Tikvah programs began seeing community and family members—and friends from their respective camp communities—travel to Israel on service trips. They began to wonder if they might have a similar opportunity to contribute during Israel’s time of extreme need.

Perhaps Birthright Israel Onward would offer a solution?

Taglit Birthright Israel offers a dozen “classic” trips with necessary supports and accommodations for participants with mobility challenges, inflammatory bowel disorders and other medical issues, as well as an American Sign Language program, a trip for those in 12-step recovery programs and more. In addition, the Birthright Israel Onward program facilitates internships, fellowships, academic study and volunteer opportunities in Israel.

When I pitched the idea of a volunteer trip for people with disabilities, Onward Israel CEO Ilan Wagner immediately gave the green light. This group would need accommodations not usually provided to typical Birthright Israel Onward participants, including staff accompanying the group on the flight and 24/7 throughout the trip; three meals daily; hotel rather than group apartment accommodations; and additional structured activities once their morning of volunteering was over.

Last month, even as the war in the Gaza Strip and the hostage situation continued and with an escalation of war looming between Hezbollah in the north, 12 participants and four staff members boarded flights or took cars or trains from St. Louis, Detroit, Columbus, Minneapolis, Phoenix, Berkeley, Calgary, New Jersey and New Haven for flights to Israel. We arrived at a hotel in Tel Aviv ate dinner, got some rest and hit the ground running the next day.

Birthright Disability Inclusion Trip
Volunteers pack boxes on a disability inclusion trip sponsored by Birthright Israel, September 2024. Photo by Howard Blas.

We recited the Shehecheyanu prayer in honor of this pioneering trip and had morning services at the Nahum Gutman Mosaic Fountain in Tel Aviv. We then headed out—Bingo cards in hand—in search of various famous Tel Aviv landmarks on the Independence Trail. After lunch, we visited the Israel ParaSport Center in Ramat Gan. Our guide, Caroline, who was born paralyzed, is the No. 6 wheelchair table-tennis player in the world and shared what sports means to her. We also had a chance to watch Israel’s national wheelchair basketball team engage in a tough practice, and after speaking with team members, got to try out the specially designed chairs.

Then, it was off to a small Chabad shul in Tel Aviv to do our part for the Tzitzit for Tzahal project—an initiative to prepare 200,000 pairs of ritual army-green fringes for soldiers.

The next day saw us at Pitchon Lev: Breaking the Cycle of Poverty in Rishon Letzion, where we assembled 180 large boxes and filled each with diapers and four packs of wipes. Following our busy and satisfying morning of volunteering, we had lunch—pizza and grill were both exciting options for the hungry volunteers—before setting off for a special tour of the ANU Museum of the Jewish People on the campus of Tel Aviv University. After dinner, we ended our day with a rhythmic movement activity.

On Friday, we made a trip to Jerusalem so the few first-time visitors to Israel could visit the city. Everyone enjoyed shopping on Ben-Yehuda Street, riding EZRaider electric motorized vehicles, and touring the Old City and the Western Wall before heading back to Tel Aviv in time for prayers, Shabbat dinner and an Oneg Shabbat, complete with an UNO card-game marathon.

Shabbat started with morning prayers at the beach, followed by swimming in the Mediterranean, a walk, lunch and visits by Israeli friends and family members. We ended with a beautiful Havdalah service that reminded participants of the many similar ones at their respective camps.

On Sunday, we set off for the first of two days of olive picking at Harvest Helpers Leket Israel in Rishon Letzion. We learned that our olives would be made into olive oil for Israelis in need. Our participants once again felt a connection between their volunteer work and people receiving direct benefits.

Our afternoon visit to Hostage Square in Tel Aviv was quite emotional. We walked through a makeshift tunnel, looked at the empty Shabbat table and chairs (now under a sukkah) in tribute to the hostages, viewed art installations and purchased “Bring Them Home Now” shirts, dog tags and ribbons.

On Monday, in the middle of our breakfast, the staff learned that out of an abundance of caution as the situation in the north was heating up, we were being instructed by the Situation Monitoring Room to leave the hotel in under an hour and relocate to Jerusalem after our morning of olive-picking. Participants remained calm, adjusting to an abrupt change of plans (not usually easy for people with autism) and quickly packing up. Our scheduled culinary tour in Tel Aviv turned into a similar tour in Jerusalem’s Machane Yehuda open-air market, a walk through the adjoining Nachlaot neighborhood and a stop for some ice-cream.

Our last full day in Israel began at Pantry Packers, where we worked in four-person teams to pack peas and other dried goods for Israel’s needy. After putting on aprons and hairnets, two team members placed separate labels on bags, one operated the machine that dispensed the grains into bags, and one used the sealing machine. Our day—and rewarding week in Israel—began winding down with pizza and a swim party at a brand-new pool at a country club in Har Homa.

Birthright Disability Inclusion Trip
Volunteers outside a warehouse on a disability inclusion trip sponsored by Birthright Israel, September 2024. Photo by Howard Blas.

Back at the hotel, participants shared highlights of the trip. Annie thanked her “lovely roommate.” She added that “the trip was a good experience for me. I’m going to start crying.” Maddy, who noted that she volunteers thousands of hours per year, felt that the Israel ParaSport visit “got me thinking of physical disabilities in ways I never have.” Jesse felt a true sense of belonging he said he never felt at home. On Birthright, he said, “I feel like you guys were all my family.”

Our tour guide, Rotem, encouraged the group to go home and serve as ambassadors, sharing their experiences. The participants were unified in asking one question: “When can we come back and do this again?”

My hope is that the Jewish community will continue to create meaningful opportunities—in the United States, Canada and Israel—for adults who have both disabilities and amazing strengths, so as to be fully included and feel a sense of belonging.

Howard Blas

Howard Blas

Howard Blas is a social worker and special-education teacher by training. He teaches Jewish studies and bar/bat mitzvah to students with a range of disabilities, leads disability trips to Israel and writes regularly for many Jewish publications, including JNS.org.

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