The spirit of Purim came early to the President’s Residence this week when Beit Issie Shapiro (BIS), for the 10th consecutive year, brought a group of youngsters, parents, and therapists to the President’s Residence as part of the Dreams Costume Initiative.
Both President Isaac Herzog and his wife Michal came out and greeted each of the young merry-makers individually, who seemed excited to make the journey from Beit Issie Shapiro in Ra’anana to Jerusalem.
Beit Issie Shapiro is one of the leading pioneers in disability treatments and has initiated innovative and effective therapies that enable children with disabilities to reach a far higher potential than was initially envisaged.
One of the key missions of BIS is inclusivity.
Towards this aim, members of its management and staff teamed up with designers to build Purim Dream costumes incorporating children’s mobility devices that helped to turn their wheelchairs into colorful and imaginative chariots – almost like robotic wheelchairs in disguise.
Michal Herzog leads the event
Herzog had another engagement, so after posing for photos with the children, their parents and therapists, he left his wife Michal to carry on with the event. Like BIS, Michal Herzog is a strong believer in inclusiveness, and as someone who previously managed philanthropic foundations, she is familiar with BIS and other organizations that work for the benefit of the weaker sectors of society.
She kept moving from child to child to talk to them. Arieli, a young boy with a colorful costume, was very listless despite the close attention he was receiving from his parents. He seemed disinclined to participate until Herzog reached him and began to sing a Purim song. His face immediately lit up and he joined her, then began talking and clapping his hands. The expressions of love and pride on his parents’ faces reflected the general atmosphere.
What was extremely interesting is that the children have learned to encourage each other, and as Herzog moved from child to child and each responded to her, the others applauded, and the parents looked as if they had just won the lottery. It is difficult for anyone who has not grown up in such a family to imagine what it takes to raise a child with a disability, or the joy that comes every time that child displays a sign of progress.
It also takes a lot to be a therapist treating children with disabilities and talking to them in such a way that they know that someone cares about them. Society is too often cruel in its attitude, but it certainly wasn’t so on Monday in the President’s Residence, where the outpouring of love was almost tangible.Accompanying the children and their parents were Hanna Yamin-Cherki, VP of professional services at BIS; Sasha Trump-Weiss, chair of the BIS board; and Chani Shmerling, educator and pedagogical coordinator at BIS.
Avital Grunberg, 14, Dream Costumes participant, former Beit Issie student and current member of its teen leadership group, chatted merrily to Herzog, whom she told that she was a kind of house mother to the younger children.
Grunberg was born with a physical disability rendering her unable to stand or walk unaided. The leadership roles that she has been given came her way not out of pity for her disability, but out of recognition for her ability.
Several years ago, the Holon Institute of Technology decided to partner with BIS in attempting to devise better mobility solutions for the children. This year it was joined by WIX, an Israeli software company that operates internationally.
Michal Herzog, in thanking the BIS management for once again organizing such an event, said that it brought a smile during a time of grief and bereavement.