In SULAM – even the end is perfect!

The end-of-the year "Receiving my first siddur" celebration in the SULAM center for special education is different from this same occasion in any other Jewish school in the world. When dealing with children with special needs, everything takes on a different meaning – a special meaning.

Standing before their parents were the children of the "shiluv" [integration] class operated by SULAM in the Ramat Eshkol neighborhood of Jerusalem, the most veteran framework of its type in Israel. The children all stood in a line, singing and moving in rhythm to the music being played. They recited their lines and smiled. In fact, they did all the things one would expect in an end-of-the-year Siddur party. But those who knew what an amazing process had transpired to make this event possible stood in awe; only months earlier these very children were unable to express themselves, to move freely, or coordinate as a group. Now, as they stood excitedly before their parents, singing and dancing, it was impossible not to gaze at them and burst with pride.

When Rabbi David Ernster, the executive director of SULAM, summed up the year for the parents, a paternal smile graced his face. He smiled in satisfaction at the children's amazing achievements over the year and in thanks for the many individualized therapy sessions they were provided.

Rabbi Haim Shmerler (the highly acclaimed director of the Shaarei Hora'a institution for religious writings), who was invited as the guest of honor to distribute the siddurim, could not hide his delight. He blessed them with these moving words: "these children have had to cope with so much, and could not imagine they would ever be able to read the siddur. For them this celebration is not just another expected benchmark of childhood. With the help of the Almighty and the efforts of those who have invested so much in teaching and treating them, may we all see them yet grow to greatness among the Jewish people."

The moving ceremony concluded with a visit to the Western Wall where each child opened his new siddur and prayed. May the special prayers of these special children all be fulfilled.