Dear BFL Families,
Last week we had 600 members and spouses come together for our annual BFL couples retreat – 600 people strong! I wish I could share the feeling of “achdut”- the unity and togetherness we all felt. Many couples came up to me personally to tell me that this weekend stays with them the entire year. It’s a rare time in life when your face literally hurts from smiling so much, but over the course of Shabbat that is what happened.
One of the most powerful and spontaneous moments was when we all danced together on Thursday night. One of our amazing members Dror K. rolled out to dance in his electric wheelchair. Dror was 23 when he was seriously injured in the 2nd Lebanon War and with the exception of his left arm was left paralyzed.
As Dror came out onto the dance floor, everyone immediately surrounded him and spontaneously lifted his wheelchair onto their shoulders. They elevated him onto the stage with the DJ to lead all 600 hundred of us. It was as if the greatest celebrity in Israel had just gotten on the stage, and it was a moment of pure joy for all of us. Thankfully, it was captured in this short clip.
Dror is married to his amazing wife Hila, and they recently had a beautiful son. Hila met Dror through his injury, as Hila originally worked with Dror in the capacity of a social worker before they fell in love. Someone pointed out that Dror means “Freedom” and Hila means “Halo”; that is exactly what they are for each other. They are role models for all of us at BFL, and through being around them, we learn that there is no such thing as “disability,” only challenges that can push us beyond what we thought possible.
Wishing all of you Shabbat Shalom from all of us in Israel,
Yaniv