April 28, 2012
Tazria/M’tzora, Leviticus 12:1-15:33
D'VAR TORAH 
Broken Pieces of God’s World
Billy Dreskin
Matan Koch is an old friend of mine who, nine years ago, was (what we used to refer to as) a “wheelchair-bound” law student at Harvard University. Today, he’s an attorney and senior federal official who’s still anchored to his wheelchair. While in law school, Matan jotted down some thoughts about his peculiar position in life. I spent a summer with Matan at the URJ Kutz Camp, and I saw how dependent he is on not only his wheelchair for mobility, but also on aides who help him eat, help him bathe, and help him go to the bathroom. With this as background, I think you’ll find his words extraordinary. He writes1 (in substance):
I didn’t ask to be lucky, didn’t ask to be one of the few persons with disabilities to get all of the services that I need. I am no less deserving than anyone else. Yet, what gives me trouble is that I am also no more deserving. “There but for the grace of God go I.” This rings through my head as I sit at my Vocational Rehab-purchased laptop reading about the tens of thousands just like me. Just like me, but not like me.
Maybe those with unmet needs were not uniquely “lucky” to have a disability that left them with full cognitive potential. Maybe their parents were not as tenacious or as well-educated or as committed as mine, if they were present at all. Maybe they were not blessed with a school system filled with individuals determined to find their abilities, and to help them grow into their full potentials. Maybe they did not find a University institutionally and individually committed to their success, complete with tens of thousands of dollars and hundreds of compassionate person-hours of expenditures. Maybe they did not find advocates and allies at every level of Social Services, people who shepherded them through the twists and turns of a system in which so many people fall through the cracks, despite best intentions. Maybe they just didn’t have my knack for being in the right place at the right time. So many maybes...
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