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Shaina’s Brocha

The Blessings, Lessons & Challenges of life with BPAN

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Guest post- Shaina’s Saba

Guest post by Naomi (Shaina’s mom). Today (the 23rd of Adar) is my Saba (grandfather)’s first yartzeit. For me, it is a day of reflection- a time to appreciate who Saba was and how much he impacted my life. Saba was born in 1923 in Tarnopol, Poland. He was the youngest of a large, religious…

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Purim Skates

I might have been distracted when Sifiso asked me to sign the indemnity form. Naomi wasn’t as horrified as she should have been. She tells me she assumed I was mistakenly duplicating the document she had already completed for Yudi. Nope, I had signed off permission for Shaina to roller skate. You heard me. I green-lighted skates…

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Rare Disease Day

I had never heard of Rare Disease Day. Rare diseases used to be an abstract concept reserved for unfortunate people elsewhere. Now the 28th of February is marked in my calendar- an unusual date used to mark an odd day. Our family is new to the Rare Disease community, and we don’t know the rules…

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Fear of needles

I’m not afraid of needles. Injections, blood tests, I don’t love ‘em, but I’m not scared of them. As long as I’m the patient, I’m okay. I could never have entered the medical field because I can’t bear to watch someone else being pricked and prodded. Shaina’s earliest symptoms- long before we had heard of…

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Hi, I’m Rabbi Ari Shishler, husband to Naomi and father of eight wonderful children (ka”h).

Shaina is our youngest child. She has brought our family unique blessings, as her condition has brought us unique challenges.

Naomi & I founded and run the Chabad Strathavon Jewish Life Centre in Sandton, South Africa.

I am a passionate teacher, who tries to use every medium- writing, blogging, social media, video, lectures, radio etc. – to make spiritual ideals tangible. These days, much of my teaching centres on lessons we’re learning from our journey with Shaina.

Stay in touch with Shaina’s news and updates.