Laura
08-05-2008, 09:29 AM
http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2008/08/03/2008-08-03_brooklyn_man_overcomes_cerebral_palsy_fo.html
Brooklyn man overcomes cerebral palsy for bar mitzvah at age 44
BY MATTHEW LYSIAK and JANE H. FURSE
DAILY NEWS WRITERS
Sunday, August 3rd 2008, 11:10 PM
Adam Nicoletti honored his mother's dying wish, overcoming his cerebral palsy to celebrate his bar mitzvah at age 44. Pace for News
Adam Nicoletti honored his mother's dying wish, overcoming his cerebral palsy to celebrate his bar mitzvah at age 44.
Adam Nicoletti was determined to fulfill his mother's dying wish that he become a bar mitzvah boy - even if it took more than three extra decades to do it.
Nicoletti, 44, who has lived with cerebral palsy his whole life, Sunday led the congregation at the Menorah Home and Hospital in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn. in prayer for this Jewish rite of passage traditionally held at age 13.
"This is a very unusual event, but we are dealing with a very special individual," said Rabbi Shmuel Fischler.
"Adam has had his disadvantages, but he's fought through them. Adam presents a lesson for everyone."
Born with cerebral palsy into a family of 11 children, Nicoletti has lived in medical institutions his entire life.
He was unable to have a bar mitzvah at the traditional age because he was living in a nursing home and could not complete the rigorous religious study, said his sister, Susan Nicoletti, 50.
"This is amazing. I could cry," said Susan Nicoletti as she placed a yarmulke on his head.
"This is a very special day for me," said Adam Nicoletti. "I'm having my bar mitzvah as a way to honor my mother."
His mother, Sylvia, died three years ago at age 82, but even on her deathbed, she never gave up on her dream for her son.
"My mom would be very proud right now," Nicoletti said, crediting his sister Susan for spearheading the arrangements.
The ceremony drew a mixture of laughter and tears from dozens of relatives who had traveled from as far away as Florida and Tennessee.
Although Nicoletti may be well above bar mitzvah age, he is hardly the oldest person to undergo the ceremony.
It has become customary among some Jews for a man who has reached the age of 83 to celebrate a second bar mitzvah. They do so because a "normal life span" is 70 years, which makes an 83-year-old just 13 in a second lifetime.
Brooklyn man overcomes cerebral palsy for bar mitzvah at age 44
BY MATTHEW LYSIAK and JANE H. FURSE
DAILY NEWS WRITERS
Sunday, August 3rd 2008, 11:10 PM
Adam Nicoletti honored his mother's dying wish, overcoming his cerebral palsy to celebrate his bar mitzvah at age 44. Pace for News
Adam Nicoletti honored his mother's dying wish, overcoming his cerebral palsy to celebrate his bar mitzvah at age 44.
Adam Nicoletti was determined to fulfill his mother's dying wish that he become a bar mitzvah boy - even if it took more than three extra decades to do it.
Nicoletti, 44, who has lived with cerebral palsy his whole life, Sunday led the congregation at the Menorah Home and Hospital in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn. in prayer for this Jewish rite of passage traditionally held at age 13.
"This is a very unusual event, but we are dealing with a very special individual," said Rabbi Shmuel Fischler.
"Adam has had his disadvantages, but he's fought through them. Adam presents a lesson for everyone."
Born with cerebral palsy into a family of 11 children, Nicoletti has lived in medical institutions his entire life.
He was unable to have a bar mitzvah at the traditional age because he was living in a nursing home and could not complete the rigorous religious study, said his sister, Susan Nicoletti, 50.
"This is amazing. I could cry," said Susan Nicoletti as she placed a yarmulke on his head.
"This is a very special day for me," said Adam Nicoletti. "I'm having my bar mitzvah as a way to honor my mother."
His mother, Sylvia, died three years ago at age 82, but even on her deathbed, she never gave up on her dream for her son.
"My mom would be very proud right now," Nicoletti said, crediting his sister Susan for spearheading the arrangements.
The ceremony drew a mixture of laughter and tears from dozens of relatives who had traveled from as far away as Florida and Tennessee.
Although Nicoletti may be well above bar mitzvah age, he is hardly the oldest person to undergo the ceremony.
It has become customary among some Jews for a man who has reached the age of 83 to celebrate a second bar mitzvah. They do so because a "normal life span" is 70 years, which makes an 83-year-old just 13 in a second lifetime.