Anything Is Possible: What Miriam A”H Taught Us to Believe

When people first met Miriam Mintz A”H, they noticed how little she was. It did not take long to realize how truly huge she was.

Miriam lived with extraordinary confidence and independence. She learned to drive, earned her master’s degree, became a special educator, got married, and built real, lasting relationships with the people around her. She devoted her life to helping children who struggled with reading, but what she gave them went far beyond the skills inside a book.

She taught them to believe:

I can, even when it’s hard.
Believe in yourself, no matter what.
Always smile and keep a positive attitude.

In this episode, Morah Tziri speaks with Yossi Goldman, one of Miriam’s former students. Yossi has dyslexia, and reading has never come easily to him. But just 1 day before this conversation, after months of hard work, he stood at his Bar Mitzvah and read the entire parsha from the Torah.

Miriam was not physically there to see it. But everything she taught him was.

We also hear from Miriam’s brother, Naftali Fink, about the confidence, emunah, strength, and purpose that shaped her life. And Miriam’s young niece Shana shares her own sweet memories of an aunt who taught her, played with her, believed in her, and made her feel deeply loved.

This conversation is for every child who struggles with something, every parent trying to see the possibilities inside their child, and every teacher who may never fully know how far the lessons inside their classroom will travel.

You can take a break. You can ask for help. You can struggle.

And you can still do things you once thought were impossible.

This episode was sponsored by Naftali and Kayla Fink and family, l’ilui nishmas Miriam Mintz A”H. May her neshama have an aliyah, and may her beautiful legacy continue through every child who learns to believe in themselves.

Mentioned in this episode

Until Someday, the new InKredible Kids Tisha B’Av family film:
https://ikfilm.org

Whee Play by SR, premium playsets designed for years of backyard fun:
https://wheesr.com

Explore more from InKredible Kids:
https://inkrediblekids.org

Transcript

SPEAKER_08 0:00

Thank you. Welcome back to the next episode of Incredible First Podcast. My cool theory. Incredible stories. We are going to spare that stories. Some of them super cool and stuff like you've never heard before. Some of these days are just ordinary. All of them incredible. If you have great ideas, email me today at iKidspodcast at email.com. And now it's time for Inscredible Kids! Hi everyone. Welcome back to Incredible Kids. I'm so excited to be able to put out an episode. Not excited that it's the nine days right now, but excited to be able to give you something meaningful to hold on to during this time. And the timing couldn't be more perfect. Today's episode is going to give us all something to think about, especially at a time when we should be focusing on the meaning of life. That's it. Today's episode is sponsored by Naftali and Kayla Fink and family. Le Eloy Nishmas, a very special person, Naftali's sister. It is now going to be her second yard type, Miriam Basker Shon Pinchas Allah Shalom. She was known as Miriam Fink, also then known as Miriam Mint. The kids called her Mrs. Mint or Miss Fink before she was married. She has influenced many lives in the Baltimore community and beyond. Unfortunately, she's no longer with us, but her legacy is here and will last. We will meet her through people whose lives are forever changed from her. Miriam was 30 years old when she passed away. She lived with a condition that's called dwarfism. It's a condition that made her very, very short. In her case, she only grew to be about two feet tall. When people saw her for the first time, the first thing that they would notice is that she's noticeably very, very little. But it wouldn't take long for people to realize that the height was so non-important because she was, in fact, huge. You're gonna see her confidence, her independence. She learned how to drive. She went to college, she got a master's degree. I didn't get a master's degree. She became a special educator. She got married. She built meaningful, real, lasting relationships with everyone. She wanted kids who struggle with reading to master the skills so that they can dab in. Say kiddish one day at their Shabbos table, lean at the Haft Torah, the whole parsha at their bar mitzvah. And at the heart of everything, she really wanted each child to believe in themselves. That's what I want for all of you. And I just want to tell you a little bit about the Hashkacha Pratis. Hashem orchestrated every piece of this episode to come together in the most amazing way. Miriam's brother called me and said, It's almost Miriam's second yardside, and I would love to do an episode about teaching people what Miriam's wanted for every kid. Maybe you want to interview some old students. So I said, Is there anyone specific that comes to mind? And he said, Well, I don't know. I can ask my family, but you should know there was this picture that the Goldman family, who I don't know well, shared with us at Miriam's Shiva. It was a picture that they have at the entrance of their home in a big frame on that counter when you walk in. It's the first thing you see next to a nice, beautiful flower arrangement. And the photo is of Miriam at her wedding with the two Goldman boys who had her as a teacher. Of course, she was much shorter than them. And of course, their smiles were tremendous. But the words that were written, obviously testament to this amazing, incredible mom, Lonnie Goldman, the words read. And this is what they see every time they come into the house in bold letters. The most important things Mrs. Minnes taught us. And then three things. Number one, I can even when it's hard to do. Number two, believe in yourself no matter what. And number three, always smile and keep a positive attitude. And he said it meant a lot to our family to know that that was in someone's house and her students were carrying her messages beyond the years in her classroom. So I said, hey, I know the gold mints. I'll reach out and find out if any of their boys would think it's cool to be interviewed about their struggles and what Miriam helped them believe to be possible. So I reached out to Lonnie, thinking it was just a random Friday. And she said to me, Hey, how are you? This sounds amazing. We would love it. But I'm just a little busy right now because I'm literally in the middle of Yassi's bar mitzvah. I'm thinking, what does that even mean? And then she explained the night before was the big party, and they were going into Shabbos with the entire family coming to celebrate Yassi. And I said, Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry. Like this must be a really horrible time. And she said, No, no, no, no, no. This is an incredible opportunity. I can't believe it. Of old times to reach out. This is his bar mitzvah Shabbos. We keep talking about Miriam, thinking about Miriam throughout this whole thing. She's the only one missing from this simcha. And now we can kind of loop her into our simcha through this podcast. And it was just such an incredible, like I say, kiss from Hashem. Like, whoa. We planned that the interview would be on Sunday. Let him finish his bar mitzvah. Focus on getting ready for his big Shabbos. And that's how I went into the interview on Sunday. Really excited. Now, Yessi has dyslexia. Reading does not come easily to him. And at his bar mitzvah, he courageously, after much hard work, read the entire par shot. Miriam was not there with him physically, but everything she taught him was. Now before we get into this episode, I have a very exciting announcement. Well, it's not exciting that it's almost Tishabov, but if we have to have Tishabov, let's experience something meaningful together. I am so ready to tell you, Incredible Kids is releasing our newest full-length film called Until Someday. Someday, someday we will understand what we've been waiting for. Someday all of our issues will start making more sense, and our holem will be cured, and our pain will be alleviated. This is our biggest and most powerful film that I've ever put out. I had the privilege of literally stepping into the lives of three incredible families, and each one has their different personal gallus that they're going through. And each member of the family experiences it in a different way. You all know Libby, she's still waiting for a heart. So many of you ask me all the time, is it here yet? Is it here yet? We're still divening, we're still waiting with her. But her pain, her experience, her waiting looks very different than ours. And when you hear the kind of meaning that her family lives with every single day to get through this, your mind will be blown. And we all know Ozzie. Ozzie has a condition that's really horrendous. It's called muscular dystrophy. And he's touched all of our hearts. Every single one of us has been changed from hearing him on the podcast. And now comes the video that you've all been waiting for. I went to his house, I spent time with him and his family. It is literally life-changing. Wait till you hear how he imagines a she asked arrival. And then I went to a family who had a surprise when their youngest sister was born. She has Down syndrome and a lot of complex medical issues that kind of turned their home into a mini hospital. Each child reacted in a different way. It was really hard on all of them. But every single kid loves their sisters to meet. She is literally the highlight of their lives. These families taught me how we live while longing for something. How we could hope while we're hurting in a lot of pain. We know we're in a world that's not whole. But yidin don't just sit around waiting until someday coming this Tishabhav at ikfilm.org. And now come meet Yassi. Yassi, welcome to Incredible Kids. I'm so excited that you're here. Thank you. First of all, I have to attend a muzzle tub to your bar mitzvah. It's literally fresh from Bar mitzvah weekend yesterday.

SPEAKER_04 6:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_08 6:45

Tell us about it. Tell us about your bar mitzvah.

SPEAKER_01 6:47

Hi, Lane from the Torah. I got to dominari. Hanging out with a lot of my cousins from different places.

SPEAKER_08 6:53

Israel, Miami, Lakewood, from here. It's really nothing short of Hashkah Protest, how it happens to have been your bar mitzvah yesterday, but I didn't know it when I reached out to interview you. And we have a really beautiful story to tell together, you and I, Yassi.

SPEAKER_05 7:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_08 7:09

I'm very excited to see where our conversation takes us. And I'm very excited to learn more about you. So can you tell us all about yourself?

SPEAKER_01 7:16

Hi, I'm Yassi. I'm from Baltimore. I have five siblings. My favorite is Yellow. I like basketball. I like fishing. I enjoy playing with my friends.

SPEAKER_08 7:28

The basketball sounds pretty typical. I mean, typical, but cool. The fishing was like a little bit unique.

SPEAKER_01 7:33

Yeah, fishing a lot. Where do you go fishing? Um, Centennial Park. That's really fun. They catch a lot of fish. Even caught a turtle once.

SPEAKER_09 7:41

A turtle? Yes. On a fishing rod? No. With a net. Wow.

SPEAKER_08 7:46

Centennial Park was the one and only time I ever went fishing. Did you catch any fish? Did I catch a fish? Yes, I did. In fact, I was the only person who caught a fish. And I was with my brother, my cousin. It was like a men's trip, and I insisted on coming, and they're like, girls shouldn't go fishing. And I was like, I don't care. And so I came and they didn't give me a fishing rod. They were really mean to me. They only brought one fishing rod and they were all taking turns and they didn't give me a turn. So I was really upset. I was like, you know what? I don't care. I walked off to the side and I found a big stick. I found some extra fishing wire that like some other fisherman like left in the ground. I tied the fishing wire on the stick. I found a hook. These are people litter, so I used it to my advantage. And I made my own fishing rod with like a stick and a thing and a thing. I dug for a worm and I put the worm on the hook. Yes, it's kind of gross. I can't even believe I did it. And now I wouldn't dream of touching a worm, but I threaded the worm onto the hook. I think I wanted to do it so badly to like prove a point that like girls could go fishing, you know?

SPEAKER_05 8:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_08 8:40

And I stood there on the side. All these fishermen were like standing there and they're like, oh, it's a bad day for fishing. No catches today. And I'm just like standing there, and all of a sudden I'm like, it's tugging.

SPEAKER_09 8:51

I'll never forget.

SPEAKER_08 8:53

Reeled in this like fish, and like I just threw it back in because I freaked out and had no cool what to do with it. But everyone was like, Who's that girl? And then my brother and my cousin, no one caught a fish that day. They were all like so bummed, and I was so proud of myself.

SPEAKER_01 9:05

One of the first times I went fishing, we were just coming, and my father was like making my fishing rod, putting all the strings and everything together, and I found a big stick, and I found a yellow string. And some of the fishing rods come with like those little small fish, like tiny little plastic fish. And I decided I'm just gonna attach that because that we didn't have any bait. So I've got to be. Right, that's the point. And I yeah, and then I caught like a blue fish. Okay, I think it's called the bluegill. I just like fishing. I don't eat fish, I just catch them and throw them back into the water. I don't even know how to take them off the hook.

SPEAKER_08 9:55

It's not uncommon to find a fisherman who doesn't like to eat fish. Yeah. Like it's weird because you would think that oh, they probably eat fish every day, but no, a lot of them, it's just a chill. It's just a chill.

SPEAKER_01 10:04

Yeah, I I just like it.

SPEAKER_09 10:06

Are you like a hardcore chiller in general? I like to chill and play sports and I just like chilling and playing sports are very different.

SPEAKER_01 10:14

I like to have my chill time and my like playtime.

SPEAKER_08 10:18

I like that. It's great. Good for you. Well, I'm so excited to ask you some questions today about someone very special, and I want to hear your version of your own story, and we're gonna weave it together. So, just to give a little bit of background to how we got to you, Yassi. I got a very special phone call from a man named Mr. Fink. His kids are listeners, and him and his wife listened to the podcast too with the kids. And he said, I had a sister named Miriam. So he said, in honor of her second yardsite, it will now be two years since she passed away, tragically, so young and so missed by everyone. I wanna sponsor an episode for my sister's Nishama, but I don't want to just talk about my sister. I want to talk about my sister a little bit, but then I want the world, I want all of the incredible kids, and I want all of our families, and really like as many people in Claude as well as possible, to hear about her legacy, hear about the things that she did that we should continue in her memory. In order to do that, I want to hear what you have to say, Moritziri. So he told me a couple things about a special family in Baltimore, and he didn't say their name. And that family was you, which I found out afterwards, you and your brother and your mother and everyone in your family who remembers Miriam Fink, Miss Fink, and then Miriam Minz or Mrs. Mintz. You'll tell me how you referred to her at whatever stage before she got married. She was one thing. And I said, Well, why don't you just tell me who these kids are that you keep talking about who loved their teacher so much? And he said, Oh, they're the Goldmans. I said, I know the Goldmans. I'm gonna call their mother and find out. He kept telling me, Yes, he was just the craziest thing. He kept saying, My sister loved to show the boys, the boys who struggled with reading Hebrew and struggled with Kriya and it was hard for them. She loved to tell them, you're not just learning how to read for fun, you're learning how to read because especially if you're a boy, you're gonna go on to me kiddish and you're gonna go on to lean from the Torah, get a liyazan shul. You're gonna do special things with reading Hebrew, and I'm gonna be very celebrated. And then she would go and she would walk to the bar mitzvahs of her students, even if they were far, even if it was challenging for her to walk. And bar mitzvahs were very special for her, and she just had so much nahas from them. And then I texted her mother, like I'm quoting in my like quote finger quotes, like random, but nothing's random. It was crazy hashgaha. Your mother's like, Oh my gosh, I'm sure my son would love to be on the podcast. It's actually his bar mitzva tonight. And I'm like, What? His bar mitzvah? Like, one minute. And that guy who I was talking to is Miriam's brother, Miss Fink's brother, he doesn't even know you. He just knew, oh, they once said a story by the Shiva. He hasn't been keeping up with you. And then I said to your mother, I'm so sorry. I don't want to like get in the way of the bar mitzvah weekend. And she said, nope, yes, he's going to camp. This is the perfect time. And I just said the only person missing from this bar mitzvah celebration is Miss Fink, Mrs. Mintz, Miriam, whatever we referred to her. And so I'm so happy that you're here to help me tell her legacy to teach everyone about what you learned, Jesse. Walk me back to the beginning. What your earliest memories of you being in school and learning how to read.

SPEAKER_01 13:10

Yeah, in kindergarten I started and then I went to the learning center in first grade. And my learning center teacher was Mrs. Mints, and she always like came down to get us. She made it very exciting for us, and like she taught us the right way and did everything right, and she enjoyed it, and like she was like harder for it to work because she was a dwarf and like she got on her chair, she acted like a normal human. Like when I was in first grade, I was taller than her, but like she was like the tallest. She took care of like everybody in the learning center. She loved her job in the learning center and she never wanted to be done with it. Wow.

SPEAKER_08 13:51

So she was your teacher in first grade. Yeah. Okay. And by first grade, you were probably like a regular size first grader. A little on the shorter side. So you were one of the shorter boys, and yet you were still taller than Mrs. Mint. So she was already Mrs. Mintz by the time she was your teacher? No. No, she was Miss Fink then. Yeah, she was Ms. Fink. So she was still not married yet, and then she got married later on and became Mrs. Mintz. So if we use Miss Fink and Mrs. Mintz for the listener, it's the same person because she got married when you were in what grade? Third. Okay. What was the program called that you were in as part of TA? Lombane. Do you remember like the first time you got called out by her and you have a teacher who's shorter than you who has dwarfism? What was your reaction? Do you remember?

SPEAKER_01 14:33

I don't really remember, but I was probably like either this is gonna be really bad or really good. Okay.

SPEAKER_08 14:39

That's cool. You have like an open mind to things. Is that how you are in general about stuff? Not really. So what do you think was different here?

SPEAKER_01 14:45

It's like it was a teacher. That's mostly pretty much every teacher. So either you're getting a good teacher or a bad teacher.

SPEAKER_08 14:52

You never really know.

SPEAKER_01 14:53

You never actually know.

SPEAKER_08 14:55

You don't know. And by the way, sometimes the first time you look at a teacher, you're like, oh, I'm not gonna have a good year with this one, and it could end up being like one of your greatest teachers. And then also the opposite. Sometimes you think this game's gonna be a party, and then suddenly it's not. So you have to be patient with first impressions. Yeah. You mentioned before that you knew that she loved her job. How did you know that she loved her job?

SPEAKER_01 15:14

Because she like encouraged all the kids. She gave us lots of prizes and she like enjoyed giving up free time. Let's play a game and then we'll get back into the work. She like helped us do step to step. It's not like okay, you have to see let's go do this and then you can go. It's like, no, let's really work on it and then we'll get better and better at it.

SPEAKER_08 15:37

She broke it down for you and taught you like how you can get better. Well, I guess you were really little, obviously, before you had Miss Fink and she was helping you. But do you remember what it was like for you to try to learn in a regular classroom before you were in the learning center?

SPEAKER_01 15:51

In a regular classroom, it was different. In a regular classroom was like harder and like you have to keep up with everybody else and do different stuff. I had dyslexia, so like it was even harder than all of the other stuff. It was Did you know that you had dyslexia? I know.

SPEAKER_08 16:10

Like Like now you're so comfortable saying it, but did you know that when you were like in first grade?

SPEAKER_01 16:15

I think I got tested like halfway into the year of first grade.

SPEAKER_08 16:19

That makes sense. Yeah. That happens with a lot of kids. By the way, you'd be surprised. I mean, are you aware of like how many other kids you know that have dyslexia?

SPEAKER_01 16:26

Yeah, there's a lot of people that have dyslexia.

SPEAKER_08 16:29

There's like a lot of cool kids walking around with dyslexia.

SPEAKER_05 16:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_08 16:32

And adults. Yeah. And I think I think there always were. I think it's not like a new thing. I think it's just that people are realizing that it's okay to admit it. It shouldn't be embarrassing. It's the same thing as saying, like, I have a mosquito bite. I mean, it's not really, but like the same way, like it's fine to say that it shouldn't be embarrassing. And of course, if someone is embarrassed, they're entitled. You're allowed to hold in something if you don't want to share it. But it's just so common. And it was common for a while. It's just now we know how to help people with it. And then it's awesome. Okay, so I'm just blown away by the fact that you were open, like all you and all your friends. A lot of times when kids see somebody who looks different, whatever it is, whether it's because it's a very short person or whether it's because it's somebody who has a different color of skin or somebody who lost their hair for some reason. People stare, right? People are uncomfortable because it's just different. And it's cool that you were like, okay, whatever. This is my teacher. Did you ever notice other kids staring?

SPEAKER_01 17:24

There was definitely people that like looked at it and was like, Whoa, that person is not like us. There's people that were like that. But most people were like, Okay, she's there, and if we know her, we know her. If we don't, we don't. And how do you think she dealt with that? She just kept walking like a normal person. She drove like a normal person. She got on her chair like a little different, but everything was a little bit different by her, but like she acted very normal. In her head, she knew that she was a dwarf, but she acted like that she wasn't. Like she was like staying tall as us and did everything like us.

SPEAKER_08 17:59

Like she may have been small, but she wasn't acting small. She just up with everyone else, and if anything, like you said before, she was the one on top. Yeah, she was definitely one of the bigger people. The courage it takes to do that. Like to just climb up on a chair and teach a class of boys. So many people are scared to teach boys. I happen to love teaching boys. I think boys are great, but I know a lot of people are like, oh my gosh, boys, whatever. And like the way she could just walk into work and just be like, I'm here, hi to her co-workers. Like, I I know people who are her friends from like working with her, and they all said she was one of us, she's one of the teachers here, like in the staff.

SPEAKER_01 18:33

Yep, she was the same as everybody else, and she did everything like so.

SPEAKER_08 18:37

How would she get on a chair? Like, what would she do?

SPEAKER_01 18:39

She would like take her hands, push herself up, and climb up on a chair. And then like stand on it to teach you? She would either like depending on who she's teaching. Like me as a first grader when I was then, she sat down, and like when she needed to go on the desk, she would stand up. Like most of her was like standing up. Like it wasn't like sitting down a lot. It was mostly standing up and everything. But she was still probably my favorite teacher, and she still will be. First through third.

SPEAKER_08 19:16

Wow, that's really significant.

SPEAKER_01 19:18

I was gonna have her in fourth grade, but she passed away. So I got a different teacher.

SPEAKER_08 19:24

Wow, wow. And your older brother had her as well. Yeah. What's your brother's name? Shimmy. By the time you entered first grade, you probably already knew about her from Shimmy.

SPEAKER_01 19:32

Yeah. Like during COVID, she would even come to our house and my cousins would come. Like my mother and my aunt would go to work, and me and my cousins, we would watch ourselves, and Mrs. Miss Fink would also come and watch us while she was tutoring me, and she made us like a little color war and oh my gosh. Points and cookies, and we went to the bakery. It was like very fun and So she drove you around? Yeah. Something that I remember like very well. Like when she came, it was like who's gonna get her laptop and who's gonna help her out. Like we would all run to her car and open up the trunk, open the door and help her out and get the laptops and it was fun. Like when Miss Fink was coming, like everybody was like act normal. Like it wasn't like, my gosh, she's like not one of us. Let's start laughing. It wasn't like that. It was like, whoa, she's the boss.

SPEAKER_08 20:21

I love that, yes. Do you think you learned that from your parents?

SPEAKER_01 20:24

My parents definitely taught me not to make fun of her and everything because just because they had different sizes, they she knew more than a lot of people that were bigger than Whoa.

SPEAKER_08 20:35

I just want to go back to your dyslexia for a minute. Having dyslexia could be really, really, really hard. And for the listener who doesn't know much about dyslexia, we've discussed it many times on the podcast. But for someone who's perhaps a new listener or doesn't remember and needs a refresher, yes, you want to quickly explain what that is. I'm sure you're better at explaining it than me.

SPEAKER_01 20:54

It's kind of like people have a harder time reading. Sometimes words look different, letters look different, and sometimes they're a little better in Hebrew or the same words in Hebrew than English. I only read my first chapter book in like third grade, and Mrs. Mint's we went online and we got like these special types of books that would help you, and it was a challenge that you have to go through, and you're always in that challenge. But you can get better at it.

SPEAKER_08 21:22

Right. Like it's still hard for you now, but you have better skills probably.

SPEAKER_01 21:26

Yeah. That was like Mrs. Mint's like thing. Like you could either try going, keep going, or just stop and fail, or like try your hardest and everything.

SPEAKER_08 21:36

I think so many kids with dyslexia really try hard. Like they understand what it means to like work so hard, like focus all your energy so hard, especially when you're working like in small groups or one on one with a teacher. Like you don't have a break. You're just like trying, trying, trying, trying, and like you're still not reading a chapter book. You're reading like a word, two words. It feels so slow, like the process.

SPEAKER_01 21:58

Yeah, it's literally. What it is. Yeah. But Mrs. Mince helped me through. Like that's why I became the person who I am today because of her. Wow.

SPEAKER_08 22:07

I also feel like when you have a role model like her and you, Yassi, already looked up to her so much because of her strength that she showed that if she can tell you something, like try, try, try, you're gonna listen to her because she struggles in such a real way.

SPEAKER_01 22:21

Yeah, definitely. Like when I come downstairs, there's like right when we walk in, there's a little table and there's a picture frame of me and my older brother and Mrs. Mince at her wedding, and like it has little words like if you try and try harder and get there, and that's what Mrs. Mince reminded us all about.

SPEAKER_08 22:41

Wow. And it's still there at your front door two years after she passed.

SPEAKER_01 22:45

It's yeah, it's right there. I'm staring at it right now.

SPEAKER_08 22:48

Wow, it's amazing to have that reminder. I know by the way, that picture it went around like by the Shiva. I feel like your mother shared it and like people saw it, and it was amazing. It was so inspiring because you literally see in the picture just like Mrs. Mince at the time after she got married. Mrs. Mince married another person who was very small. I feel funny even saying they're very small because they're such big people. Big people, like big, huge people for us to look up to in so many ways. But yes, they are very short and small. And the wedding was like such a huge some fun Baltimore. Now, just to be honest, Yassi, I didn't really know her. I didn't. I didn't grow up in Baltimore, so like some of my friends knew her, but I heard so much about her. It was impossible to live in this town and not hear about her, especially after she passed away. But I feel so bad that I never got to be her friend. Like I'm actually jealous of you that you had such a close relationship with her. Like I know from so many people like that I know casual you have told me, Oh yes, I knew her, I knew her. They were like, Yeah, once you know her, she changed your life.

SPEAKER_01 23:41

Yes, Marie changed my life long.

SPEAKER_08 23:43

Wow. It's amazing what one person can do with what Hashem gave them, especially. It's really crazy. I have a question for you back about your early years with Mrs. Mintz helping you. What do you think for a child with dyslexia with learning issues, specifically with dyslexia, where they have a hard time with the reading and the writing and the spelling and all of that? What's like the hardest year of school for them or for you?

SPEAKER_01 24:03

I would say probably third grade, because at least in TA, it's like you have to do a book reporting and you have to like really read a lot. And that's when Mrs. Vince told me to do my first chapter book. It was Flat Stanley, and I still remember it.

SPEAKER_08 24:18

Gotta love Flat Stanley, that's great.

SPEAKER_01 24:21

By far the best books out there.

SPEAKER_08 24:23

They really are. Did she read the book out loud to you or did she get you to read it with her? Like, how did she do that?

SPEAKER_01 24:28

We switched off pages. It was like she started and then we kept switching off pages, and then we like typed it up into a little paragraph like what Flat Stanley did. It was basically like Mrs. Mince, but different. Like how he did his life. And Mrs. Mintz had no problem reading about it. Like, cause Mrs. Mints had something different. Flat Stanley had something different. And I like we were all normal human beings and Oh, you're saying like Mrs.

SPEAKER_08 24:55

Mince was similar to Flat Stanley.

SPEAKER_01 24:58

Yeah, but we all became the same.

SPEAKER_08 25:00

Hmm. That's very deep, Yassi. Everyone's like Flat Stanley all of a sudden. Everyone ha it's true. Flat Stanley had a struggle. What was the struggle? That he was flat. The bulletin board fell on him.

SPEAKER_01 25:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_08 25:10

And then he was different than everyone else. He was flat. He struggled because of that.

SPEAKER_01 25:13

Yeah, he struggled.

SPEAKER_08 25:14

You can learn from a lot of things. By the way, I'm very into like reading children's books and like getting things out of them that like I didn't think about many years ago. It's really fascinating. Look. Were you thinking about that then though, you think? Like in third grade? No, not really. It's more like your reflections now. Like, hmm, okay, that makes sense. Because that would be like really precocious. Like that would be like beyond if like in third grade you were doing that. Speaking of the word precocious, it's a very big vocabulary word. I don't know how I just remembered that word, but like, do you have a hard time like remembering words?

SPEAKER_01 25:41

Uh I don't have a hard time remembering words. It's like if I see them, I might not know how to pronounce it.

SPEAKER_08 25:48

But like you don't have a hard time like like identifying something like, oh, I know I'm supposed to know what that is, but I can't think of the word.

SPEAKER_01 25:53

Sometimes I would have that. Normally no, but sometimes that could have interesting.

SPEAKER_08 25:58

It just goes to show that all because one person has, let's say, dyslexia, because we were talking about that, where they have a hard time with different language things. One person might have a hard time with words like that, and the other person is totally fine, or it's not really a problem. Everyone is different at the end of the day. Even if you have the same challenge, it's really not the same. It's really not. We're all living our own lives.

SPEAKER_01 26:17

100%.

SPEAKER_08 26:18

It's very cool that you're willing to share it. I look up to you. I look up to you that you're comfortable talking about it. And I I have to ask the question. You just had a bar mitzvah. You're 13 years old, which is massive. It's such a big milestone. You're so proud to tell me you lean from the Torah. I know that many kids don't lean from the Torah, and many kids do. And it's fine no matter what. But it is a beautiful thing to do. Like, tell me about that accomplishment for you, because that sounds like a big deal.

SPEAKER_01 26:40

Well, I started a little earlier than most people would start, and like my father taught me and he encouraged me a lot to like lean. And then like you get very nervous, like that dawning of the chavez, and then like once you're up there, there's no like chicken you out, so you might as well do a really good job. And then like once you did a really good job, you're like, I worked so hard in that, like it's done, I want to do more. Really? Then I did Marv, and then I did Abdella, like then it just became easier.

SPEAKER_08 27:12

Wow, that's very impressive. Was the leaning for you more of like memorizing or you're actually reading it?

SPEAKER_01 27:17

Well, you memorized it and then you had to like follow along. I didn't memorize every single word to her. It's more like in between the Leos you would look at the chico and then like, okay, let me memorize this first couple-ups for game and then just zip through it.

SPEAKER_08 27:33

You needed those reminders. Yeah, I'm up to that. Yeah. Did you make any mistakes?

SPEAKER_01 27:37

I corrected myself on a mistake, but that's pretty much it.

SPEAKER_08 27:41

Wow.

SPEAKER_01 27:42

I like lost the place like twice.

SPEAKER_08 27:44

And what happened then you lost the place? Like someone helped you find it?

SPEAKER_01 27:47

Yeah, I just stopped and then I quickly looked, and then my father like tapped.

SPEAKER_08 27:54

Wow. It's such a pressure. It's so pressurizing.

SPEAKER_01 27:56

Well, you don't really look around. You just do it as if you back in front of the people that you're leaning that got called up and the people that are the god by him and all the people that help out with the Torah, and then just me and my father.

SPEAKER_08 28:10

So you weren't thinking about the fact that the whole show was filled with people?

SPEAKER_01 28:14

Not really, because it was mostly friends. Okay. Friends, family, and the people that are there. Every shop is so. If I made a mistake, it wouldn't have been like, My gosh, that's horrible.

SPEAKER_08 28:24

Right. If Mrs. Mint was there, what do you think she would have told you after divening?

SPEAKER_01 28:28

She probably would have been like very great job and better than a lot of other people would do it, and she would be very happy. Like the way that she walks, we're like, if there's a simcha that she could be a part of, she's a part of it. She loves being a part of simchas and she enjoys being there, watching it. She watched me grow since first grade. Like, if she was there, she would have been like, My gosh, she did like very, very, very well. She would have been on and on about how good I went and I wish she was there.

SPEAKER_08 29:01

Was there any moment during the Bar Mitzvah that you thought of her?

SPEAKER_01 29:04

Well, I got my boba on when I was dancing, when my mother was standing there with all my cousins. You could just like would have saw like she would would have been staying there right next to my mother. Yeah, see, that's next level.

SPEAKER_08 29:17

On your part, it shows the Hakara Satov that you have. That you realize that we don't get to where we are from nothing. I mean, yes, you worked so hard. You should be proud of yourself. You should be hugging yourself and kissing your brain and patting yourself with two hands on the back from each shoulder. At the same time, like you you're doing it. Oh, amazing. Yes, you really should be. But at the same time, it's I'm so like inspired that that's really what was on your mind. Like, I'm like, are you saying this to make me happy? Because like you don't have to. Wow, oh my gosh. Did Mrs. Mint have any expressions that she would say a lot? Like certain things that were so her to say? I was trying to help me like know her. Was she always saying like good job? Like, was there anything that like was her line?

SPEAKER_01 30:01

She always would tell us how we did good jobs, and like if we didn't do a good job, she would always say, like, try again.

SPEAKER_08 30:09

Like that's it. Next year you'll be in seventh grade and then eighth grade, and then it will be high school or masifta, whatever they call it. The learning probably gets a little harder, and the reading. So you have your Hebrew subjects and your English subjects. And like you said in the beginning, it's still a challenge. Even if you know how to have better skills and tools, it still could be really hard for a kid who struggles with reading to take on new challenges. You kind of know things will get harder as you get older for Hashem. It's great to grow up. What's your thought process in pushing through? Like how how are you gonna make it? Because I know you will make it and you know it too. I know you know it.

SPEAKER_01 30:41

Well, I probably try and study with like all the tests and everything. It was hard to make it through this year because since I was one of the bar mitzvahs, like my Rebbe helped me out, like do all the finals because finals are at the same time. But my Rebbe pushed the finals off, and it's difficult because my bar mitzvah simply can't like it's a really hard time to like worry about finals. It was definitely hard.

SPEAKER_08 31:05

What are you gonna take through through? Like, what's gonna be your mantra? What are you gonna keep telling yourself when things get hard?

SPEAKER_01 31:10

If I quit, then it's like over, then I'm done. But if I don't quit, then I can even better.

SPEAKER_08 31:16

Well, I'll add something to that. If you quit, you could just go fishing and come back, right? Like you could take a break. It's okay.

SPEAKER_01 31:23

Yeah, you could always take breaks.

SPEAKER_08 31:24

People don't realize, especially hard workers, sometimes they feel like if they stop, then they're done. It's okay. Like sometimes we just need to give ourselves room to breathe. And I think that most adults understand that. If you say, like, I just need a break. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 31:37

Yeah, a lot of people need breaks.

SPEAKER_08 31:39

It sounds like you know yourself very well. So when you know yourself and you know that with a break, you could actually get the energy you need to do more later, then take that break. Tell someone that you need it because if you just try, you're gonna burn out. Burning out is like the worst feeling. Yeah. It's like a car that's like overheated and it just wants to explode. No one feels good like that. Yeah. Yesie, is there anything else that you feel like you would want to share about your own experience or something that has to do with Mrs. Mint's?

SPEAKER_01 32:05

Well, one of my first days with Mrs. Mintz, my older brother came to visit the learning center, and we took a break like outside on THERE. And then he tackled me, and Mrs. Mintz took a picture, so I have that picture like hanged up. That's one of the memories that I have of Mrs. Mintz and my brother. Take breaks and have fun. She always liked to help us in her mind. There was no failing. It was always like, I'll get you this and I'll get you this, and then we'll keep going. It was not like, okay, you're done for today, you can go back 25 minutes early. It's like take a 10-minute break, and then the last 15 minutes we'll keep working.

SPEAKER_08 32:45

Well, here's what I think, Gassie. What I'm learning from you right now is that you were very lucky to have a teacher who is very rare. There's many special teachers out there. There's many teachers who put on a lot of work and love their job, like Mrs. Mintz. You were lucky to have a special one who really her whole life was about her students. And I've heard this from so many people. You're the first student I ever spoke to who had her a few years ago, and it's still so fresh in your mind. Like I could tell. It's almost like she was, I don't want to say second mother because your mother's such an amazing mother, but she cared about you a lot.

SPEAKER_01 33:14

And you knew she was there. Like she was always there to help us. And like in school, she was like my mother.

SPEAKER_08 33:20

It's amazing to have that. I know as a mother that if my child was in school and had a teacher or a staff member in the school that they felt like was their mother in school, like somebody who they felt that comfortable with to help them and to guide them and to tell them that they need a break and all that kind of stuff, I would feel so good to know that. It's such a gift. It's such a gift that you had it, and it's so hard. I can't even imagine how hard that was for you when she tragically was Neftaris. Like that must have been awful.

SPEAKER_01 33:45

Yeah, it was really Yeah.

SPEAKER_08 33:47

And you got to be at her wedding.

SPEAKER_01 33:49

Yeah, that was like a big thing. You could just tell after the khapa, they both went on like spinny chairs. You could just tell the smile on their faces were out of this one.

SPEAKER_08 34:01

You got to witness like real happiness. True samcha.

SPEAKER_01 34:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_08 34:04

Did you ever get to know her husband?

SPEAKER_01 34:06

I met him at the wedding and like I'm friendly with him. Like, I don't like call him up and just like if he's here, I'll talk to him. Like I know him, but it's different.

SPEAKER_08 34:16

Yeah. You mentioned that she would come over during COVID and kind of like babysit and also teach you guys and also take you places. I feel like the bonds that people made during that time when everyone was quarantined and everything, it's like a whole nother level of closeness. You know what I'm saying?

SPEAKER_01 34:30

It was fun those times.

SPEAKER_08 34:32

In a weird way, it was a fun time. Yeah. Thank you for sharing of yourself. Thank you for teaching us about Mrs. Mintz, her nishama Shahevan Aliyah, and you, Yassi, should be one of the special slikem of Miriam of Hashem. But you know, through what Miriam taught you, what Mrs. Mince taught you. I keep saying all the different names that she was referred to by. Who knows, Yassi? Maybe one day you'll be able to continue the change that she started.

SPEAKER_09 34:54

Okay. Thanks for joining us. Thank you for having us. Have a good night and have the best summer in camp.

SPEAKER_08 35:00

Bye. One of the many messages I got out of meeting Yassi was the impact of a teacher. It's not about what happens inside the classroom. It is about that, but it's much more than that. Years later, the lessons, the belief, the feeling that you got in that classroom affects your life. It might happen at a milestone, like a graduation, becoming a parent, becoming a grandparent, showing up at your first job. Because that child that you are right now will one day be there and you will know I can do this. I can take a break if I need, but I'm not giving up. I'm unstoppable. So stay tuned because we're gonna hear from Miriam's brother Naftelli, who knows her better probably than most other people, and his adorable daughter Shauna, who absolutely adored her Aunt Miriam. Before we continue, let's take a quick break to hear from our sponsor, We Play by SR.

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SPEAKER_08 37:50

And now here is my conversation with Naftali Fink. I'm so excited to have you with us here today. We've already heard from one of Meram's former students, Yassi. Now we have the chance to speak with you, Miriam's brother. Obviously, Miriam meant a great deal to you. First, I'd love to hear you introduce yourself, and then we'll get to know more about Miriam as well.

SPEAKER_00 38:10

So I'm Naftali Fink. I am Miriam's oldest brother. Miriam was one of five, being the oldest, especially, I knew her for the longest. I'm the father of two beautiful kids, Shauna, who is nine and Dovey, who is four.

SPEAKER_08 38:24

Do you have any cool hobbies?

SPEAKER_00 38:26

I wish I could ride a scooter as well as my son Dove and sing as well as my daughter Shauna.

SPEAKER_08 38:30

Any cool collections?

SPEAKER_00 38:31

When I was a kid, I had a ticket collection. They used to go out raffle tickets and I would collect them to see if I could find any that were unique.

SPEAKER_08 38:38

Cool. Were there?

SPEAKER_00 38:39

Nope. They all looked exactly the same. After I came back from Yeshiva, after I got married, I threw them all out.

SPEAKER_08 38:44

Wow. Collecting things is fun. I think it's a lost art. That's why I ask people sometimes. As a kid, I collected a lot of random stuff. I collected napkins at one point. You need something interesting to think about and look forward to. And sometimes they, like you said, they don't really get you anywhere, but it's like your first form of experimentation. Okay, so let's go back to the beginning days. How old were you when Miriam was born?

SPEAKER_00 39:05

I was four when Miriam was born. I actually don't remember when Miriam was born.

SPEAKER_08 39:09

Makes sense.

SPEAKER_00 39:10

It took a while to realize that anything was really different about Miriam because my parents, as much as Miriam needed more attention, there was definitely things that were unique about her medically. My parents treated each of us the same. She couldn't necessarily reach certain things. Whatever she was able to do, whatever was within her abilities, Miriam was expected to do, and she did very well. That's part of what helped Miriam become very independent. She got herself through Base Yakov through the crowded hallways when she was much smaller than everybody else, learning her stature. Got through elementary school, high school, seminary, public transportation to get everywhere she needed to go, taught herself how to drive, went to college, got her master's degree, started as a FIA tutor in TA, worked her way up to becoming a special educator in TA, to a lead special educator, training other staff who had many more years of experience than she had, never made any excuses, she just kept on going. She didn't want to be looked at as any different than anybody else. She didn't wasn't interested in any special treatment. She said, No reason why I should be any different, and I'm gonna be able to achieve the same things and more.

SPEAKER_08 40:15

Wow, that's amazing. What are your earliest memories of realizing that she was different than other people by how she looked, besides the other medical complications?

SPEAKER_00 40:25

The way that my parents always described her was that she's very delicate. While we would sometimes beat each other up, as kids tend to do sometimes.

SPEAKER_08 40:33

No way, really?

SPEAKER_00 40:34

My parents always said Miriam is very delicate and you need to be careful around her. And that's something that we always remembered. We may have done the things that kids do to each other, but we would never do that to Miriam. I remember as we were growing up, my parents would tell us Miriam was having surgeries. Of course, in our younger age, we didn't really understand exactly what that meant, but it would just be part of our childhood that we would spend Wednesday night at the hospital with Miriam. We would go and visit her. I think we all enjoyed getting the little shots to Coca-Cola's there. That was kind of our reward for going to visit the hospital and spend time with Miriam. But the truth is, without us even realizing at that age, we were really getting so much physic from her, seeing what she was going through, how she kept a positive attitude despite the tremendous challenges she was facing. Often she was in a lot of pain. She would always say, look forward to seeing you when I get home.

SPEAKER_08 41:23

It's very hard to grow up with a sibling that has something that's unique about them for a lot of reasons. Obviously, many people listening have no idea how Miriam looked. The first thing you would notice when you saw Miriam to a stranger may be her height, because she was much shorter than everybody else. Can you just describe what exactly her condition was?

SPEAKER_00 41:42

So a Miriam had a form called dwarfism that looked different in different individuals who have that condition. But for Miriam, she was very, very short. She stood probably up to my knee. So she was approximately two feet tall. A lot of people would look at her, would look strange. She looked like a child, but she was an adult. And she dressed like an adult and talked like an adult and acted like an adult. In fact, she was a teacher. When she would walk into the room the first day of school and she was working with the student, the student would often be a little confused because she looked kind of like them, but she acted like an adult. In some ways, it was a little bit uncomfortable for the student as well because they didn't even know what to say. And sometimes students did say things. They were confused. Sometimes a child doesn't always know the right way to say something, and no adults either. Right, that's true.

SPEAKER_08 42:30

Sometimes how are they supposed to know? Exactly.

SPEAKER_00 42:33

Right. Mir would just take it in stride if Miriam realized that they could benefit from an explanation. They wanted to know more. Mere sometimes we would go into a little bit of detail and talk about her condition, what it feels like a little bit. That would make them comfortable.

SPEAKER_08 42:47

She would share with them why she looked the way she is. So that they're not going to be able to do that.

SPEAKER_00 42:51

Why she was here with them, and that would make that would make them more comfortable.

SPEAKER_08 42:54

Do you have any idea of how she developed that kind of confidence, that kind of comfort with herself to be able to just say, I get it, you're looking at me funny, I'm different, but I'm a regular normal person. Like, where did that come from? How did she feel so comfortable with herself?

SPEAKER_00 43:09

I think that she was naturally confident. She understood the abilities that Hashem gave her. She had tremendous intellect. She was very, very smart. She realized I'm going to use the co-host, the strengths that Hashem gave me, and I'm going to make the best of them. And I think that the belief in the abilities that Hashem gave her, and also just her trust, her Amun and Bitahon, that Hashem was gonna look out for her. And Hashem really did. Hashem gave me this condition for a reason. She was able to move forward. And you see how much she accomplished in this world in such a short amount of time.

SPEAKER_08 43:41

Yeah. I mean, you mentioned that she even went to seminary. Like, of course, it's a very big thing that she survived and thrived in elementary school and in high school. And then seminary, like to me, is like when a teenage girl, and maybe for boys, yeshiva could be the same, but I can only speak as a woman. I feel like that's such a time where everybody's so worried about what people think of them. I'm imagining her going onto the airplane and sitting with strangers, everyone kind of giving her funny looks, whether they mean it or not, and then adjusting to seminary like with all of the regular issues that people go through. And it's just so inspiring to think that people can get to that level of being so comfortable with themselves. It's such an important thing for us to all work on. When one person is confident, it's kind of contagious. If somebody was her friend and they're like, wow, look at her. She can show up to classes, ask for help to reach something. I mentioned to you, Nafeli, that I was once at a Kiddish with her and I didn't really know her. We didn't really dive in at the same show. But one time I was at a Kiddish on Chavez and she needed to reach something. She was two feet tall. She could not reach the table where the food was. Even the kids could reach the things on the table. And I watched her ask someone to get her some challenge. It was just like, excuse me, do you mind getting me a bowl of challenge I can't reach? Like a normal request. And the person very nicely gave it to her. But the way she asked showed me how confident she was, and it made me think without knowing anything about her, like, wow, so many times I'm nervous to say something to someone I don't know. And if she can do it, I can do it. Like that was just what went through my head. So I can't even imagine for her classmates and her teachers and then her students and everyone and her siblings. I'm sure you could go on and on about it yourself.

SPEAKER_00 45:16

Yeah. When a person wants something, sometimes it could be uncomfortable. Should I ask them? Should I not ask them? Very uncomfortable. No problem asking. There was no embarrassment. She knew if Hashem put me in this world in the condition that I'm in, then Hashem also put people in this world who could help me. Of course, she asked in a very nice way, and she was very thankful when people did help her. But in some ways, that also brought her closer to other people. She was comfortable being around them, and that made them comfortable being around her.

SPEAKER_08 45:42

Wow. Wow. That's amazing. Do you know why she decided to help kids with reading? Why was that her thing?

SPEAKER_00 45:47

So Miriam was blessed with tremendous intellect. She had a summer internship at the NSA, the National Security Agency, a very prestigious internship. She worked there over the summer. When she finished, they were so impressed with her work. They said, We'd like to offer you a permanent position in the NSA. And she said, Well, I'm going to seminary and be off for a year. They said, Don't worry, we'll hold it for you.

SPEAKER_08 46:07

You can't say what you do because it's like so top secret. Is that it?

SPEAKER_00 46:11

One of those types of places.

SPEAKER_08 46:12

Like that type of thing. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 46:13

That type of thing. Yeah. So she actually stayed for a second year. The summer after that, she came back. She was going to go back to the job. She was going to get her degree in computers. And she went to the university. The first day she sat in the room. She looked around and she said, I could make a lot of money for myself, but that's just something that'll help me in this world. I'm not looking to live a life of luxury. At that point, she didn't know whether she would get married or have children. She said, What could possibly be more important than helping a Jewish boy learn how to read? I want a boy who eventually is going to turn into a man to be able to confidently stay kiddish at his shabbas table. Read or pronounce all the words correctly, clearly. That's a lot more important to me. She came home, she said to my parents, I'm dropping out of this program. I'm going to work in a school and get a degree in education instead.

SPEAKER_08 47:02

She would have made much more money if she did it the other way.

SPEAKER_00 47:05

Much more money had she gone in that direction. She said, This is something that's more important. This is eternal. Not just for this kid to be able to read and be confident. This generations after that, she became a Priya tutor. She also took classes at night at college, her master's degree in special education. She had her own class, worked with kids in the learning center at TA. And of course, she taught them the subjects in school. But most importantly, she taught them to believe in themselves. That was the greatest gift that she gave them.

SPEAKER_08 47:34

There's so many people that I know that are adults who struggled with reading when they were kids and did not have a teacher like Miriam. We have to realize that 20 years ago, 30 years ago, we didn't really know how to help these kids like we know now. But Al Hashem, we have so many amazing programs and teachers. Such a major thing, the opposite. Meaning these people, they maybe didn't have that. And so today they struggle with feeling good about themselves. And then that makes them make bad choices about other things in their life. When you have a person who can be that person for you, give you confidence. And I can't even imagine a better person to show confidence than Miriam. For her to be the very one who pushes you along, I'm sure was like double amazing for the students.

SPEAKER_00 48:15

I think that one of the things that gave the students confidence was seeing Miriam walk in, serrated, just take on whatever it was. And the belief that she had in herself that Miriam had a special ability. She was a type who had the ability to be an excellent teacher from the time that she was five years old. But in her condition to have this confidence in herself, it extended to the kids. That itself gave them confidence.

SPEAKER_08 48:36

And she was funny too, right? Didn't she have like a funny like personality?

SPEAKER_00 48:39

She had a funny sense of humor as well. She was able to connect. She was very personable.

SPEAKER_08 48:44

When kids realize, or adults or anybody, when people realize that other people who have challenges that make them look different on the outside, when they realize that they have that like funny sense of humor, or just like, maybe it's not even funny. But when they start to see that their feelings are similar to their feelings, then what's on the inside is so easy to connect with, then suddenly the things on the outside just stop making a difference at all. And you almost forget about it.

SPEAKER_00 49:06

There was one kid in particular who was very challenging. He had reading issues, behavioral issues. I recently bumped into him. I see what he is now. He ultimately got into a very prestigious yeshiva. Years and years later, he said, I really owe this to Ms. Fink. Without Ms. Fink, I would not have gotten the confidence that I needed and ultimately got into this yeshiva. At this point, Miriam's already had students who have gotten married as well. They're having children of their own. As they're raising their children, they're gonna remember what Miriam gave to them when they were a child for generations and generations. Miriam's legacy is gonna continue.

SPEAKER_08 49:42

How old was she when she passed away?

SPEAKER_00 49:44

She was 30.

SPEAKER_08 49:45

I have a book that shows different accomplishments that people made in their lifetime that we know to be very famous. Big people like Beethoven, people from history, and how old they were when they did different things. You'd be surprised to learn that some people that did massive things that we talk about today in the world, in science, art, and music, some of them 24 years old, some of them 32. These are ages where we think like, oh, we're not there yet. You would assume that the person was 60 years old when they did something that was like remarkable. The Shah was 24 years old when he published his work. The Ramchal passed away at 39 and put out all this amazing work that people learned. So we have people who use their lives they didn't know would be a short life, right? Like they use every single day to really create things that are going to last forever in this world. Like you use the word eternal, it lasts forever and ever and ever. And they were able to do that in their lifetime. So this is a really good message for kids. First of all, to show that no matter what age you are, you can make a difference in this world that literally can last forever. And also for teachers, I happen to know, I want to let you know this, that many, many, many teachers listen to this podcast. And if you are a teacher who listens to this podcast, you should just know that you are giving yourself a gift, you're giving your students a gift just because you're filling yourself with hearing their world, hearing the perspective of kids. But now you get to hear about Miriam and you can remind yourself whether you're a Rebbe or a Mora, you chose to do something that does not get paid a lot of money. And as much as people try to change that, it's still not enough and not a lot of fame, right? And you work really, really hard. And sometimes people are not nice about it. Some parents are not so nice, some students are not so nice, and yet you come in every single day and you try and you try. Listen to Miriam's example and hear about the way the world comes forward to talk about a teacher's impact. It's so, so important what you're doing. I just hope that Miriam's legacy also lives on through those teachers as well, through all of these people listening.

SPEAKER_00 51:44

If there is one lesson to take from Miriam's life that Miriam would want to give over, that message would be for parents, educators, anybody who deals with children. Believe in your children. What you see right now isn't necessarily what you're gonna see down the road. See the strength that they have, what they could ultimately become. Good things are gonna happen. Keep praising them. Ultimately, they're gonna bring you a lot enough us.

SPEAKER_08 52:05

Wow, that's beautiful. So well said. We'll be right back to hear from Shauna, Miriam's adorable niece. I want to tell you a little bit more about the film coming out on ikfilm.org, This dish above, until someday. One of the most important things to me about Incredible Kids is that when I record podcasts and videos, I try to make it appropriate for people of all ages so an entire family could sit down together and enjoy. A film like this takes a lot of effort, time, a lot of professionals involved, a lot of emotion, a lot of money, and a lot of responsibility because I just need to get it right. And the families who we filmed, who were so brave in sharing the most deepest private parts of their lives, trusted me, trusted us at Incredible Kids. And I want their stories to reach all the people who need to hear them. Because until someday was really created for kids, parents, teens, families, camps, communities, shuls. My favorite feedback is to hear that an entire family sat down together to watch it. This film is not designed to make you feel sad. What I want for you is that inside of you, something wakes up. And now maybe the words of Davening that we say will feel more real. We'll have a little bit more kabbanah for things that really need to change. It will help us understand what it means to live in this world that has so many holes, so many incomplete parts. And we will learn from these people how to live with that incompleteness every day and choose amuna, love, joy. So when you're discussing what you'll be doing on Tishabav, be sure to tell as many people as possible what you'll be watching. We want until someday to get into every single Jewish home. And you can help make that possible. So thanks in advance. Head to ikfilm.org for more information. And thank you. And now meet Shauna. Bye, Shauna. Hi. I'd love to hear Shauna from you what it was like to have an aunt like Miriam. It was a birthday party. You remember her birthday party? Tell us about her birthday party when she turned 30, right? Did she have a lot of friends at the birthday party? Yeah. Like how many, if you had to guess? I guess five. Like five close friends. Yeah. Were you one of the friends or you were separate because we're families? One of the friends. That's adorable. Do you have any special memories with Miriam? I used to listen to Uncle Marchie together. Really? You used to listen to Uncle My She together?

SPEAKER_02 54:13

Did you? Yeah. We used to read books together. Hmm. Who was doing the reading? A Miriam. Picture books or chapter books? Picture books. Yeah, those are the best. Yeah. One time A Mary got me my dad tiger toy.

SPEAKER_08 54:25

A Daniel Tiger toy? Yeah. Was that like for a specific reason or she would just get you presents for no reason?

SPEAKER_02 54:31

Sometimes she got me toys just because.

SPEAKER_08 54:34

That's so sweet. That's like a really good aunt. They just come and you like check their bags to see what they got you, right? Is that what you used to do when she came over?

SPEAKER_01 54:42

Yeah. Why did you get me? Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 54:45

Do you miss her? Yeah, I miss her so much. My time I had the dream that Miriam was beside me.

SPEAKER_08 54:51

You had a dream that Miriam was next to you?

SPEAKER_05 54:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_08 54:54

I'm sure she's really proud of you. I heard Shauna that you work really, really hard.

SPEAKER_05 54:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_08 54:59

If Miriam wanted that for all of her students and all the kids that she met and all the kids in the world, I'm sure she wanted it even more for you because you're her family. So always remember how special you are. Do you know how special you are?

SPEAKER_01 55:11

Yeah.

SPEAKER_08 55:12

Well, I'm sure your Aunt Miriam doesn't want you to forget that.

SPEAKER_01 55:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_08 55:16

I'm gonna try to be more like your Aunt Miriam, the way she believed in you. Do you have any tips for me? You should be very nice to each other. I should just be nice to everybody.

SPEAKER_05 55:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_08 55:25

I'll try. Am I doing a good job trying? Yeah. I heard something very special about you. Do you know what I know? Do you know what I know? A little birdie told me, not really, it's just an expression.

SPEAKER_09 55:38

It just means that someone told me, Tweet, tweet, tweet, tweet, tweet.

SPEAKER_08 55:41

No. A little birdie said, Did you know that Shauna finished the whole safe for a talent? That's like something I don't usually hear, but when I hear something like that, I can't even imagine how proud you must feel. Did Miriam have anything to do with that? What did Miriam teach you?

SPEAKER_02 55:56

Miriam told me how to read the olives. On her own, not at school. Mayam taken the house and me learn.

SPEAKER_08 56:04

Hmm. Well, she had like a really fun way of doing it. It didn't feel boring. Well, if Miriam was here, what would she want everybody to hear?

SPEAKER_02 56:10

We should never be nice to each other. You should push through.

SPEAKER_08 56:16

Push through. Like it's hard and it feels like I can't. It's stopping me. I can't do it. I can't do it. Keep going. Yeah. That's what Miriam would want. Yeah. Thank you, Shana. Hi. And thank you so much to your father. Immer Zem, we should see many more generations of kids who feel confident in themselves because of Miriam's amazing legacy that she left for all of us, mothers and teachers, and fathers and rebbies and students and everybody who cares about kids. Here's something about reading. Reading is a slow process. Anyone who struggles with reading understands the frustration of, like, oh, seriously? One letter, one word, one blend, one this, one that, and then the psukkim. And if you're reading Hebrew or if you're reading English, there's so much that has to come together to read smoothly. Miriam understood that the child she was sitting with, reading with, helping them along, is much more than the kid in front of her. It's the boy who will grow up to be a Barmitzvah boy, who will then grow up to learn in yeshiva, and will then grow up to get a job and get married and have children and influence so many others in their sphere. He'll say kiddish at his Shabbos table and he'll say have Dala with confidence. Maybe he'll dive in for the Ahmed in shul or get up for an aliyah once in a while. And he'll be the kind of person who will believe in someone else because once someone believed in him. And I think the reason why Miriam was able to give this over to her students was because they knew it was real. She lived it every day. I mean, come on, a teacher who is confident enough to get up and stand in a chair so her first grade students can see her. She never allowed what she couldn't do stop her from believing in herself because she could do so much. And she knew it. She knew she was smart, she knew she was capable, and she knew she had gifts to give to the world. Every person who watched her walk in confidently to work each day understood that you do not need to hide something because you're different. Just so you understand, Miriam passed away at age 30, and that's really young. But look how much she was able to accomplish. Her life and legacy continues every time a kid like Yassi opens up a safer, opens up a book to read, pushes himself through a difficult word, remembers all of the things that she had taught him. It continues through Shana, who learned the basics of the olive base from her through fun and games, and keeps her going when things are tough. And everybody here, Incredible Kids listeners, it continues through us. We all have that power inside of us. Teachers listening, you might not always get to see what happens with the kids inside your classroom. I know that feeling. It's frustrating. It's almost like FOMO. You just want to know how they're doing. You might not be invited into those moments, the graduations, the weddings, the bar mitzvahs, successes, winning a championship. But we smile from the sidelines. I do want to say though that when my students from kindergarten were getting ready for their bas mitzvahs, I had a little bit of sadness that I wasn't invited. And then one mom, shout out to Mrs. Newman, invited me to Aura's Bas Mitzvah. And I came and I ate the pasta and I sat there watching her bas mitzvah speech and I watched the girls do their project. And I didn't care if I didn't belong because the the feeling of pride that you have as a Mora for your student, who you always believed in, is unmatched. And I knew I belonged in that room. I love all of you also who didn't invite me to your simchas though. The way that teachers make their students feel stays with those kids forever. Parents, listen too. What you see today in front of you is not necessarily who your kid will become tomorrow. Just keep noticing the strengths that you see already there in your kids, even if it's really hard. And kids, if you struggle with anything, reading, school, learning, family stuff, focusing, fitting in with friends, I don't know, whatever. If you need help, it doesn't make you any less. Take breaks. Doesn't mean you're quitting. You'll get back into it. And all because something might be a struggle, doesn't mean that you're never gonna be able to do it. Yassi proved it, Miriam proved it, and I'm sure many of you can tell me ways that you've proven it to yourselves. I want to thank Naftali and Kayla Finkin family for sponsoring this episode Le Ilanish Mas Mary Abasker Shun Pinchas and may her nishama have an aliyah and may her legacy continue for many years to come. I want to remind you that until someday, coming this Tishab will be available at ikfilm.org. It's beautiful, powerful, and real, and it's meant to be watched and discussed together. Let it change you and help us spread it. When you see the trailers coming out, share them. Send them to people who organize programming in your community. Tell your friends, we're all longing for something until someday. Thank you to We Play by SR for supporting today's episode. Until next time, everyone, and keep being incredible.

SPEAKER_07 1:00:29

Are you an incredible kid? Send your story to iKidsPodcast at gmail.com. Subscribe to it. Subscribe to kids podcast. Thanks for listening.

SPEAKER_06 1:00:42

And remember, you are all right.