Canada 1 – Final Batting Statistics – 2011 Pan-Am Maccabi Games

Canada 2 – Final Batting Statistics – 2011 Pan-Am Maccabi Games

On the final day of the Pan-Am Maccabi softball tournament, Canada emerged with a silver medal, after falling to Team USA 9-1 in the gold medal game.

The final score was not truly indicative of the close nature of this contest. The American squad held a 2-1 lead over Canada 1 heading into the 5th inning, where they scored three runs – the first two coming on a clutch 2-out, 2-strike, 2-run single by Matt Singer off Jason Dinetz – to break the game open. Unfortunately, Canada managed only one hit on the afternoon, a single by Dan Berlin off Jason Gluckman in the 4th inning, in the losing effort.

In the bronze medal game, Canada 2 dropped a heartbreaker to Panama 5-4 to finish 4th in the tournament. With the Red & White clinging to a one run lead heading into the final inning, Panama rallied for two runs in the Top 7th to take the lead, one they would not relinquish. It was a very proud moment for the Central American squad; the bronze marked the first ever medal for Panama in Men’s softball since the introduction of the sport to Maccabi competition in 1985.

A heartfelt thanks goes out to all the tournament organizers and the entire Maccabi organization for staging a first-rate competition in Sao Paulo.

Next stop for Maccabi Canada Softball – Summer ’13 in Israel!

Ben and Phil Gigan

One is a grizzled vet, having participated in Maccabi Canada Softball for 22 years, spanning seven Maccabi Games. The other turns 22 in the New Year, a rookie ballplayer participating in his first ever Maccabi Games. Together they wear the number 44.

For father and son combo Phil and Ben Gigan, playing together and representing Canada in Men’s Softball at the 2011 Pan-Am Games in Sao Paulo, Brazil is proving to be an experience of a lifetime. Phil, a member of Canada 2′s Masters roster, and Ben, a member of Canada 1′s Open roster, are fulfilling a lifelong dream of competing together at the same Maccabi Games.

It’s a goal for son Ben that’s been 15 years in the making. “I remember being six or seven years old and saying I wanted to do it,” said Ben, looking back on the early days of watching his dad compete for Canada. “That’ll be me one day,” he recalls saying.

With his game making great strides over the past two years with his club team, the Newmarket Jrs., thanks to the coaching and tutelage of former Canadian National softball member Glenn Ford, Ben’s dream to play for Maccabi became a reality this summer, after being named to the Open squad in August. Despite being the team’s youngest player, Ben’s versatililty has allowed him to quickly emerge in Brazil as a starter for Canada 1 with a knack for providing clutch hits.

It’s a case of, like father, like son.

Phil has made a career on delivering clutch hits for Canada

Phil, who first started competing in Maccabiah in 1989, has built his career on being one of the clutchest hitters to ever dawn a Canadian jersey. Always a key contributor to any team he’s played on, Phil recalls winning the gold against the United States in 1993 as his most memorable Maccabi moment. After tough losses to the U.S. in the ’85 and ’89 finals, Canada finally broke through four years later by hanging on to defeat Dave Blackburn and the American squad 4-3 in a dramatic gold medal game. The elder Gigan fondly remembers singling and later scoring what turned out to be the eventual game-winning run when he slid under the tag at homeplate to give Canada a 4-0 first inning lead. The cherry on top was seeing teammate Bobby Green, who hit a 3-run shot to score the other Canadian runs, and the rest of the team featured a day later on a front page sidebar story in USA Today. According to Phil, if you were to ask Blackburn himself, he’d tell you that he remembers Gigan and Bobby as two of the toughest he ever faced in Maccabi competition.

After winning gold again in 1997 in Israel, Phil wouldn’t return onto the Maccabi softball scene until ten years later, when he joined his longtime mates in the newly formed Masters division at the Pan-Am Games in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 2007. Gigan and the boys picked up right where they left off, with Phil driving in the go-ahead run off Blackburn in a nail-biting semifinal win before capturing the gold over the U.S. in the augural 35+ tournament. Truly a quality result for Phil and for Canada.

Ben is following in his father’s footsteps, proving early on to be a big hitter vs. his country’s biggest rival, the U.S. In his first career Maccabi game, facing top American pitcher Jason Gluckman, the younger Gigan hit a homerun, a majestic shot that cleared high over the centrefield wall. Father Phil was standing on the sidelines cheering his son on when it happened, and Ben, with a smile on his face from ear-to-ear, pointed at his proud papa while rounding second base. “To see him hit that homerun was a very moving moment in my life,” said Gigan. “My goal was to guide him into the program, but see him succeed on his own merit and abilities. To now see him do well on his own, that’s what makes me happy and proud.”

Ben's first career Maccabi Homerun made Phil one proud dad

Ben remembers the at-bat vividly. “(Gluckman) floated a curveball … I leaned back and swung really hard,” said the fresh-faced Gigan. “All I saw was the ball go up and I never saw it come back down.” Ben pumped his arms when he realized it was gone, before finding his father in the crowd. There were a lot of hugs afterward. “That was a shot,” said dad, recalling the impressive poke that cleared the giant 20-foot fence for his son’s first career dinger. Much like a fisherman making the big catch, Ben undoubtedly expects that, whenever retelling the story, “the fence will only get higher and higher as the years go by.”

Ben’s sense of humour comes to him honestly, his dad equally known as much for his clutch one-liners as he is for his clutch hits. As a member of the Masters team at the 2009 Games in Israel, Phil made the rash decision on his own to stretch a single into a double in a round-robin game against the U.S. while trailing by three runs. After getting thrown out easily by 10 feet at second base to kill a potential rally, he was greeted by the big boss Jack Fireman upon his return to the dugout. “What the hell are you doing out there?” asked Fireman. “Morrie (Frydberg, the first base coach) told me to go,” deadpanned Gigan.

Humour aside, at this stage of his career, It’s clear to Phil why he stays involved with Maccabiah. “It isn’t even so much for the ball,” said Phil, in talking about his return to Maccabi after a decade long hiatus. “It’s about the camaraderie that’s been built over 20-plus years. That’s what keeps me coming back.”

Well, now there’s even greater incentive for Phil, as he looks to the future and the possibility of participating in his astounding 8th Maccabi Games in 2013 with son Ben.

“It’s my goal to see him play in Israel,” said Phil. “That, for me, would be the greatest experience. The ultimate.”

In the first semi, Canada 2 (aka Bender’s crew) had a tough matchup vs. USA 1, having to face their tough hurler and feared batter Jason Gluckman. The Canadians countered with Michael Bronstine as their starter, who had successfully shut down the Americans for two innings to pick up the win just one day earlier in Canada’s 5-4 walkoff victory.

Canada fell behind early and trailed 3-0 after just an inning and a half, but started a rally in the bottom of the 2nd. A controversial call at home plate, where Colin Halpern was ruled out by the home plate umpire (he was clearly safe) after attempting to score from 3rd on a passed ball, looked to potentially snuff the rally, but back-to-back clutch 2-out RBI hits by Josh Bendahan and Rob Cooper cut the deficit to 3-2 after two.

Unfortunately for Canada, Gluckman took over after that, smashing two homeruns – a solo shot to leadoff the 3rd and a 3-run shot in the fourth – while pitching five complete, to lead USA 1 to an 11-2 win and a berth in the gold medal game. Canada 2 would be relegated to Monday’s bronze medal game vs. the loser of the 2nd semifinal between upstart Panama and Canada 1.

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In that 2nd semi, Jason Dinetz took the mound for the Canadians, who hoped for a repeat of their impressive 9-2 win over Panama in round-robin play. Panama, who upset USA 2 on Thursday afternoon, defeated Venezuela Friday morning 10-0, behind a no-hitter by Jacob Dobbah, to earn the 4th seed and the right to play Canada in the semifinals.

I was an ominous start for the red and white, after Panama struck quickly with a solo-shot by their #3 stick, Senor Whoppo, in the top of the first inning to make the score 1-0. Dobbah continued to be effective on the mound for Panama, shutting down the Canadian offense for the first three innings of play to keep the advantage at a run heading into the 4th.

In the bottom of the 4th, Dan Berlin started a rally for Canada by doubling to left-centre, later scoring on an RBI groundout by Ben Gigan to tie the score at 1-1.

In the 5th, Canada broke the game open. Josh Stitt, making his first Maccabi appearance, doubled to leadoff the inning, followed by a well-executed bunt by Jeremy Blustein that resulted in a throwing error to first, allowing Stitt to score with a headfirst slide into home to give Canada a 2-1 lead. After Edi Fisher successfully bunted Blustein into scoring position, Les Bernstein continued his hot hitting by lashing a line drive into Right Field that kicked past the fielder, resulting in an inside-the-park homerun and a 4-1 Canada lead. Berlin would later double and be brought home on a 2-out RBI single by Josh McKinlay to make the score 5-1 through five.

Panama would threaten in the top of the seventh, but a spectacular diving play by Stitt at second base helped preserve the lead and the win for Canada 1, by a final score of 5-2.

Canada 1 will now face USA 1 for the gold medal, while Canada 2 will face Panama for the bronze, on Monday at the Maccabi softball complex.

With two days off before resuming play, we’d like to wish everyone back home a very Happy New Year’s. See you soon!!!

Goldsmith had 3 hits and 3 RBI Thursday, including the 7th inning walkoff HR

Canada 2 finished off their round-robin schedule in dramatic fashion on Thursday, defeating USA 1 by a score of 5-4 on a walkoff solo-homerun by Stephen Goldsmith with 2-out in the bottom of the 7th inning.

Goldsmith’s heroics capped off an impressive day at the plate for the Canadian shortstop, who collected three hits and three RBI in the game off losing pitcher Daniel Winnik of the U.S. Josh Bendahan and Phil Gigan drove in the other runs for Canada.

Equally impressive for Canada was the pitching performance of Kevin Green, making his first ever Maccabi start. Green allowed only four runs over five solid innings of work, by consistently challenging the American batters while mixing up his speeds. Green left the game with the score tied 4-4 in the 6th inning and was replaced by Michael Bronstine, who pitched two shutout innings to collect his first win of the tournament.

With the win, Canada 2 clinches the 2nd seed after round-robin play and now prepares for a rematch vs. USA 1 on Friday morning in the #2 vs. #3 semifinal, scheduled for 11 a.m.

Canada 1, who already secured the #1 playoff seed on Wednesday, appears set to face Panama in the other semifinal, after the Central American nation came through with a stunning 15-4 upset over USA 2 in round-robin play Thursday. Panama needs a win over Venezuela, or a loss not totalling more than 14 runs, in their final round-robin game on Friday morning to finish as the #4 seed.

Canada 2 finished the Round-Robin with a 3-1 Record

The first game of the two was against USA Team 2 – a mostly veteran squad of American athletes. The second game was a finish up of the all Canada match-up that began on Day 1 and ended in the 3rd inning with a rain out.

USA Team 2 and Canada Team 1
Final score 10 – 4 Canada 1

Another early morning seemed to affect our squad to start as we came out with a bit of low energy. The US chewed away with a 4 – 2 lead by the end of the 4th. Our Canadian pitcher, Josh McKinlay, battled out there and gave our veteran Les Bernstein the perfect opportunity to do what he does best – spark a come back rally. Les lead off with a sharp double in the top of the 5th. That started a two-run rally capped off with another clutch hit from rookie Ben Gigan.

With renewed energy, our squad tightened up on both sides with solid pitching and defense. That set us up for an incredible 6th inning to put the game away. A barrage of walks and hits led to a bat around 6-run inning, putting the game out of reach for the Americans.

This was a true team win. Everyone of our 12 players got into this game and contributed. We executed, did our jobs and pulled out with a great win that took us into our second game of the day against our other home nation squad.

Canada 1 finished the Round-Robin in First Place

Canada 2 (formerly the Masters Team) entered Wednesday with a 1-0 record, having defeated Venezuela handily on Day 2 by a score of 8-1. Phil Gigan, Rob Cooper and Colin Halpern all came up with big hits in support of Mark Bendahan, who got the win. On Wednesday, Bender’s bunch faced Panama, who were defeated 9-2 by Canada 1 the day prior. It was shaping up to be another blowout.

Canada 2 came out with the bats blazing. Cooper led off the game with a double, and following a walk to Lorne Swartz, Dave Goldstein sent a moon shot into orbit off Panamanian pitcher Jacob Dottah to stake Canada to a 3-0 lead. They’d never look back. They rallied for 4 more runs before the frame ended, jumping ahead by a cool touchdown before Panama had even taken their first at-bat. Final score 8-3, improving their record to 2-0 in the process.

That set up the rematch between Canada 1 and Canada 2 later in the afternoon, a makeup for the rainout on Day 1. By ISF softball rules, the game would be resumed in the bottom of the 3rd inning, with the score tied 0-0, as it was left before the rains came on Monday. Jason Dinetz, on the mound for Canada 1 despite a severely sprained left thumb, was on form, stranding Josh Bendahan on 2nd with nobody out in the 4th after getting some big outs and key defence behind him. Canada 1 jumped on the board first, after a double by Lanny Federman and an error that allowed him to score from 2nd with 2 out to make the score 1-0. In the Top 6th, Mark Bendahan led off the inning with a triple, only to be stranded there, after Dinetz incredibly struck out two batters back-to-back before getting the final out on a pop-up to end the inning. Les Bernstein, who’s been a monster for Canada 1 all tournament long, drove in another run off Michael Bronstine to make the score 2-0 in the bottom of the 6th, which would stand up as the final score of the game.

As a result of the big win by Canada 1, they finished atop the round-robin standings and are the first seed heading into Friday’s semifinals. They await the winner of a mini round-robin between USA 2-Venezuela-Panama to determine the 4th seed. Canada 2 will play USA 1 on Thursday to determine who will be the 2nd and 3rd seeds in the playoff semis.

Highlights for Canada 1 after 4 games and a first place clinch:
- Ryan Freedman for his stamina, great defense, leadership, and great game calling
- Our pitching duo of Josh McKinlay and the impressive Jason Dinetz who has battled in early tournament injury to his catching hand
- Our leaders and player coaches Dan Berlin and Les Bernstein for walking their talk on and off the field with their veteran presence on and off the field, amazing leadership, and professionalism that has rubbed off and set the bar for our young squad.
- Rookie Ben Gigan’s bat has proved to be clutch, powerful and a key for our team’s success.
- Edi Fisher’s solid defense at short stop, great leadoff bat and leadership
- The second base platoon of slick fielding Stephen Shedletzky and solid hitting and defense from Josh Stitt has proved effective and useful

Canada 1, led by Dan Berlin and Canada 2, led by Mark Bendahan were ready to rock.

After the USA teams finished their inter-squad match-up with a walk off win (5-4 in 7 innings) in the morning game, it was our turn to take the main stage in the beautiful baseball stadium. Just as we walked onto the field to take our final warm up we could tell the baseball weather lords were not going to be on our side.

We were able to get in 2-1/2 scoreless innings with a couple notable defensive plays as highlights. Les Bernstein made an amazing catch with 2 outs on a Texas League ball with the bases loaded that seemed destined to land in no man’s land and clear the bases. Later, Larry Herscovitch took a near perfect route to a ball in right centre field the next inning. Slugger Colin Haplern sharply lined a Jason Dinetz offering deep to the gap. As the middle infielders aligned to take the cut to third base, Larry made an incredible sliding catch to rob Colin of extra bases. Larry later told Colin, “I took two steps towards the right field gap once there were two strikes on you.” Our engineer, Larry, proves that it is a game on inches. The international crowd could tell the friendly and competitive rivalry between our Open and Masters squads was hot on that soggy field. We will continue our Canadian rivalry on Wednesday, picking where we left off with veteran infielder Edi Fisher on 1st base with 1 out.

Next up Tuesday:
Canada 1 vs. Panama – 11:30a local
Canada 1 vs. USA 1 – 1:00p local
Canada 2 vs. Venezuela – 2:30p local

We’re now off to the opening ceremonies! Our very own player coach of the Masters team and living legend, Mark Bendahan, will be Team Maccabi Canada’s flag bearer in front of 140 Canadian athletes, coaches and supporters.

Stay tuned for more updates, photos and videos to come.

Name: Lorne Swartz
Position: Second Base
Team: Maccabi Canada Softball, Men’s Fastpitch
Number: 22
Nickname: “Double Deuces”

Maccabi Experience: 5 Games – 1989 (Silver), 1993 (Gold), 2007 (Gold, Masters), 2009 (Silver, Masters), 2011
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An integral part of four medal-winning teams for Maccabi Canada Softball over the course of his 20-plus-year fastpitch career, Lorne Swartz continues to exemplify class, camaraderie and leadership, both on and off the field, as he prepares to participate in his fifth Maccabi Games this December in Brazil.

Swartz, a stalwart at second base, will be reunited in Sao Paulo with longtime teammates Mark Bendahan and Phil Gigan, on one of Canada’s two softball teams entered in the 2011 Maccabi Pan-Am Games. At this stage of his career, playing together on the ball field with the boys keeps him coming back for more. “I consider it a privilege to compete and play with friends one more time,” said Swartz. “The memories and friendships forged from playing Maccabiah have lasted a lifetime.”

Swartz holds the Canadian flag with Mark's son, Josh Bendahan, at 2009 opening ceremonies in Israel.

A dedicated and loyal teammate, Swartz is especially grateful for the opportunity to take the field again with Bendahan. After winning gold together in Israel in 1993 and later in Argentina in 2007, Bender would be forced to withdraw from the 2009 Maccabi Games in Israel due to health reasons. Bendahan, who had been selected as Canada’s flag bearer at the opening ceremonies, would ultimately relinquish his role to a worthy Swartz, who carried the flag with both great pride and mixed emotions. “It was one of the greatest feelings and moments of my life. Marching into the stadium, seeing the crowd and hundreds of fellow Jewish athletes, and walking past Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu … it’s impossible to put into words,” recalled Swartz. “But it was bittersweet without Mark. It’s poetic justice that we get to play together again in Sao Paulo.”

While there’s nothing Swartz would like more than to add one more gold medal to his mantle with his old mates, he also relishes the opportunity to give back to the younger Canadian players. “I try to lead by example on the field,” said Swartz, who isn’t afraid to get dirty diving after balls or breaking up a double play. “It’s a big responsibility, but I hope to help provide leadership and a feeling of calm to my teammates. At the end of the day, we’re all lucky to be playing ball together. I just want to enjoy this for as long as I can.”
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Click Here to follow Maccabi Canada Softball on Facebook while we’re going for gold in Brazil!

Dave Blackburn, aka “Breeder,” a fixture on the mound for Maccabi USA over the past 25 years and the backbone of four gold medal-winning fastpitch teams, will be in the hearts and minds of Maccabi Canada Softball and the entire Maccabi softball community competing in Brazil, as he continues to recover from a near-fatal car accident suffered in August 2010.

Members of Maccabi USA and Maccabi Canada Softball Celebrate Blackburn's induction into the ISC Hall Of Fame in August

In spite of his absence in Sao Paulo, Blackburn’s larger than life persona remains a true inspiration to those around him; his personal triumph over life threatening injuries deemed nothing short of remarkable. This was never more evident than this past summer, as members of Team USA and Team Canada reunited in Moline, Illinois to witness Breeder’s miraculous recovery, and celebrate Blackburn becoming the first-ever Jewish ballplayer to be inducted into the International Softball Congress (ISC) Hall of Fame as a broadcasting pioneer for the sport.

Among those in attendance in Moline that day was Jack Fireman, the two-time ISC World Champion in the 90’s with the Toronto Gators. Fireman, who’s also been an integral part of Maccabi Canada Softball through the years, has great respect for Breeder and for the relationships built between the two nations over two-plus decades of Maccabiah. “Even after his terrible injuries, David has maintained a smile on his face,” said Fireman. “It has been heartwarming to see how not just the U.S. guys, but the Canadian Maccabi team have done so much to try and comfort him.”

Mark Bendahan, the great Canadian pitcher who’s gone toe-to-toe with Blackburn since the first Maccabi softball tournament back in 1985, had nothing but praise for one of his toughest opponents. “Breeder’s a competitor … he just brings it with his energy and his leadership,” said Bendahan, who has competed against Blackburn in five Maccabi Games. “He’s such a dominant figure on the mound.”

Breeder was grateful for the opportunity to reconnect with his Canadian brethren. “This meant the world to me, because it shows that my dear Maccabi friends chose to travel great distances to share this special moment with me,” said Blackburn. “To have Mark Bendahan in attendance whose talent on the softball field, always brought out the best in me, was very satisfying to me. Mark made a clear statement about our deep friendship.”

Blackburn has competed in 10 Maccabi Games, capturing 4 Gold Medals

But it wasn’t always that way. When the U.S. first competed against Canada in Maccabi softball competition in 1985, many of the Canadian players were instructed to keep their game faces on at all times and keep away from the “enemy.”

“Everybody thought we were the biggest a-holes because we wouldn’t talk to anyone. We’re walking by guys and we wouldn’t say hello,” said Bendahan, who will be competing in his sixth Maccabi Games for Canada in Brazil later this month. “Eventually towards the end of the games we started to say hello, but it had to be behind closed doors, because we weren’t allowed to by our coaching staff.” The strategy ultimately backfired, as the U.S. would go on to defeat Canada 2-0 in the final to win the gold medal in the inaugural tournament.

But the spirit of Maccabiah would ultimately prevail between the two neighbouring countries, with any early hostilities soon forgotten by the time they met again in the Gold Medal game in 1989. Still, both teams wanted to win. And badly.

It’s a game that Blackburn describes as the defining moment of his illustrious Maccabi career. “(Canada’s) David Strauss was awesome and threw a one-hitter against us, but Steve Roberts managed to deliver an RBI on our lone hit of the game, and I threw a five-hit shutout for the 1-0 Gold Medal victory,” recalled Blackburn. “Later that night, I was told that our fastpitch team was the only U.S. team sport to win Gold, and that I was chosen as the outstanding U.S. athlete for the Maccabiah. That came with the honor of carrying the USA Flag in the parade of athletes through the streets of Jerusalem to the Wailing Wall for the closing ceremonies.”

Four years later, in 1993, it was Bendahan’s turn to lead his country to victory. This time he pitched the final game, an integral part of an overall winning effort he now considers to be his greatest career accomplishment. “After losing two tough ones in ’85 and ’89 we didn’t know if we’d ever pull one off,” said Bendahan. “Finally in ’93 we did it. It was a really special moment.”

Kahan and Breeder embrace after clinching Gold in '09

The two countries would go back-and-forth exchanging gold medals over the next decade-and-a-half, with Blackburn most recently claiming gold by leading the U.S. Masters team to a dramatic victory over Canada in 2009 in Israel. Catcher Tony Kahan worked closely with Blackburn to formulate the pitcher’s gold medal winning gameplan, which Kahan joked included the strategic decision to jump into Breeder’s arms, and not visa versa, upon recording the final out.

The fact that both sides were so evenly matched – and a cut above the rest of the other participating countries – not only made for great competition on the field, but it also laid the foundation to make them great friends off of it.

“We have a great rivalry, but also a great deal of mutual respect and admiration for our fellow Jewish fastpitch playing brethren from both sides of the border,” said Blackburn. “Friendship grows when deep respect is a part of the interpersonal equation. We also share a great common sense of humor that is unique among Jewish guys who are into sports, and who cherish hard fought athletic competitions.”

“It has been remarkable competing against the U.S. for so many years,” added Fireman. “Not just the level of competition, but the brotherhood created amongst members of both teams.”

Schwartz and Blackburn reunite with '85 USA team-signed ball in Herziliya in 2009

Ken Schwartz, a fixture with Maccabi USA since Day One thanks in no small part to Blackburn, has his own unique perspective how the Maccabi organization has been instrumental in creating a bond among Jewish softball players from around the world that still resonates 25 years later. “What happened with the Maccabiah over time, it created a “community” of softball players, united by religion through sport, whose collective “sanctuary” was on the field,” said Schwartz. “It was and still is an easy place to go and be with the guys without conditions. Competition made this community grow closer and friendships developed. The stories, antics, victories and defeats that came from those competitions in Israel and South America created lifelong bonds and friendships that continues today.”

Even though Blackburn won’t be able to travel to Brazil this time around, he now has his sights set on returning with Maccabi USA in 2013. It’s all part of his on-going commitment to Maccabiah, a man who embodies its very spirit, while grateful for everything the organization has brought into his life. “Participation in the Maccabi USA program speaks to me in a way that has made me feel I was a welcome and valued member of the worldwide community of Jewish People,” said Blackburn. “Getting a chance to travel extensively throughout Israel and Latin America allowed me to become more worldly as a person, and contributed greatly to my overall maturation and growth. I could not have possibly experienced this kind of personal evolution through other activities available to me.”

Breeder, on behalf of everyone at Maccabi Canada and Maccabi Canada Softball, we look forward to welcoming back one of sport’s great Jewish ambassadors to the 19th Maccabiah Games in Israel in 2013 and wish you continued success in your inspiring recovery.

L’Shana Haba’a b’Yerushalayim.