Caily's World

03/09/2026

You only turn 18 once so even in a war we say l’chaim “To life”

03/08/2026

Today is International Women’s Day, and I find myself thinking about the women who shape the next generation simply by how they live their lives.

Being a woman has never been about perfection. It is about persistence. It is about showing up with empathy, even when life tests you. It is about inner strength that often goes unseen but quietly carries families, communities, and sometimes entire generations forward.

For me, this day is deeply connected to my daughter, Caila.

Caila has faced challenges that many people will never see or fully understand. Yet every day she shows courage, resilience, and a spirit that refuses to be defined by obstacles. Watching her navigate the world with determination reminds me what true strength looks like.

As Jewish women, we inherit a long tradition of quiet heroism. From the women of the Bible who shaped our history, to the mothers and daughters who hold families together during difficult times, our strength has always been rooted in values. Faith. Compassion. Responsibility for one another.

Being a role model is not about having all the answers. It is about living your values out loud.

I hope Caila grows up knowing that persistence matters more than perfection. That empathy is strength, not weakness. And that a life guided by values can light the way for others.

Today I celebrate the women who came before us, the women standing beside us, and the young women like Caila who will carry that strength into the future.

Happy International Women’s Day.

03/05/2026

Creating Jewish spaces: New York to Jerusalem

By the time she arrived in Israel, Samuels was a seasoned community activist, businesswoman, and entrepreneur.

Her passion for creating Jewish spaces for newcomers had begun long before aliyah and she had always been involved in her community. Just three weeks after arriving in New York, she ended up hosting a Shabbat meal for foreign MBA students at Columbia University.

“I landed up having 36 people from 30 countries and I had this epiphany that people who are new to a city need a Jewish home away from home.”

That vision became Jewish International Connection (JIC), an organization dedicated to creating community for young Jewish professionals far from home. Samuels worked as JIC’s chief volunteer for 15 years, nurturing it into a vibrant and growing platform.

To read more about Jodi’s story and the roots of JIC read link in comments

03/04/2026

03/01/2026

Yesterday we were supposed to sponsor the meal after service in honor of Caila’s 18th birthday but we were unable to attend because of the missiles coming to Jerusalem.

This was the cookie platter we were bringing!

Here is the speech Caila had prepared:

Hi everyone,

Thank you all for being here to celebrate with me today.

Turning eighteen feels really special. My name, Caila, means crown, and I like to think that means being proud of who you are and shining in your own way.

I want to thank my parents for always supporting me, believing in me, and helping me become who I am today. I also want to thank my family, friends, teachers, and community who have encouraged me and helped me grow.

I feel very lucky to have so many people around me who care about me and support me.

Thank you for celebrating this moment with me. It means so much too me!

Jodi's Voice

02/25/2026

Eighteen years ago today, my life split into Before and After.

If I am honest, I already knew.

Somewhere deep inside, I had a mother’s intuition that something was not typical. No dramatic alarms. Everything looked fine. But in the quiet moments, I felt it.

When they were prepping me for the C-section, I did not pray, “Please God, give me a healthy baby.”

I prayed,
“Please God, give me the strength to deal with whatever comes my way.”

On day three of Caila’s life, the doctor walked in and gently asked,
“Mrs. Samuels, did you do genetic testing?”

I sat upright. My heart already understood.

He suspected Down syndrome.

The words landed heavily, even though I was not surprised.

I was wildly ambitious. Building. Hosting. Dreaming big dreams. Countries left to see. Stages to stand on. Plans mapped out.

And suddenly, I was terrified.

What would this mean for her?
For our family?
For my other children?
For my marriage?
For the life I imagined?

I looked in the mirror and asked myself:

What does God want from me?
What kind of mother will you be?
What story will you tell about this child?

In that moment, something shifted.

Caila would never be her diagnosis.
She would be our daughter first.
Our Princess.

The world was not going to choose our story.
We were going to write it.

Was I scared? Yes.
Did I grieve the picture in my head? Of course.

But what I could not see then was what was coming.

She would change us.

She would soften the sharp edges.
She would slow down the pace.
She would teach patience in a house that runs fast.
She would demand we see ability before limitation.
She would expand our capacity to love in ways we did not even know were possible.

Caila gave me a new set of eyes.

She made me braver.
She made our family deeper.
She made our joy more intentional.

Eighteen years later, I can say this without hesitation:

The child I once feared would limit our life
is the very one who enlarged it.

Happy 18th birthday, Princess Caila.

You did not shrink our world.
You expanded it.

Jodi's Voice
Caila’s World 💛

02/24/2026

What does it do to a child to grow up calculating whether the world is safe for her?

A memory from two years ago popped up in my feed.

Caila was 15.

She looked at me and said,
“Mom, some people don’t like people like me with Down syndrome. Do you think terrorists also won’t like me?”

I remember the chill that went through me.

Not because she was wrong.
But because she was thinking about it at all.

What does it mean that a 15 year old girl with Down syndrome is trying to calculate whether she is safe in a world that talks about terrorism, war, and hatred?

Our children here grow up differently.
They know what sirens mean.
They know where the bomb shelter is.
They hear the word terrorist before they fully understand algebra.

And our children with Down syndrome grow up differently too.
They learn early that some people stare.
Some exclude.
Some underestimate.
Some decide who belongs and who does not.

So in her mind, the two fears collided.

If some people don’t like me because I have Down syndrome,
will terrorists not like me too?

That is the heartbreak.

Terrorism is built on dehumanization.
It begins with the belief that some human beings are worth less than others.

Disability discrimination, in its own way, grows from that same lie.

The lie that difference reduces value.

Caila forced me to confront something that day.

We cannot only fight terrorism with armies.
We fight it by building a culture that refuses to dehumanize anyone.

If we teach our children that people with Down syndrome are fully human, fully valuable, fully worthy, we are already pushing back against the mindset that fuels terror.

Two years later, I still think about her question.

Imagine a world where a child with Down syndrome does not worry about being different.

Imagine a world where no child has to calculate whether terrorists would target them.

We are not there yet.

But we build it every time we insist:

Difference is not weakness.
Disability is not lesser.
Human life is not negotiable.

And no child should ever have to wonder if the world has space for her.

02/23/2026

Caila loves being “famous”

Excited to share that I’m featured in the latest Her Tribe Magazine.
A magazine created by women, for women, filled with real conversations, inspiration, and Jewish life.
Grateful to be part of this beautiful project.

02/22/2026

Chutzpah. Real Inclusion.

I’m going to say something that feels uncomfortable.

Being Caila’s mom can be lonely.

Caila has Down syndrome. Her blood tests confirm trisomy 21. She is not mosaic. Because of that, mosaic Down syndrome groups do not accept her. She does not meet the official criteria.

At the same time, in many Down syndrome spaces, she does not quite fit the expected profile either.

So where do we belong?

We are in the WhatsApp groups. I read everything. I care deeply. I support other moms. But on the rare occasions when I have shared Caila’s successes, her independence, her growth, I have felt the shift.

The silence.
The discomfort.

Many families are navigating serious medical challenges, dual diagnosis and real crises. Of course they deserve support.

But what about the in between?

Caila is cognitively aware enough to compare.
Socially exposed enough to feel the gap.
Neurologically different enough to struggle with regulation.

She knows when she is different.
She knows when she is left out.
She struggles.

When your child is not in crisis, you are not urgent enough to rally around.
When your child is doing well, you are not struggling enough to belong.
When your child is high functioning, people assume it must be easy.

It is not easy.

High functioning does not mean no support needed.
Success does not cancel struggle.

Mothers in the gray zone need belonging too.

If this resonates, message me.

02/21/2026

Yitzhak Raz, 22, from Efrat, a young man with Down syndrome, didn’t let any challenge stop him. After a moving march he was awarded the beret of Unit "Mivtzar", in which he serves

Yitzhak Raz, a 22-year-old with Down syndrome, proved this week that there is no limit to willpower. In an emotional ceremony he received the beret of Unit "Mivtzar", after an exceptional beret march.
When Yitzhak’s parents approached Lt. Col. Eitan Dana, commander of Unit "Mivtzar", a unit established to defend the border communities after October 7, they asked him to recognize their son’s abilities. Dana did not hesitate: "I’ll manage with the abilities. I want him with us", he told them.

Twice a week Yitzhak comes to the unit, where he works closely with Master Sergeant Emmanuel Aharonov. He helps with daily logistics tasks. He assists with office moves, carrying equipment, and organizing, and shows up for every task with a unique sense of humor that has made him the beating heart of the unit.

The first kilometer of Yitzhak’s beret march began at the kindergarten in Efrat where Yitzhak volunteers. The kindergarten children accompanied him for the first kilometer. From there he continued with his friends from the unit. In one of the moving moments of the march, the officers carried him on a stretcher and hoisted him up high.

02/19/2026

In early February 2022, an eleven year old girl named Embla Ademi sat alone in her classroom in North Macedonia.

Other parents refused to send their children to school if she was there.

Embla has Down syndrome.

Her parents had fought for her to be included in a regular fourth grade classroom. Then a group of parents signed a petition, accused her of being disruptive, and boycotted the school.

So she sat alone.

When President Stevo Pendarovski heard, he did not issue a statement.

He went himself.

He visited her home, took her by the hand, and walked her to school.

“Inclusion will help children like Embla,” he later said. “But it will also help us learn from them how to sincerely rejoice, share, and be in solidarity.”

Embla was not asking for special treatment.

She was asking for a desk. A place to belong.

And sometimes it takes the most powerful person in the room to remind everyone that the smallest person in the room matters just as much.

That is what real leadership looks like.



Jodi's Voice

02/19/2026

Arik Peretz took his special needs daughter, Ruth, wherever he went.

At any given time, he was either carrying her or pushing her in a wheelchair.

I can't begin to imagine what those final hours on October 7th were like for this devoted father.

Hamas murdered Arik and Ruth in cold blood.

We will never forget