My Twin Brother and I:
The Story of Our B’nai Mitzvah
I JOSHUA NEEDELMAN | JE STAFF
have a picture of my twin brother on
my desk. It’s from a school photo day.

Sitting in front of a navy blue backdrop,
Scott is wearing a navy New York Yankees
T-shirt and a calm, easy smile.

To the untrained eye, it’s an unremarkable photo, one bound
for family members’ wallets and walls. It stands on the ledge above
my desktop computer, next to a photo of Scott and my parents.

In that image, Scott is squeezed between my parents, his gaze
fi xed down and to the right, looking equal parts disturbed and
annoyed. And there is my mom and dad, smiling straight ahead,
smiling through the daily heartbreak of raising an autistic child.

Living with Scott is hard. It’s a reality familiar to friends and
extended family but only authentically grasped by me, my mother
See Brother, Page 12
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM SIMCHAS
OCTOBER 25, 2018
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