 Upon entering the house of Rabbi Larry Kaplan, his wife, Gerri, Rabbi Kaplan’s father, Elkin, and eight children, one would expect nothing less than sheer mayhem. But this home, which includes the couple’s youngest children, Nikki, 18, and Micah, 13; adopted children Ashley, 14, and Saraea, 8; foster children Sam, 19, her son Aadyn, 2 1/2, “Chubs”, 2 1/2, and “Velvet”, 7 months, encompasses one big normal family.
In 1998, Rabbi Kaplan relocated to Temple Israel, Wilkes-Barre, from Miami in the hopes of raising his family in a safer environment. Back then, it was his children Dana, now 28, Daniel, now 25, Ilan, now 23, Nikki, and Micah. He was later asked to join the advisory board of Wyoming Valley Children and Youth. He revealed that from the inside, the truth was deeply disturbing. Children from troubled families were becoming products of the system, being shuffled back and forth between group homes. Although the Kaplans had no plans to expand their family, they knew they simply had to help these children.
Their first foster child was Christopher, 1, who lived with them for a short two months until he was sent to live with his grandmother. The second, Saraea, was a mere four weeks old when she arrived. Her mother was in rehab, her father in jail. After residing with them for six months, the Kaplans became quite attached and proceeded with adoption. Following years of red tape, Saraea finally became a Kaplan. When asked about the reality of raising an African-American child in the Jewish faith, Mom and Dad joked that the only difficulty they ever had was learning what to do with her hair.
Next to arrive was Ashley, now 14, who was 9 when the Kaplans picked her up on the eve of a raging snowstorm. Ashley attends Hebrew school and recently celebrated her B’nai Mitzvah with brother Micah.
The next additions were emergency placements, Sam and Aadyn. Following a short stay with the Kaplans, Sam was placed in an independent group home at age 17, where she had a difficult time managing as a young, single mother. After filtering through the system yet again, Sam returned to the Kaplans. She will graduate high school in 2012 and hopes to attend college.
As the eldest children of the brood living at home, Sam and Nikki, who are homeschooled by Gerri, play a huge role in the child care. Gerri is the first up at 5:30 a.m., followed shortly by Nikki and Sam. Together, they have the entire clan bathed, dressed, fed, and off to day care before beginning their busy days at school and work. It hasn’t been easy, but the family has created a huge support system, providing necessary encouragement coupled with extreme patience.
Three months premature, “Chubbs” came to the Kaplans from a neo-natal ICU. He was four weeks old, weighed just 4 lbs., and required a heart monitor and additional specialized equipment. His nickname indicates that Chubbs has thrived in the Kaplan home.
Raised with an abundance of unconditional love, it’s evident that these children have become one incredibly happy, blended family.
Even Grandpa Elkin does his fair share. Between 2 and 3 a.m., he’s usually found at the large kitchen table folding the clothes from 35 loads of weekly laundry.
“This is the most exciting, yet scary way to live that I could ever imagine.” Even though the responsibility taken on at the spur of the moment is unbelievable, he admits that he loves every minute.
To date, the Kaplans have housed 68 foster children, some only overnight. Rabbi Kaplan noted that there just aren’t enough families in the Wyoming Valley willing to take in foster children and that he and Gerri just seek to help them through rough transition periods. Eventually, the family knows that the children must leave and it “feels sad, yet great about putting families back together. Our job is to teach them everything they need to make them strong.”
Ironically, Rabbi Kaplan and Gerri shy from the kudos that they receive for the priceless gifts they give these children. They consider themselves very ordinary people, say it’s do-able, and that every member of this family considers each day to be an amazing, rewarding blessing. They each know that this experience has and
will continue to teach the true meaning of family. When asked to sum it up, Rabbi Kaplan simplified the contributing factors that make their house a home– selflessness, responsibility, pride, consideration, sharing, and teamwork. |
