Superstar singer Yaakov Shwekey spends much of his life in the limelight, sharing his music with Jews the world over in a daunting lineup of performances. But the concert closest to his heart is his annual Chanukah performance for a group of special-needs children and their families. Meet the other Yaakov Shwekey — and his dynamic wife Jenine, who has dedicated her considerable passion and talent to special-needs children.
When Yaakov Shwekey first dated Jenine Cohen back in 2000 he wasn’t a superstar. “I maybe told my wife I could carry a tune back then” he remembers. “I figured if the singing was going to happen it would happen eventually.”
“He told me he sang and I figured okay we’ll have a great Shabbos table” Jenine says.
But Jenine’s conversations left Yaakov rather nervous. “She kept talking about ‘her kids’ all the time” he recounts. “I began to wonder if the shadchan had been holding back some crucial information!”
Eleven years later they laugh as they remember those early conversations. Yaakov learned that his date (and soon-to-be wife) had already established a reputation as an impassioned advocate for special-needs children. At age 16 Jenine a yeshivah girl from Deal began helping the family of Rav Aharon Kamenetsky the son of Rav Shmuel Kamenetsky with their special needs son Eliezer. “I became very close with Mrs. Kamenetsky a young mother who was trying to juggle the needs of her special child along with all her other children ” Jenine says. “He was up all night it was just overwhelming. But me I fell in love with that kid. I couldn’t stop talking about him!
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