Blind State Supreme Court Justice Provides Hope and Help for the Disabled

Justice may be blind, but now a justice on the Michigan Supreme Court is as well.

Richard H. Bernstein, 40, knows the meaning of “pay it forward.” Blind from birth, Michigan’s newly elected State Supreme Court justice has built a successful life despite his own disability, while encouraging and assisting others to do the same.

Bernstein was elected to the Supreme Court of Michigan last week for an eight-year term, making the Detroit-based disability-rights attorney—who has a long track record of successful pro-bono litigation—the first legally blind state Supreme Court justice in the nation.

Among those who celebrated the victory was Rabbi Chayim B. Alevsky, co-director of Family & Youth Programs at Chabad of the West Side in Manhattan. Alevsky first met Bernstein about three years ago while attending one of the lawyer’s talks.

“I was just floored by who he was and what he did,” says Alevsky. “Here was a man—blind from birth—who dedicated his life to advocate for people with special needs. He became a successful lawyer who never charged a dime for his services and never lost a case. He never sued for money, only for positive change. He became a professor of law, a radio-show host and a brilliant public speaker.”

Following that talk, Alevsky invited Bernstein to join him for a Shabbat meal. A few weeks later, the lawyer came—and the two have been friends ever since.

“His warmth and joy are infectious,” insists Alevsky. “He would call me every Monday in the morning, and we’d learn together. He would ask me in different words each time if I was excited about life. ‘Are you maximizing your day, your time, your life?’ ”

Bernstein is also an endurance athlete, Alevsky learned, having completed 18 marathons, in addition to an Ironman Triathlon in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, in the summer of 2008.

And that, too, presented new challenges to be overcome.

In August 2012, Bernstein was hit by a bicyclist in Central Park, shattering his hip and pelvis. Over the course of a long recovery—he spent 66 days convalescing in a New York hospital—Alevsky visited daily to don tefillin with Bernstein, who used the MySiddur app developed by the rabbi to recite the daily prayers.

In a number of public addresses, Bernstein has credited Chabad’s positive attitude to life and Judaism that were demonstrated by Alevsky, as well as the teachings of the Rebbe—Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory—as important factors in his recovery from his bike accident and in his life.

“Chabad is what gave me the strength to get through this,” he told a reporter in 2012.

Just one year after the accident, Bernstein trained for the New York City marathon and pushed legislation to make the park safer for those with disabilities. He also embarked on a “pay it forward” campaign, speaking to communities across the country and abroad about his message of positivity and perseverance.

Now that Bernstein, a Democrat, will be sitting on the Supreme Court, Alevsky has similar high hopes for him.

“Richard dedicates so much to helping people because he truly believes in it. He’s a real mentsch.”