When Racheli was six, it occurred to me that perhaps we shouldn’t wait until we had finished raising our own children before taking in a foster child

Like so many other Bais Yaakov girls, I earned a degree in special ed from a frum college program before I was married.

I had volunteered to care for children with Down syndrome from the time I was in third grade — my neighbor down the block had a child with Down’s — and I felt a strong affinity for these kids.

I remember thinking, as a young girl, that there are so many Jewish children in need of good homes, and there are so many perfectly good Jewish homes — why not put the needy children into the good homes? I dreamed that one day, when I had my own home, I would bring in a needy child and raise him as my own.

This dream was so important to me that I even mentioned it to my husband, Shimshon, when we were dating. “After I finish raising my kids, I’d love to take in a foster child,” I remarked.

“Why not?” he said.

After that, we put the subject on the back burner as we proceeded with our own life together: engagement, marriage, raising a family.

Things didn’t go exactly as planned, however. We had our first child, Racheli, right away, but then we encountered some fertility issues. While other young couples around us were having one baby after another, Racheli remained an only child. I was disappointed, but not hysterical. I never thought we wouldn’t have more children; in my mind, it was just a matter of when.

When Racheli was six, it occurred to me that perhaps we shouldn’t wait until we had finished raising our own children before taking in a foster child. If Hashem had set up our family this way, with plenty of space for another child, then maybe now was a good time to welcome a needy child into our life.

Shimshon was hesitant, however. He had recently left kollel and taken a job, but his salary was low and our finances were tight.

“How can we afford to take in a foster child?” he fretted.