RJ Blog

I recently saw the video “I am Brianna Couture” (with thanks to the Ruderman Family Foundation blog Zeh Lezeh for bringing it to my attention). It’s a video meant to open our eyes to the notion of invisible disabilities. After watching, I got to thinking: This is a great, eye-opening opportunity to re-frame our perceptions of disability. I want to ask you to engage in an exercise. Say (or think) the word “disability” and write the first five words that come to your mind (or draw what you think of, or say five words into a recording device – whatever [...]

The Foundation for Jewish Camp released preliminary findings last week from their recent research study Jewish Camp for Children with Disabilities and Special Needs, which maps current, potential, and desired camp program opportunities for children with disabilities/special needs. The study paints an encouraging picture of the field of Jewish camping, highlighting a variety of models that successfully provide meaningful Jewish camp experiences to children with diverse needs. The Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) Camp and Israel Programs are committed to providing a positive Reform Jewish summer experience to all children, including those with special needs. The FJC study found that [...]

I do not know of any colleague who has not, at one time or another, sat with a family as a loved one neared the end of life. It can be a heart-wrenching, spiritual, troublesome, anxious and fulfilling encounter — all at the same time. Sadly, too many families find themselves alone and adrift in a sea of medical terminology and health care controls. The physician, having tried “the arsenal of medical technology,” may ask what the family wishes to do next. This month’s edition of Atlantic Monthly includes a thought-provoking piece on the need for “The Conversation.” Author Jonathan [...]

It’s May. Can you believe it? Every year it seems to sneak up on me. But here it is. Most synagogues and Jewish professionals are at the point in the year that I typically call the “race to the finish line.” We are busy completing our program years, winding down religious schools and looking toward Shavuot as a point where we might briefly catch our breath; all while planning for next year by finalizing calendars and budgets. We can probably agree that the much anticipated summer months will allow us a chance to regroup, reflect and start it all over [...]

As concerned as we are about economic justice, the American Jewish community has failed to understand, on a gut level, a glaring reality: Adults with disabilities in the U.S. disproportionately experience poverty. According the census bureau, about one in five Americans has a disability. That means 20% of us. Eighty percent of adults with disabilities are unemployed or under employed not because they cannot work, but because they are denied the opportunity to work at jobs they are qualified to do. Employment discrimination makes people poor! With unemployment rates consistently double that of the general population, people with disabilities experience [...]

by Deborah Belsky I started learning Braille Hebrew when I was 9 years old. I was taught by Reverend Harry J. Sutcliffe, a blind Episcopalian minister, who taught Hebrew to many blind students in Brooklyn in the early 1960s. Hebrew Braille is easy because most of the letters have the same dot configuration as English letters. The vowels are other Braille symbols that are not used as consonants, so the Hebrew student learns them in the context of the Hebrew. For example, an “ah” sound is a Braille “C” which is not used in Hebrew. This is close to what [...]

This week, I was contacted by a colleague at another Reform synagogue. She shared that a member of their community is interested in endowing a special education program for their religious school, and she hoped that I might be willing to dream with them a little. She asked me, “What would you do with $30,000? With $50,000?” Wow. First and foremost, just as every child with a disability is unique, so is every synagogue community that seeks to include them.  Therefore, my answer to the question will vary depending upon a number of factors: Do you have an existing program [...]

“Special education is good education.” Have you heard that before? Some might even feel that this has become a cliché.  It doesn’t matter, really, because it is true. Do you find yourself eager to believe it but struggling to make it a reality? Here are some strategies: All students benefit from a multi-sensory approach to learning.  This is exactly what it sounds like; an approach to education that engages all of the senses. Some of us learn best by listening, some through reading. Some of us need to write something down to commit it to memory, others won’t remember well [...]

At NFTY Convention, we presented a program about inclusion of teens on the Autism Spectrum in our NFTY community. We take a moment to reflect on the program and our ongoing initiative.

Most of the time I see the Jewish world through my Jewish Special educator lens. For me, last week’s NFTY Convention and Youth Engagement Conference were no exception. Three significant things happened: 1.  Rabbi Rick Jacobs spoke of special needs and Jewish Disability Awareness Month from the bimah on Shabbat morning.  He shared the bimah with Evan Traylor, NFTY President, and the focus of their d’var Torah was the gifts that each of us has to offer. (Read the entire d’var Torah here.) Here is a portion of what he said about special needs education:

Since starting my blog, Jewish Special Needs Education, I realize that I am noticing inclusion – and the absence of inclusion – all the time. It kind of reminds me of being pregnant and noticing other pregnant woman everywhere you go! But more on this in a moment. I spent this Shabbat in Los Angeles at the URJ Youth Engagement Conference and NFTY Convention. To be honest, I was a little bit skeptical about coming to the conference. I wasn’t sure what to expect. As a full-time educator, my role is certainly one of engaging our youth. I understand the value [...]

by Rabbi Benjamin J. Zeidman The last time you were in another synagogue, how did you feel? What was it like? Did you know anyone else there? Did anyone say hello? Did you feel that it was a place you belonged, a home away from home? In working with conversion students, I often surprise them when I explain that one need not be a member to attend Shabbat services. All they have to do is walk in. No one will turn them away, and in fact it is likely that they will be greeted with warmth. The anxieties of those [...]

by Naomi J. Brunnlehrman In celebration of February as Jewish Disability Awareness Month, The Jewish Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Resource Center (JDRC) was asked to share some thoughts about the meaning of this month. As the co-founder of JDRC, I recognize that while everyone has good intentions when highlighting access throughout this month, the reality is that when February is over and the excitement of access has faded, we too often go back to the same Jewish world we lived in before February began. In order for us to envision our Jewish organizations as fully accessible, we first need to change [...]

by Rabbi Robin Nafshi Temple Beth Jacob in Concord, N.H., has a membership of about 210 families. And like all other communities both large and small, a number of our students have physical and/or cognitive disabilities. Our philosophy is to do all we can to provide maximum access for all of our members. One of our religious school students is Jacob, whose mother has said it’s fine to use his real name here. Jacob has detachment disorder, environmental autism, language delay, and rage issues – and he has been in our religious school since kindergarten. At no time have we [...]