RJ Blog

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 [...]

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 [...]

By Rabbi Lynne Landsberg In Berachot (34b), the Talmud teaches that a synagogue must be built with windows in the sanctuary. I believe this is so we can see who is outside and unable to join us. As Jews, we have to maintain “mental windows” everywhere so that we understand that those whom we refer to as “shut-ins” are not shut-in. They are cruelly shut out of the life many of us take for granted. We have to begin by helping our larger communities understand that we Jews have to change our attitudes. There is a saying in the disability community that [...]

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:

by Shelly Christensen In parashat Bo, “Moses held out his arm toward the sky and thick darkness descended upon all the land of Egypt for three days. People could not see one another. For three days no one could move about; but all the Israelites enjoyed light in their dwellings.” God hardened Pharoah’s heart again leading up to the final plague. While the light glowed for the Israelites, the Egyptians were bound by darkness. It must have been terrifying to live in the thick, enveloping darkness. Imagine living in another kind of darkness; darkness where the light of God never [...]

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 [...]

Recently I had the good fortune to offer a workshop for educators that I called, “Parents as Partners: Working with Parents in Jewish Special Needs Education.” I was well aware, from the start of the workshop, that the educators assembled wanted pointers on how to handle difficult conversations with parents. They were eager to help their students, but seemed to feel great apprehension around how to potentially develop open and supportive communication with parents. Open and supportive communication with parents is essential for a successful Jewish supplemental school experience for any child, especially those with special learning needs. However, my [...]

At Temple Beth-El, we are very fortunate to have a student in our program who is blind. Braille is one of the coolest things I have ever seen (no pun intended), and Hebrew Braille is even cooler. (Note: The Jewish Braille Institute, JBI, will put all of your materials, including textbooks, into Braille for free. They rock!) Facilitating this student’s Jewish education enables me to revisit both my personal and our congregation’s commitment to inclusion over and over again… and I couldn’t appreciate it more!” More than anything else, I have learned that simply accommodating a student’s needs is not [...]

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 [...]