Faith and Spirituality

Rosh Hashanah marks a fresh start, and is supposed to be a joyous day! And it is, for the most part, until I’m awkwardly sitting at dinner among my friends and family who are passing challah and engaged in conversations.

For probably 6 going on 7 years, I’ve been gluten-free. Before that, I have fond memories of passing the challah and dipping challah and apples into honey with my grandparents. At least for my family, I know that food, cooking and preparing for the holidays have been a major tradition and component of how we have celebrated Judaism and Jewish holidays. Making matzah ball soup with my mom and latkes with my sister are some of our greatest memories. [continue reading…]

Michelle K. Wolf

In my five years as Executive Director of JLA Trust & Services, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit that helps Jewish and non-Jewish adults with a range of disabilities enjoy a high quality of life with affordable pooled special needs trusts, I have noticed one clear determinant of wellness and happiness for our clients. Is there a family member, close friend or kind neighbor who can provide ongoing support and assistance? In other words, is there anyone in this person’s life who is not being paid to care for this individual?

It is that crucial factor, much more than the primary diagnosis, level and impact of disability or even the amount of money available to them that makes the difference. Government programs cannot be counted on to take the initiative and follow through with individualized help. Support and friendship can come in many packages and forms, from a sibling or aunt who lives close by or far away, a former brother-in-law, or from a long-time friend of the parents. For one of our older clients, his help came from the two adult daughters of his girlfriend, even though that girlfriend had passed away. [continue reading…]

David Sharif

Have you encountered an autistic student in your synagogue or religious school classroom? Have you wanted to interact with this student, but were unsure how to? These questions can be answered in many ways, but it requires collaboration between the students, parents, educators, and administration. Acceptance from classmates and the congregation as a whole is essential to creating a nurturing environment. It can be a challenging process, but it is worthwhile because autistic people have valuable contributions to make.

I was diagnosed with autism at the age of four. I could learn to read a word phonetically but struggled to understand the meaning of a sentence. [continue reading…]

Shalom Institute creates an accessible and welcoming community for all backgrounds, abilities and walks-of-life to develop deep relationships and grow physically and emotionally through our overnight camps, year-round retreats, nature education, holiday, and community experiences, all of which are grounded in Jewish values.

We intentionally foster an inclusive community. The two programs for which we are most known for doing this are Camp JCA Shalom overnight camp and Shemesh Farms. [continue reading…]

Aaron Wolf

Aaron Wolf is an incredibly talented filmmaker, an award-winning actor, and an overall wonderful person! Aaron has created a multitude of films, ranging from The LD, which helped get him into film school, to the more well-known films Restoring Tomorrow and The Walk, to his recently released adventure-thriller TAR. These films are based on Aaron’s Jewish roots and experiences with his grandfather and learning disabilities. Looking at the success of these films, one might assume that Aaron has always been completely connected to his Judaism and open and accepting of his learning disabilities, however his journey and relationship with disability and Judaism has not been linear.

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The Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) is the umbrella organization for 146 Jewish Federations and more than 300 independent Jewish communities across North America. Each Federation supports a number of service providers, such as nonprofit hospitals, nursing and assisted living facilities, group homes, family service agencies, and vocational training organizations–programs that, taken together, provide care to more than 1.3 million people of all faiths and socio-economic levels. Many of these provide vital services to people with disabilities. JFNA’s disability work focuses on inclusion, with a particular emphasis on policies that support our Federations and their partners. [continue reading…]

“Keshet is a one-of-a-kind organization that brings classroom experience, camps, sports, social and vocational activities, and residential opportunities. One of a few organizations in the country where a child can start programs and the age of 3 and continue throughout adulthood. Keshet grows alongside your child and family. Keshet is a national leader in inclusive summer camp. We pioneered the model of a disability service organization partnering with established camps to ensure that camp is available to kids of all abilities can be part of fully inclusive camp programs.”

Read the Toolkit

Los Angeles, California, August 13 – The disability nonprofit RespectAbility is pleased to announce the release of a new toolkit to help congregations ensure their High Holiday services and related events are accessible – “Opening All Gates: Making High Holiday Celebrations Accessible to All, In Person and Online.”

The rise of the Delta variant and the continuing COVID-19 pandemic will cause many synagogues and communities of worship to move their services online. Some communities will aim to have a hybrid experience with an in-person component. Even as the Jewish world continues to determine how to create a meaningful, spiritual experience in each format, the experience must be accessible to all.

Recognizing this, RespectAbility has created a revised edition of the “Opening Your Virtual Gates” toolkit that we created last year with the help of Rabbis Lauren Tuchman and Darby Leigh. The toolkit provided resources to help congregations ensure that virtual services included the one in five Jews with disabilities. Leigh, who is Deaf, and Tuchman, who is blind, brought both their deep knowledge as rabbis and critical lived experiences. “Opening All Gates” updates this content, while adding in content for in-person and hybrid services. [continue reading…]

Pictured: the Chernotsky Family: Nechama, Lee, Lyla, Avichai, and Marlea

Lee and Nechama Chernotsky live in Los Angeles, California with their three kids. A homeschooling family for over 6 years now, Lee and Nechama worked hard for their kids to start their education at a Jewish Montessori, in which they are still active.

Nechama, Lee’s wife and partner in purpose (soon to formally join the Speakers Bureau), laughingly describes Lee as “hallucinogenically optimistic, a renaissance man, an incredible father and listener who gives more than he takes.” Needless to say, Lee is selfless, and his passion manifests in his work with his foundation, ROSIES, a 501C3 nonprofit, to which Lee has found a chosen family with visionary philanthropic support from the Jeffrey and Leann Sobrato Charitable Fund. [continue reading…]