Faith and Spirituality

Erika Abbott

What page are we on? How much longer does the service last? Just as my body signaled for urgent rest, the Shofar blasted. “Truah!”

Those first notes remind me that I want to be heard by my Jewish community. Not just as someone who’s disabled, but as a Holy Fool who has the knowledge you seek.

What better way to command attention than to play the Shofar? Thus, I decided to learn to play the ritual musical instrument and set out to play in Rosh Hashana services. I wanted to be the female version of Itzak Perlman. As I fell asleep that night, I could hear the T’kiah calling my name. [continue reading…]

1) Before you brainstorm solutions, STOP & ask a load of questions!

Remember, behavior is always communication. It is a way for kids, teens, and even adults to communicate an unmet need. For those with disabilities that impair their ability to communicate, this may be even more prevalent. Sometimes it’s unconscious and sometimes it’s conscious and a person with a disability can’t communicate it in a more effective way. A good example of this is a toddler meltdown, with our little ones who haven’t yet mastered their language skills. Older children and teens who have language deficits or who struggle labeling their emotions may also have frequent meltdowns. It’s important to reason that there is a WHY behind this behavior. [continue reading…]

There are people in our lives who radiate the warmth and vitality of the sun when we’re in their presence. They are curious about everyone they meet, and they thrive on spreading their wisdom for the good of the world. When you meet one of these treasures, you feel blessed. And when they become your friend, as they do, you accept this gift with gratitude.

Barbara Newman

Barbara Newman was someone in my life who was such a gift. We met in 2015 when Barb received the Henri Nouwen Award (renamed in 2021 as the Reimagining Spirituality Leadership Award) given by the Religion and Spirituality Network of the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. Barb was an icon in Christian inclusive education including curriculum design, individual support and universal design for worship and education. She was a pioneer at the Christian Learning Center, which changed its name to All Belong just a few years ago. Barb was in such demand as a keynote speaker, engaging her audiences within seconds. Barb was profound and passionate as she pursued her life’s calling so that all people with disabilities would feel a sense of belonging in faith community life-like anyone else.

Barb and I struck up an easy friendship and talked about our respective theologies and religious practices supported disability and mental health inclusion. When I wrote my book, “From Longing to Belonging: A Practical Guide to Including People with Disabilities and Mental Health Conditions in Your Faith Community,” I sought Barb’s guidance and wisdom. [continue reading…]

As we enter the end of summer (I know–it’s here!), those of us who work in education are turning our attention towards our classroom communities.

How do we create inclusive Jewish education communities? At Jewish Learning Venture, our Whole Community Inclusion initiative approaches inclusion holistically, engaging all stakeholders including the educators, the families, clergy and synagogue leaders and of course, the students themselves. We’ve implemented a number of successful programs to support inclusion, including: [continue reading…]

Gabriella Helkowski

Being mentored as a student with a disability and mentoring students with disabilities has changed my life. I have always been the student with the learning disabilities and the one being helped when I struggled with various schoolwork and activities. I always wanted to have the same experiences as my classmates and mentors helped me be included. As a mentor to students with disabilities, I was able to help others be included, too.

In second grade, my classmates and I had to read an autobiography dressed up as our historical figure. Mine was Helen Keller. Parents came and watched our 3-minute talks. I was so anxious as I struggled to read and speak clearly during my presentation. My learning support teacher, Mrs. Lindenfelser, made sure that I would be able to be part of this important second grade event. Every day she set aside time to read with me —as painful as it was—and ensured that I understood. At the end of the book, we wrote and practiced what I was going to say about Helen Keller. That day I felt equal to my peers, a feeling that I had not felt before. [continue reading…]

After two years of studying Hebrew, Jewish history, rituals, Torah, and Haftorah readings, the day I yearned for had finally arrived. I was invited to go to the bima (the raised platform in the synagogue from which the Torah is read and services led) to read the Torah for the first time…as an adult Bar Mitzvah. I got up from the pew and walked with the solemnity of a monarch, all regal. My kippah (the cap worn to fulfill the customary requirement that the head be covered) was my crown, my yad was my scepter, and my tallit (a fringed garment worn as a prayer shawl) was my coronation mantle.

“Queen Elizabeth, eat your heart out!”

When I got to the bima, the scroll was opened. I placed the tip of the yad on the passage. I did more than just read. I chanted every word like a Greek poet. I radiated. As I returned to my pew, people from both sides of the aisle stretched out their hands. [continue reading…]

Shelly Christensen

Every September, I wrote a letter to our son Jacob’s teachers. I came across this letter while searching for something else in my overcrowded computer files and I’m glad I did. While Jacob is years past high school, past college, and is working in the IT sector, the letter stands the test of time.

As parents, we know a great deal about those young people who live with us around the clock. I began writing letters to teachers in middle and high school to introduce them to Jacob. Teachers were grateful for the introductions that helped smooth the path toward a good teacher-student-parent relationship. [continue reading…]

McKenzie Stribich

As a disabled and neurodivergent student who grew up going to small Christian schools ill-equipped to serve students with disabilities, there are probably many ways in which I wasn’t given the accommodations I needed to excel—accommodations that may well have been met in other local schools. One that comes especially to mind is the realm of physical education (PE).

The first painful memory occurred in third grade. Standing and turning the jump rope for one of my peers, I was suddenly approached by the PE teacher, who told me in certain terms that I couldn’t participate in that activity anymore—her reason being it wasn’t safe. I remember being sidelined on the bench while doing my best to hide my tears from the teacher sitting next to me. [continue reading…]

Tamar Davis

There is a verse that is often quoted by Jewish educators from Proverbs (22:6) which states, “Teach a child according to his way.” This verse reflects the Jewish belief that every child should be educated and raised according to their way. While many schools and various educational settings strive to create inclusive environments, how should we as a community be advocating for, advancing, and supporting inclusion in our children’s educational ecosystems?

This question is quite personal. My parents had to advocate for their children with disabilities, and now I am an adult who has to advocate for myself and for my child with a disability. For my parents, one of the challenges they faced was figuring out how to fulfill their wish of enrolling me in a Jewish day school without compromising my hearing and speech development. For the first few years of my life, I attended a public school for the hearing-impaired and deaf, and my parents supplemented my Jewish education at home. Then my parents “mainstreamed” me in a Jewish day school and took me to the local public school to access the services we needed in order to continue my development.

Now, especially since I became CEO of Gateways: Access to Jewish Education in 2020, all I think about is inclusion in Jewish educational settings and what this means on a practical level. The phrase, “inclusion in Jewish educational settings,” can represent different paths that a family might take for a child to feel a true sense of belonging in Jewish life and learning. At Gateways, inclusion is about being able to have a choice. There are different options for children with disabilities, diverse learning needs, and mental health challenges. Some options might be for students who are in Jewish day schools and need additional support to succeed in the classroom, which we make possible by having therapists in day schools in the Greater Boston area. Other options might include enrolling in a program such as our Sunday and B’nei Mitzvah programs, where the goal is for students to learn about their Jewish heritage and traditions and be able to participate in their synagogue or community’s activities and services. There are many factors that can go into this kind of decision, and every family should be able to have all of the options to consider when determining what’s best for their child.

So how can we ALL be advocates of inclusion for children with disabilities in our communities and educational settings? We must be in partnership with one another, not just families and individuals with disabilities, but the entire community together. This includes our community leaders in our schools, synagogues, or any communal space we find ourselves in, our families and individuals who aren’t directly affected by disabilities, and our educators who are creating educational environments that children can access. Because, as that other famed verse from the Talmud (Shevuat 39a) states, “All of Israel is responsible for each other.”

Learn More about Tamar Davis at the Gateways: Access to Jewish Education website