I was talking to my mother on the phone when she told me about one of her committee projects. At her congregation in Virginia, there\u2019s an outdoor space, in the woods. It\u2019s used as a learning environment and sanctuary, with play space, too.<\/p>\n
While it may be a charming and rustic foray into nature, it\u2019s also something else. It\u2019s inaccessible to those with disabilities. My mom described how a group home brought some of its residents to an outdoor service, only to discover that, in fact, the residents couldn\u2019t attend, because they use wheelchairs. The trails, filled with rocks and tree roots, are too difficult for those wheelchairs to navigate.<\/p>\n
My mom is on the \u201cinclusion committee\u201d at her synagogue. In part, she joined because she cares about everybody at her congregation. She wants to practise \u201caudacious hospitality\u201d and \u201cradical inclusion.\u201d The other part is more personal. My nephew uses a wheelchair. Of course, she wants to help him have a full and meaningful Jewish experience.<\/p>\n
These bumpy trails are a physical barrier to inclusion. Our Jewish communities are full of physical barriers. These can be things like having only one staircase as an access point into a building \u2013 and no ramp. It can mean having no accessible bathroom, or no place for a mom to breastfeed. It could be lacking a way to invite a person in a wheelchair onto the pulpit, because there\u2019s no ramp, or even no handrail for those who might not be stable on their feet.<\/p>\n
Physical barriers aren\u2019t just stairs, of course. What about large-print prayer books or documents that work with text-to-speech software for those who have visual impairments? What about an amplification system, sign-language interpreter or closed captioning for those with an audio disability?<\/p>\n
Even beyond this, there are those whose differing abilities aren\u2019t visible. Is there a quiet room available and unlocked for those who have sensory challenges? Many might need a break from loud music at a bar mitzvah or during a raucous Simchat Torah celebration. Is there a way that those who have mental health challenges or intellectual disabilities can be offered support if they need it while at a synagogue event?<\/p>\n
February is Jewish Disability Awareness and Inclusion Month, or JDAIM. If this were a committee meeting, this is when, inevitably, someone would speak out. \u201cWhoa,\u201d this person might say. \u201cWe\u2019re just a small congregation with limited funds. We simply can\u2019t do all this. We can\u2019t be all things for all people.\u201d<\/p>\n
This is the second barrier to break down. It\u2019s an attitudinal barrier. When someone\u2019s attitude gets in the way of helping practise radical inclusion, it stops us from meeting every Jewish person\u2019s needs in the community. This attitude adjustment is necessary when, for example:<\/p>\n
The list could be a mile long. I\u2019ve seen somebody cast a fish-eye at every one of these people. Given how many of us struggle with disabilities, well, let\u2019s just say it\u2019s high time for a change in attitude.<\/p>\n
To the person who says, \u201cWe\u2019re a small congregation, we can\u2019t do all this,\u201d be ready to stand up and say, \u201cDid you ever wonder why it\u2019s such a small shul? This is why. This attitude. This inability to try and include everybody and to work to meet their needs.\u201d<\/p>\n
It doesn\u2019t cost a lot to build a portable ramp for the bima<\/em> (pulpit). Sometimes, funds can be raised in creative ways to fix physical barriers. What\u2019s harder? Working to change our conscious and unconscious attitudes about disability and inclusion.<\/p>\n Disability will affect all of us or our loved ones at some point in our lives. Please, don\u2019t wait until you break your leg to acknowledge this. It\u2019s really important to bring JDAIM up, but it shouldn\u2019t be a once-a-year discussion.<\/p>\n In the portion Yitro, which we read in synagogues at the beginning of February this year, G-d speaks to Moses and to all the people at once. They all hear the Ten Commandments together in Exodus 20:1-14. Rabbi Ana Bonnheim\u2019s commentary on this portion uses the phrase \u201cradical inclusion.\u201d Moses prepares the people to hear from the Almighty, and they all receive this revelation together \u2013 each in his or her own way. Rabbi Bonnheim reminds us that inclusivity, this frequent repetition of \u201cha-am<\/em>\u201d, \u201cthe people,\u201d is essential to Jewish tradition.<\/p>\n On Shavuot, when we gather again to hear the Ten Commandments, everyone is supposed to be there. If we want a Jewish gathering where everyone physically can be there, it\u2019s time to start an inclusion committee, if your community doesn\u2019t have one. If you already have that committee, remember the public relations campaign that must accompany any initiatives, so that attitudinal barriers change as well as physical ones. The truth is that, even if everyone can physically be present, if your community projects a bad attitude, those with disabilities won\u2019t want to be there.<\/p>\n As for me, I received a \u201csave the date\u201d card for my nephew\u2019s bar mitzvah recently. I cannot wait to see him, using his assistive speaking device, leading the service. Of course, there\u2019s a closed border and a pandemic in the way, too, but their congregation works so hard to include everyone that I know that, in the worst-case scenario, I\u2019ll be there virtually, through livestreaming. Jewish celebrations, like every other kind of Jewish gathering, are for all of us. That\u2019s why inclusion matters.<\/p>\n Joanne Seiff<\/strong> has written regularly for CBC Manitoba and various Jewish publications. She is the author of three books, including <\/em>From the Outside In: Jewish Post Columns 2015-2016, a collection of essays available for digital download or as a paperback from Amazon. Check her out on Instagram @yrnspinner<\/a> or at joanneseiff.blogspot.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I was talking to my mother on the phone when she told me about one of her committee projects. At her congregation in Virginia, there\u2019s an outdoor space, in the woods. It\u2019s used as a learning environment and sanctuary, with play space, too. While it may be a charming and rustic foray into nature, it\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[9730,2777,8639,218,1997,2172],"class_list":["post-36349","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-op-ed","tag-disability-awareness","tag-inclusion","tag-jdaim","tag-judaism","tag-mental-health","tag-torah"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36349","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36349"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36349\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36349"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36349"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36349"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}