On Saturday, April 14th, Congregation Rodeph Sholom in New York City will hold a Passover service specifically tailored towards individuals with special needs and their families. For complete information, and to RSVP, please download Passover Flier.
Experts in advocacy and service to people with disabilities engaged rabbinical, cantorial, education, and Doctor of Ministry students as well as alumni during a unique day of learning at the New York School devoted to exploring the responsibility and role of Jewish leaders and institutions in creating communities of inclusion and welcome. The Yom Iyyun on February 28 was organized by HUC-JIR in partnership with the Union for Reform Judaism, and included leaders from a broad range organizations and agencies offering assistance to disabled individuals. The event marked the 4th annual Jewish Disability Month of February.
“Based on the success of last year’s Yom Iyyun on Special Needs for the MARE program at the New York School of Education (NYSOE), it was clear that this subject needed at be brought to the entire student and alumni community,” explained Professor Jo Kay, NYSOE Director. Her planning committee included rabbinical student Joshua Beraha, cantorial student Faryn Kates and education student Amanda Farb, and leaders in the field – Rabbi Edythe Mencher, the URJ’s Specialist on Caring Communities and Family Concerns, Dori Frumin Kirschner, the Executive Director of MATAN (dedicated to ensuring that all Jewish children have a rich and meaningful education), Lisa Friedman, Co-Chair of the URJ’s Committee on Access to Jewish Education, and Rabbi Nancy Wiener, Director of the Blaustein Center for Pastoral Counseling at HUC-JIR/New York. “The result was a magical “day of learning,” which has inspired us to continue to build our own commitment to ongoing study and advocacy in addressing the needs of people with Special Needs.” (Read more…)
This article originally appeared in the Boulder Jewish News, March 14, 2012
March 12, 2012 – Twenty congregational school education directors from across the country, including Froma Fallik of Bonai Shalom in Boulder came together for the inaugural Matan Institute earlier this week in New York City. Committing to a 15 month program that will enable their schools to better accommodate children with special learning needs, this is Matan’s first major effort to shift focus from direct service only to providing in-depth special needs training opportunities for current and future Jewish education professionals.
The twenty participating Education Directors were selected from among thirty-four applicants, based upon their readiness to implement change in their congregational schools and their ability to commit to the entire program. Matan, named one of the nation’s 50 most innovative Jewish nonprofits in Slingshot ’11-’12, received funding for the Institute from The Adler Family Innovation Fund of The Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey, The Natan Fund, The Solelim Fund of UJA-Federation of New York and The Jewish Women’s Foundation of New York. (Read more…)
On November 5th, 2011, students from Matan’s Shaare Torah program in Gaithersburg, Maryland came together with staff from Camp Ramah in New England’s Tikvah program. The Tikvah program is the special needs program at Camp Ramah that provides a wide range of Jewish campers with disabilities an opportunity to have a sleep away camp experience. In order to make Shabbat even more special, these two amazing organizations joined forces for a Shabbat morning program. Following along in a custom made siddur, prayers were taught in both Hebrew and English. There were hand motions, new tunes, dancing, story telling, movement and so much Shabbat ruach or spirit. The participants of the service got a taste of Ramah through songs and interactive Torah study. For example, the week’s Torah portion, Lech L’cha spoke of the story where Avraham was told he would be moving to a new home. In order to make a personal connection to this portion, the students talked about what belongings they would bring to their new home and what it might feel like to move suddenly. These personal connections to Shabbat are what make Matan and Ramah so special. These organizations want to provide Jewish experiences for people with special needs who might not be exposed to these educational opportunities. This Shabbat program was a glimpse of what a typical Shabbat morning is like in the Tikvah program at camp. The room was filled with smiles and positive energy. Matan, Ramah and Shaare Torah successfully joined together to create a meaningful and beautiful service, where everyone could find their own connection.
Elisheva Layman is a senior at the University of Maryland majoring in special education. She is a Recruiter for the Tikvah program at Camp Ramah in New England, where she also serves as Rosh Edah (division head) of Tikvah.
For more information about Tikvah at Camp Ramah in New England, contact Howard Blas, Tikvah Director, howardb@campramahne.org.
You’re not going to want to miss this amazing way to support Matan and Jewish children with special needs! Matan has partnered with Sugar Plum Chocolates to make your Chanukah even more meaningful – and even more delicious! Read all about it in Matan’s latest newsletter and take a look at Chanukah chocolate that you just might not be able to resist!
Just a quick note to let you know that Matan posts lots of information on Facebook about Jewish Special Education and special needs in general. We cull the best of what we read through our variety of networks so that we can all stay current on the issues facing individuals with special needs, and those that care for and work with children with disabilities. Of course, we also post as much as possible here on the blog – particularly from our own guest bloggers, Matan staff, Matan curriculum ideas and lots of other things related to Jewish Special Education.
So please make sure to “like” Matan on facebook (by clicking on the icon at the top right of this page), and always feel free to join the conversation on our blog or on facebook. We always look forward to hearing your thoughts.