September 29, 2005

OU Sounds a Tekiah (Call of the Shofar) to Its Congregations:
OU National Jewish Council for Disabilities Announces North American Inclusion Month in October, Month of Holidays, to Increase Awareness in its Synagogues of Needs of People with Disabilities

Declaring “Every Jew Belongs in Shul,” the Orthodox Union today announced Na’Im, North American Inclusion Month for October 2005, which coincides with Tishri 5766, the month of Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot.

Na’Im in Hebrew, means pleasant.

Na’Im is an initiative of the OU’s National Jewish Council for Disabilities (NJCD), which includes Yachad for individuals with developmental disabilities, Our Way for the deaf and hard of hearing, and a wide array of other programs providing educational, vocational, clinical, and social/recreational programs for children and adults with disabilities. All these programs emphasize mainstreaming their constituencies into the general Jewish community, and the inclusion of people with disabilities into the life of the community.

Given its emphasis on mainstreaming and inclusion, NJCD is using the month of holidays to call on synagogues across North America to evaluate their accessibility for the disabled, and to consider steps they could take for improving access and involvement.

“There are 54 million Americans with disabilities across the United States, equating to approximately one in five Americans. There is no reason to believe that this ratio is any smaller within the Jewish community,” declared Dr. Jeffrey Lichtman, National Director of NJCD. “Therefore it is imperative that the Jewish community create an environment in which all Jews are encouraged to participate in every aspect of Jewish life – social, educational and religious. And it is particularly important that they encourage inclusion at a time of year when synagogue attendance is at its peak.”

Under the direction of OU President Stephen J. Savitsky, the OU has elevated Na’Im to special status, calling on all OU departments to emphasize inclusion in their work. “We want the message to go out from the Orthodox Union as a whole that inclusion is vital to the Jewish community, and that all of our children and adults who have disabilities must be included in all activities of our community – with an emphasis on their comfort and participation in the life of their synagogues,” Mr. Savitsky said.

As an example of this initiative, the Fall issue of the OU’s award-winning magazine, Jewish Action, includes the story, “The Power of Belonging: Welcoming Jews With Disabilities into Jewish Communal Life.” (EDITORS: FOR A LINK TO THIS STORY, PLEASE CONTACT steiners@ou.org.)

In addition, the National Conference of Synagogue Youth (NCSY) has prepared a pamphlet on inclusion for its Torah on One Foot series, featuring appropriate textual sources. From Isaiah: “Then, the eyes of the blind people will be opened and the ears of deaf people will be unplugged. A disabled person will leap like a deer and the tongues of mute people will sing in joy.” (35:5-6) (Editors: For copies of this brochure, please call 212-613-8266.)

The OU’s website, www.ou.org, now includes a listing of OU synagogues with accommodations for individuals with disabilities.

To prepare congregations for Na’Im, the OU has designed a beautiful poster (see below) featuring scenes of young people with disabilities being accommodated in synagogue settings, which it has sent to each of its shuls in the United States and North America, as well as to many non-OU synagogues. NJCD is calling on all congregations to display the poster in a prominent area in the building during the holiday period and beyond. The poster is accompanied by supporting material including an accessibility checklist for the building; year-round sermonic material with source materials, on the topic of disabilities; discussion guides; and sensitivity training materials and exercises.

Behind all of this effort rests the leadership and expertise of NJCD and the Orthodox Union.

A major purpose of Na’Im, Dr. Lichtman declared, “is to make communities more aware of the work of the OU on behalf of our people with disabilities and of how the OU can assist synagogues, schools and other communal institutions.” The poster declares, “For help in making your shul and community more inclusive, please contact Yachad/the National Jewish Council for Disabilities at 212-613-8229, or email njcd@ou.org.

The High Holy Day period, followed by the Festival of Sukkot, is a particularly significant time to call for inclusion, Dr. Lichtman declared. “We have a universal message, not only to OU shuls, but to every synagogue,” he said. “We want the Jewish community to be more accepting and appreciative of people with disabilities and more open in dealing with them.”

“During the month of Tishri the entire world is judged,” Dr. Lichtman said. “We gather together as individuals, families and communities. There is no more fitting time to focus on the inclusion of all then this auspicious period of the year.”

As examples, Dr. Lichtman referred to aged parents who live in facilities which accommodate their needs, but who when visiting their children for the holidays often cannot attend synagogues that do not accommodate wheelchairs. He noted as well, that children with autism, who may be disruptive and therefore not welcomed in a synagogue setting, should be provided with meaningful opportunities to participate. They look for such opportunities, especially during holiday services, Dr. Lichtman said.

In certain cases, alterations to a synagogue – such as a ramp -- may be required to accommodate the disabled. According to Dr. Lichtman, synagogues can obtain funds from a variety of foundations for these alterations. “We would be glad to help synagogues access grants,” he said. For more information about these grants, call the OU at 212-613-8266.

Considering Na’Im in great part to be a consciousness-raising program, Dr. Lichtman expressed the hope that through their participation in the program in October, “More rabbis will be talking about these needs and more people will be talking about these people – our friends, neighbors and relatives. If the synagogue isn’t prepared this year, we have 12 months to fix the situation so that by the next High Holy Days, no one will be excluded.”

“Na’Im represents the beginning, not the end of a process,” Dr. Lichtman said. “The OU is available to work with any synagogue – Orthodox or non-Orthodox – in helping to make it accessible for all people with disabilities, so that all may be included, to the benefit of the entire community.”

Review of contact information: On making your synagogue more inclusive, call 212-613-8229 or email njcd@ou.org.

On securing building alteration grants for your synagogue, call Jason Lieberman at 212-613-8266.

* * *

The Orthodox Union, now in its second century of service to the Jewish community of North America and beyond, is a world leader in community and synagogue services, adult education, youth work through NCSY, political action through the IPA, and advocacy for persons with disabilities through Yachad and Our Way. Its kosher supervision label, the , is the world’s most recognized kosher symbol and can be found on over 409,000 products manufactured in 83 countries around the globe.

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