{"id":62594,"date":"2020-02-18T16:34:15","date_gmt":"2020-02-18T21:34:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/?p=62594"},"modified":"2020-02-20T17:21:44","modified_gmt":"2020-02-20T22:21:44","slug":"5-ways-shuls-accessible","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/inspiration\/5-ways-shuls-accessible\/","title":{"rendered":"Five Ways to Make Our Shuls\u202fMore Accessible to Those with Physical Disabilities\u202f"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Our Shuls are designed\u202fto help us feel closer to\u202fG-d\u202fthrough the\u202fholy\u202frituals we perform, the\u202fspiritual\u202fatmosphere\u202fwe soak in, and the supportive and\u202fcaring\u202fkehillah (community)\u202fwe\u202fbecome\u202fpart of. It\u2019s a place where we bring our children to teach them about the impact of Tefillah (prayer) and it serves as the epicenter of our community. However, for those with disabilities, our Shuls aren\u2019t always very accessible, and we must do our part to make shuls a place that all members of our community feel welcomed.  <\/p>\n<p>In February, Yachad, the leading group for individuals with disabilities in the Orthodox community, will be celebrating North American Inclusion Month (NAIM) and offers these recommendations for Shuls to make themselves more inclusive. At times,\u202fcreating accessible spaces can seem\u202fvery time consuming\u202fand financially challenging, but\u202fwe have compiled a\u202flist of five ways you can make your synagogue more inclusive and physically accessible without breaking the bank.\u202f <\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Accessible Heights<\/strong> \u2013 making some minor tweaks to existing components of your synagogue\u202fcan\u202fgo a long way in making all congregants, especially people in wheelchairs, feel included and recognized. For example, lower your box of kippot and tallitot so that everyone, including people in wheelchairs, can reach them.\n<li><strong>Clear Signage<\/strong> \u2013 make\u202fsure your\u202fcongregants\u202fare aware of the accessible\u202faccommodations\u202fand resources available to them in your Shul. For example, post\u202fclear picture-based signage around your Shul indicating the locations of and path towards the accessible accommodations throughout your synagogue\u202f(such as\u202fentrances\/exits,\u202faccessible\u202fbathrooms,\u202faccessible\u202fseating\u202fin sanctuary,\u202fetc.).\u202fAdd all applicable symbols of accessibility in all publicity and marketing for your congregation and its events, such as the icons for wheelchair access, assistive listening devices, etc. By doing so, you\u2019ll mitigate their anxiety about attending because they will already know that you have considered their needs.\n<li><strong>Seating<\/strong>\u202f\u2013 strive for inclusion not integration.\u202fDon\u2019t settle for integrating\u202fthose who are mobility impaired into your Minyan by having a\u202fside-section of your sanctuary reserved\u202ffor those who need accessible seating, by separating the seating,\u202fthose with physical disabilities will more likely feel excluded than included in the davening.\u202fMake your sanctuary\u202finclusive\u202fby creating spaces throughout the room that are accessible to congregants who use wheelchairs or are mobility impaired.\u202fShorten pews or rows on the aisle side so\u202fsomeone using a wheelchair\u202fcan sit\u202fwith\u202ffriends and family.\u202fHave\u202faisles\u202fthat are\u202fwide enough that people can comfortably walk by without disturbing\u202fa\u202fperson\u202fin\u202fa wheelchair.\u202f\u202f\n<li><strong>Magnifying<\/strong> \u2013\u202fmake sure\u202feveryone, including those have difficulty seeing\u202fcan follow along and participate in the davening.\u202fAttach plastic magnifying sheets into the cover of siddurim and\u202fchumashim\u202fthat can be used as needed.\u202fHave Braille siddurim available for\u202fuse by\u202fcongregants who are blind.\u202f\n<li><strong>Create an Inclusion committee<\/strong> \u2013 assemble\u202fa diverse group of congregants\u202fthat\u202fwill\u202fidentify and address any obstacles to or concerns about accessibility and\u202fthen\u202fbrainstorm and implement solutions to ensure that all congregants feel welcomed, appreciated, and included\u202f <\/ul>\n<p>By implementing these five steps, you can help make your Shul more inclusive and welcoming to all \u2013 including those with disabilities. We must do our part to make sure that our Shuls are fully accessible for those with disabilities. Judaism puts a big focus on community and it\u2019s our responsibility to make sure that our Shuls are accessible to the full community. Please join us in celebrating NAIM 2020\u202fby helping create\u202finclusive and accessible Shuls for every Jew.\u202f\u202f <\/p>\n<p><em>Dov Levinson, M.S.Ed is a disability educator for Yachad, the leading group for individuals with disabilities in the Orthodox community. <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>This article was originally published in the 5 Towns Jewish Home<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Our Shuls are designed\u202fto help us feel closer to\u202fG-d\u202fthrough the\u202fholy\u202frituals we perform, the\u202fspiritual\u202fatmosphere\u202fwe soak in, and the supportive and\u202fcaring\u202fkehillah (community)\u202fwe\u202fbecome\u202fpart of. It\u2019s a place where we bring our children to teach them about the impact of Tefillah (prayer) and it serves as the epicenter of our community. However, for those with disabilities, our Shuls aren\u2019t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":133805,"featured_media":60367,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_cloudinary_featured_overwrite":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[85],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-62594","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-inspiration"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Five Ways to Make Our Shuls\u202fMore Accessible to Those with Physical Disabilities\u202f - OU Life<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/inspiration\/5-ways-shuls-accessible\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Five Ways to Make Our Shuls\u202fMore Accessible to Those with Physical Disabilities\u202f - OU Life\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Our Shuls are designed\u202fto help us feel closer to\u202fG-d\u202fthrough the\u202fholy\u202frituals we perform, the\u202fspiritual\u202fatmosphere\u202fwe soak in, and the supportive and\u202fcaring\u202fkehillah (community)\u202fwe\u202fbecome\u202fpart of. 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