OUR WAY TO PRESENT SHABBATON IN HOUSTON, FOR DEAF AND HARD OF HEARING, MAY 4-5
Our Way, the Orthodox Union’s program for the deaf and hard of hearing, will hold a Shabbaton in Houston the weekend of May 4-5 with the Meyerland Minyan, 9606 Rock Road.
Our Way is dedicated to providing resources, services, and social programming for the Jewish deaf and hard of hearing. It is a division of the OU’s National Jewish Council for Disabilities.
The OU has chosen Houston as its first Affordable Orthodox Living community in which it encourages families and individuals to consider relocating there. As a result, the OU is increasing its programming; this Shabbaton is an example.
The Shabbaton will feature Deaf Torah Scholar-in-Residence Rabbi David Kastor, and Deaf Host Casey Przygoda. The event is coordinated by Rabbi Eliezer Lederfeind, Director of Our Way.
It will also feature a special showing of the movie Ingelore, a documentary of how a young Jewish deaf woman and her parents were able to escape the Holocaust. The DVD will be shown in voice, sign language, and captions. Shabbaton topics will include “How to Pray: What to Say;” “Shavuot: When We Received the Torah;”and “The Ten Commandments.”
Scholar-in-Residence Rabbi David Kastor graduated from Gallaudet University with a BA in Computer Science. He is married to an Israeli deaf woman, Tchia. He received his rabbinical ordination from Ner Israel in Baltimore, and started the Ahavas Israel School of the Deaf in Fredrick, MD. He has worked for Our Way as a Regional Representative of Maryland for more than 18 years.
Casey Przygoda currently works part-time at Lone Star College as a Lab Assistant in the Disability and Assistive Technology Department.
The cost of the Shabbaton is $35 per person, with scholarships available and discounts for families. Applications and checks (payable to Our Way Shabbaton) for a reservation should be mailed to Our Way, C/O Casey Przygoda, 3001 Murworth Drive #1303, Houston, TX 77025. She can be reached at VP: 281-661-8299 or email {encode=”mailto:cprzygoda79@gmail.com” title=”cprzygoda79@gmail.com”}.
For more information about Our Way, contact Rabbi Lederfeind (relay/voice) at 212-613-8234 or {encode=”mailto:ourway@ou.org” title=”ourway@ou.org”}.
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