Our Way, an Orthodox Union program for the deaf and hearing impaired, together with the Tiferes Israel Congregation, 180 Passaic Avenue, invite the Jewish deaf and their families to a Shabbaton (Sabbath experience) January 20-21.
Highlights of the weekend include the presence of Deaf Scholar-in-Residence Rabbi David Kastor, who has worked for Our Way as a regional representative for Maryland for almost eighteen years. Rabbi Kastor is deaf and married to a deaf Israeli woman, Tchia. He graduated with a BA in Computer Science from Gallaudet University, and received his Semicha (Rabbinical Ordination) from Ner Israel in Baltimore three years ago. He started the Ahavas Israel School of the Deaf in Fredrick, MA, and taught there for two years.
The Deaf Resident Couple, who will be welcoming guests, Beryl and Sara Kohn of Passaic, are an observant, health conscious family, with two children.
Representing the Our Way New Jersey Region will be Judy Citer, who at age 12, met a local deaf boy and began to learn sign language. She started coming to Our Way programs as a teenager, and has been its New Jersey representative for almost eighteen years, running programs for Jewish deaf adults and families. Her husband, David, and their children Avi, Elana, Yacov, and Devorah are very supportive of her participation.
Along with special programming, the Shabbaton will provide three delicious meals and snacks; an interpreted synagogue service; a beginner’s prayer service; child care; and an opportunity to join together with others from the deaf community to live and learn about Judaism.
To attend, send an application and check for $25 by January 16 to Our Way Shabbaton, c/o Beryl and Sara Kohn, 245 Passaic Avenue # C19, Passaic, NJ 07055.
For more information contact Beryl and Sara Kohn at 212-613-8234 or nurturinghome@yahoo.com.
For information on Our Way national programs, contact Rabbi Eliezer Lederfeind, Director of Our Way, at 212-613-8234 or email ourway@ou.org.