Synagogue Inclusion

Youth & Religious School

• Provide disability awareness activities in your early childhood centers, religious schools and youth groups for students, staff and parents (Resource Library of materials is available).
• Share a film and follow up discussion related to Jewish Inclusion to the community, religious school or parents. List of suggested films can be found here.
• Since children and teens with disabilities are often targets for bullying, JDAIM as an opportunity to address the issue of bullying with youth group members. One resource to consider is the Bully Project.
• Mental health awareness is so important today. Consider an awareness activity, video, story or lesson to explore how we care for ourselves, the mental health of our family, friends, and community.
• Matan and Jewish Learning Venture have each created lesson plans to use in the classroom for Kindergarten through High School.

Awareness & Education

• Use the JDAIM logo on your website and on all printed materials during February.
• Create a JDAIM 2025 Book Group. List of suggested books can be found here.
• Provide printed resource information about programs in your congregation and the greater community that are inclusive of individuals with disabilities.
• Promote your congregation’s inclusion practices by creating an inclusionary mission statement about your congregation. This statement can be included in all membership packets, mailings, on your website and e-blasts.
• Give a presentation at your congregation’s February board meeting sharing stories about students with special needs and how inclusion benefits all students.
• Program with an Inclusive Eye – use “People First” & inclusive language on all synagogue publications.
• Above all, share your stories of success, the fruits of your work that give people hope that they can belong.

Learning

• Dedicate a Shabbat worship service to inclusion & the contributions of children and adults who have disabilities and focus Torah study or d’var Torah on text that informs us of Jewish values for inclusion.
• Establish an accessibility/inclusion committee for your congregation to address the needs of individuals with disabilities and their families on an ongoing basis.
• Offer live captioning for virtual programs in your community through NJ Relay or CapTel.
• Train greeters/ushers to facilitate for individuals with disabilities and to be able to direct them to the proper materials (i.e. Large print siddur, hearing modifications, Braille siddur, accessible seating).
• Offer a Youth Mental Health First Aid program to parents and educators.
• Assess existing programs and evaluate their accessibility and consider becoming an ABLE Awarded Congregation (Synagogue Self-Assessment- How Inclusive Are We?).
• Share a film and follow up discussion related to Jewish Inclusion to the community, religious school or families. List of suggested films can be found here.
• Host a guest speaker (professional in the field, parent or sibling of or individual with a disability) to speak about their experiences with inclusion.

For more information please contact Rebecca Wanatick, Director, Disability Inclusion & Belonging (973) 929-3129, [email protected] or www.jfedgmw.org/disability

We want to help promote your JDAIM programming to our Greater MetroWest community and nationally.  Please share your community programming in honor of JDAIM this year with us here.

Inclusive and Welcoming Language
February 2021

Compiled by:

• Mary Haar, Assistant Vice President, Community Planning & Allocations,
  The Associated: Jewish Federation of Baltimore
• Rebecca Wanatick, Manager, Community Inclusion & Program Services
  Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest NJ
• Aaron Kaufman, Senior Legislative Associate, Jewish Federations of North America
• Lisa Houben, M.S. CCC-SLP, Community Inclusion & Training Coordinator
  Atlanta Jewish Abilities Alliance, Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta

“You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to desist from it” (Pirke Avot 2:21)

Language is powerful. We recognize that preferred language changes as community culture evolves. Pirke Avot teaches us that it is our obligation to continue to strive for better, to communicate in the best manner possible and recognize that this may change over time and when engaging with different people. We won’t always get it perfect, but we must continue to strive for the best. Everyone is a person, no matter their abilities or disabilities. People of all abilities get to choose how to refer to themselves. Even as we introduce any person we are with, someone with a disability has the opportunity to choose how they are described.

As a community, our language and actions should reflect recognizing all as humans and people first. When we identify people by their disability first (i.e. “disabled person”), we are not recognizing the fact that they are a person first. A disability is a part of who someone is, but not their only identifying factor. This idea is valuable in areas of inclusion. People of all abilities can choose how they want to be referred. If you mess up, don’t worry! This document is meant to be read as a novice in the topic of disability. These are introductory tools to start the conversations in your community. We always defer to each person in determining how they would like to identify themselves.

When meeting someone with any type of disability, you may stop to think about how should I address or refer to this individual? Have you ever considered asking a person, “How would you like to be referred to?” Why would talking to someone with a disability be different than speaking with anyone else? We might consider asking someone, “Do you like to be called like Becca or Rebecca?” Someone with a disability should be awarded the same opportunity for preferred descriptors.

If you need to refer to someone’s disability, it is okay to ask, “How would you like me to describe your disability?” This may feel uncomfortable, but this actually shows kavod (Respect) to the individuals. When in doubt, using Person First language is a great place to start. And please remember that we won’t always get it perfect, but we must continue to strive for the best.

Examples of People First Language (adapted and edited based off
Kathie Snow’s http://www.inclusioncollaborative.org/)

***There is a community of individuals with Autism that prefers to be identified as “Autistics.” If you are an individual who does not identify as part of this community, it is best to use people-first language.

Shabbat & Holiday Programming for Individuals with Disabilities & Their Families 2025

January

• 1/24 Open Door Minyan, 11 am
• 1/11 Yaldeinu, 11 am
• 1/24 Shabbat L’Khulam, 6 pm
• 1/25 Minyan Meyuchad, 11 am

February 

• 2/1 Yaldeinu, 11 am
• 2/7 Shabbat L’Khulam, 6 pm
• 2/8 Open Door Minyan, 11 am
• 2/15 Minyan Meyuchad, 11 am
  2/21 Open Door Minyan, JDAIM

March

• 3/1 Open Door Minyan, 11 am
• 3/7 Shabbat L’Khulam, 6 pm
• 3/15 Yaldeinu, 11 am
• 3/15 Minyan Meyuchad, 11 am

April 

• 4/5 Yaldeinu, 11am
• 4/5 Open Door Minyan, 11 am
• 4/25 Shabbat L’Khulam, 6 pm
• 4/26 Minyan Meyuchad, 11 am

May

• 5/3 Open Door Minyan, 11 am
• 5/3 Yaldeinu, 11 am
• 5/16 Shabbat L’Khulam, 6 pm
• 5/17 Minyan Meyuchad, 11 am

June 

• 6/7 Open Door Minyan, 11 am
• 6/13 Shabbat L’Khulam, 6 pm
• 6/21 Minyan Meyuchad, 11 am

Minyan Meyuchad is a monthly Shabbat service, lunch and extended program for teens and adults with developmental disabilities. It takes place at B’nai Shalom, 300 Pleasant Valley Way, West Orange. For more information, contact Sharon at [email protected].

Open Door Minyan is a Shabbat interactive & engaging service that facilitates all attendees having a participatory voice, kiddush, songs, & when in person, extended programs for teens & adults with developmental disabilities. The Open Door Minyan is a program of Congregation Adath Shalom, 841 Mountain Way, Morris Plains. For more information, contact Bonnie (201) 317-0810 or [email protected].

Shabbat L’Khulam (A Shabbat For Everyone) is an interactive Shabbat service for children and their families. Shabbat L’Khulam is a program of Temple Beth Shalom, 193 East Mount Pleasant Avenue, Livingston. For more information, contact Cantor Sharon Knoller at [email protected].

Yaldeinu is a Shabbat and High Holiday service for families with children or young adults with special needs. The 45-minute program is led by a special needs educator with a unique prayer book creating an interactive experience in a supportive, nurturing environment. Yaldeinu is a program of Congregation B’nai Israel, 160 Millburn Avenue, Millburn. For more information, contact Jody Reich at [email protected].