“The Jack and Shirley Silver Center for Special Needs builds and nurtures an inclusive and accepting community where individuals with disabilities and their families have opportunities to make meaningful connections to each other and their communities. We serve as a catalyst and leader for transforming the ways in which the community at large understands and interacts with people with different abilities.” [continue reading…]
Shlomo Meyers
Shlomo Meyers was born in Manhasset, New York on December 6, 1985 with Down Syndrome. He is the middle child in a family of seven children. Meyers currently lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Danielle. He has been working at Maimonides Academy in Los Angeles since 2014.
Meyers describes himself as a kind, respectful person. Growing up, Judaism was a major component of his life. He is “proud to be a Jewish person, even if it’s hard to be a Jewish person sometimes.” He joked, “especially when we get to Yom Kippur!” He began to read the Torah at the age of five as he says it helps to be a Jewish person and read the Torah. Aside from this, his favorite Jewish holiday is Hanukkah, although Purim comes in a close second! [continue reading…]
Francesco Hayez painting of the destruction of the Jewish temple
Saturday night began the Jewish holiday of Tisha B’Av. This is a fast day, and traditionally requires a great deal of mourning. When determining our individual observance, however, we must remember core Jewish values. Judaism emphasizes the wellbeing of individuals and their safety. One should not put themselves in a position of harm because they are trying to follow religious traditions. Judaism recognizes this with the concept of Pikuach Nefesh, the saving of a life. [continue reading…]
“The Jewish Los Angeles Special Needs Trust (JLA Trust) provides professional trustee services to people with physical, mental, cognitive, and developmental disabilities with affordable pooled special needs trusts so beneficiaries of legal settlements and inheritances do not lose their essential government benefits. Our person-centered services support people surviving on these benefits (often SSI and/or Medi-Cal), helping them to use their funds to pursue hobbies, get better medical care, or even go on vacation.”
Two weeks ago, I had the absolute joy and privilege to attend a webinar entitled “How Nonprofits Work.” It was the second of seven free, phenomenal webinars being put together by Joshua Steinberg. This “Leaders of the Future” series, which concludes on July 20, is providing incredible content to introduce aspiring Jewish lay leaders with disabilities, like me, to the topics and skills we need to lead as volunteers and professionals in nonprofit organizations. As of yesterday, the series had had fantastic sessions on individual giving and making an organization or individual truly shine on social media. Yesterday’s session, which demystified the sometimes daunting world of foundations, was so informative that I’m going to write about it for next week. Remember, if you’ve missed any of these webinars, they are available for free on the RespectAbility website, now and forever. [continue reading…]
Alex Howard
Alex Howard is a compassionate, funny guy, to whom it is incredibly easy to talk. Alex has MEPAN Syndrome – one of only 18 people in the world with the condition – and Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. MEPAN Syndrome is a rare genetic neurological disorder that usually presents in early childhood, but Alex was not diagnosed until age 27.
Alex’s great sense of humor definitely helped him cope with being undiagnosed for his first 27 years and continuing to live with uncertainty. He explains that living without a diagnosis and being the kid in school with “an undiagnosed neurological condition” tends to bring with it loneliness and isolation, and Alex indeed experienced these feelings. Films and movies have long been part of Alex’s coping mechanisms, along with, of course, jokes. On bad days, Alex has found solace in villains in movies like, The Joker. He joked, “Well, at least I’m not that guy!” [continue reading…]
Los Angeles, July 2 – Benjamin Rosloff, a talented filmmaker on the Autism spectrum who served as a Jewish Inclusion Fellow in RespectAbility’s National Leadership Program, has created an unprecedented short documentary film that is a compilation of his one-on-one interviews with Jews with disabilities. The short film features deep insights and fabulous emotions as people answer the very personal question, “What do you pray for?”
“What Do You Pray For?” is both a short documentary film and mini-series of short interviews of Jews with disabilities who tell viewers in their own words what they pray for and what prayer means to them. The project features Jews with various disabilities from across the United States, with a myriad of different connections to their Jewish identity. [continue reading…]
“The Women’s Rabbinic Network (WRN) is a constituent group of the Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR). It was created in 1975 by a group of female rabbinic students to provide the support and advocacy needed in the early years of women in the Reform rabbinate. Since then, the organization has grown to include over 700 women reform rabbis who have been ordained since 1972 at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. The WRN has consistently worked to promote the personal and professional growth of female rabbis and rabbinic students within the Reform Movement. Women Rabbis have had a profound impact on the world Jewish community. We have contributed to the growth of feminist biblical commentary and midrash, and have paved the path for ritual innovation and creativity. As rabbis in congregations, in Hillels, as chaplains in geriatric and hospital settings, as educators, teachers, healers, professors and poets, we are all making a significant contribution to our community.”
“At Gateways, we believe that every Jewish child deserves access to Jewish education and community. Gateways provides high quality special education services, expertise and support to enable students with diverse learning needs to participate meaningfully in Jewish life and learning. Now in our second decade, we serve individuals, families, educators, day and congregational schools, preschools, synagogues, and organizations to promote the meaningful inclusion of individuals of all abilities in Jewish life. We exist to fulfill young people’s potential, enrich family life, strengthen Greater Boston’s Jewish community, and help create new norms for diversity and inclusivity in the Jewish community at large.”
Emily Borses
Emily Borses is a 21-year-old aspiring filmmaker based in Los Angeles who is also part of RespectAbility’s Speaking and Training Bureau. Emily’s family is very artsy, especially her dad. When she was growing up, he introduced her to 60’s-era punk rock music like Led Zeppelin, Heart, ZZ Top, and The Foo Fighters. She also developed an appreciation for writing, poetry, and photography, all of which are essential components of film! It wasn’t until Emily was watching the film Juno with her dad, and deeply analyzing the way Elliot Page portrayed his character, that her dad pointed out that she would be great at filmmaking and analysis.
Even as she was discovering her artistic passion, Emily was living with an anxiety disorder that was not diagnosed until her junior year of high school. Looking retrospectively at her childhood in light of the diagnosis, she realized that film has really been a key component to her recovery and a coping skill for her anxiety. [continue reading…]
