Faith and Spirituality

As the program manager of the Minneapolis Jewish Community Inclusion Program for People with Disabilities for 13 years, I was invited to speak about the program at numerous Jewish community events. I spoke about changing attitudes and fighting stigma to advance inclusion. Following many presentations, someone from the audience waited to speak to me, waiting in the back of the line. Their question was always the same. “Do you include people with mental illnesses in the inclusion program?”

I saw hope in their eyes. But the inclusion program focused solely on disabilities. I gently explained that mental health wasn’t part of the program’s purview. The hope of finding acceptance and spiritual support faded as they turned away, rejected by the Jewish community. Even the inclusion program excluded them.

The program excluded me, too. I am neurodivergent. I was diagnosed with ADHD, depression, and anxiety disorder in my early 40s. These conditions have been a part of me my whole life. Once I began the process of understanding the diagnoses and working with mental health providers, I leaned into spirituality and my community, and found support and comfort there. [continue reading…]

Neil Jacobson may not have known, but he was my teacher.

Neil Jacobson was one of the earliest pioneers in Jewish disability inclusion and belonging. His grassroots advocacy and action in his own congregation became a call to action for other synagogues and Jewish organizations in the Reform movement and beyond. Neil’s influence and his teachings were infused with a love of Torah and the need to belong.

All of us at RespectAbility offer our condolences to the family and friends of this giant in the disability rights advocacy movement. Many remember Neil as one of the people featured in the film “Crip Camp.” I remember Neil from years ago when we volunteered for the nascent disability inclusion initiative of the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ).

Neil and I were members of a Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) disability inclusion task force established in the mid-2000s by Rabbi Richie Address. Neil was leading the Access Task Force at his congregation, Temple Sinai in Oakland, CA. I was a member of a Reform congregation and was also leading a Jewish community-wide inclusion program. [continue reading…]

I interviewed Neil and Denise Jacobson, following a Jewish community screening of the film, “Crip Camp.” They were featured in the film along with Neil’s childhood friend, Judy Heumann, of blessed memory.

Neil was a child of Shoah (Holocaust) survivors. Neil described his father as “the happiest, friendliest, most easy-going guy I have yet to meet. His attitude was that if he could survive the war, he was going to be happy.”

Neil loved life. His joy was contagious, rooted in a deep reverence for life and wonder at the miracle of survival. Neil’s love of life was clearly intertwined with his love of Judaism. The Torah tells us to choose life. [continue reading…]

Denise Sherer Jacobson

The summer I was eight, I was sent to a sleep-away camp for the month of July. The girls slept in a big dormitory, and my bed was in the center aisle. I have only one other memory about the camp—just one incident that has stayed with me all these years: The time my bed wasn’t made!

I can’t recall why it didn’t get made during the day. But by the time we were ready to go to sleep at the end of a gusty, stormy day, a thick layer of soot and dust covered the white sheet. My counselor scowled when she pushed my wheelchair over to the bed and saw the filthy mess, annoyed that she had extra work to do. She began swiping the dirt over the bed’s edge, and I, trying to help, started to do the same.

“Stop it!” she reprimanded sharply. “Get your hands away now so I can clean this up!”

I recoiled, biting my lip to keep from crying. She hadn’t even seen me as capable of wanting to help. [continue reading…]

Photo Credit: Keshet

When I think of the meaning of “a community of belonging,” it is the community that Keshet has created, particularly at camp. Each summer I sit in the picnic grove at camp, and I look out at our camp community with hundreds of disabled and non-disabled campers and staff and get overwhelmed with emotions. The word that comes to mind is always “magical”—an experience and a privilege you can’t get anywhere else.

Every single day, I see children with and without disabilities participating together in rock climbing, zip lining, swimming, arts and crafts and all the other activities camp has to offer. It’s amazing to see kids who might not otherwise have this camp experience that others take for granted, and be able to grow, flourish and make lifelong friendships in the process. It’s a community where everyone is embraced and supported.

And as beautiful and magical as all that is, that isn’t even the real magic.

The real magic is Friday night Shabbat dinner when hundreds of campers are together singing and dancing. Then suddenly, one camper is overwhelmed by the loud singing and dancing and must go outside for a sensory break. At the same time, a few of her fellow campers follow her outside and create their own outdoor song session. This happens not because staff has told these other campers to go outside and be with their cabinmate, but rather something they want to do on their own. They understand that there are ways to make sure everyone is included and can enjoy Shabbat. [continue reading…]

For both campers and staff, it is important to create an environment that supports everyone’s needs. Each person coming into the camp community should feel safe physically and emotionally. Here are some suggestions and resources for increasing the well-being of campers and staff:

1. Offer staff training such as Youth Mental Health First Aid
2. Hire mental health qualified professionals to give extra support for campers/staff (general staff should be advised to refer to qualified professionals when needed)
3. Set staff up for success by sharing background information about each camper with them (including parents’ notes and suggestions on coping tools/strategies)
4. Create quiet areas for campers and staff who need space or time to be alone
5. Allow staff to have additional breaks during the day or evening; check in with staff and create an environment in which asking for help is encouraged
6. Incorporate activities or programs with stress management, emotion management, and conflict management tools
7. Teach tools for expressing emotions and listening to others (such as non-violent communication)

[continue reading…]

We at RespectAbility’s Faith Inclusion and Belonging department know firsthand the importance of faith-based summer camps for providing spiritual and community formation. One might believe the work of faith inclusion is limited to what we do in worship services together, but as we learned from our recent webinar with Tammy Besser and Sarah McKenney, what we do outside of worship is often just as important for faith inclusion.

I myself have been profoundly shaped as a disabled person of faith by summer camp. I was fortunate to attend Pilgrim Pines, a United Church of Christ (UCC) affiliated summer camp in the heart of the San Bernardino Mountains in Southern California. Pilgrim Pines was one of the first places where I encountered full integration of disabled people in a community. The camp partnered with local care facilities to bring children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities to camp. Disabled people are often segregated from the rest of society, so the opportunity to build lifelong friendships and spiritual connections year after year with fellow campers, both disabled and non-disabled, was transformative. [continue reading…]

As a person living with autism, being involved in a faith community is very important to me. The synagogue was a place where I felt included. I enjoyed going to services near my home and on visits with my grandparents. The structure and routine of the services, the familiar melodies, and seeing the same people, were all things that I enjoyed. I loved watching a video series, “Shirim Ktanim” (Little Songs) repeatedly, learning all the holiday songs and seeing kids celebrate the holidays, just like I did with my family.

My family was supportive of my Jewish education. As with public school, they made sure I was included in the religious school. That is what I wanted too. At first, I was in Sunday School and Hebrew School with the other kids. When I was ten years old, one of my teachers did not feel comfortable with me having an aide in her classroom. This teacher thought I should be tutored separately. We left this synagogue and joined a different one. At the time, I didn’t understand why we had to change, but at our new synagogue I had a bar mitzvah, just like everyone else.

As I got older, I enjoyed being at services, hanging out, eating, and talking with people. At the same time, I was learning about film and became a big movie buff. I wanted to be a filmmaker, a producer, a director, and even an actor. A public school teacher taught me TV production, and I studied media and film in college. [continue reading…]

Transcript

Ben Bond: Hello, my name is Ben Bond. I am the Faith Inclusion and Belonging Associate here at RespectAbility. I use he/they pronouns. I’m a white genderqueer person with brown hair, glasses, and beard, with a burgundy shirt. I am here to welcome Feryaal.

Feryaal Tahir: Hi everyone. My name is Feryaal Tahir. I am a South Asian female, and I’m wearing a black head scarf and a beige shirt. I am coming to you from the organization called Muhsen, which is Muslims Understanding and Helping Special Education Needs. And I look forward to talking to you all today about Ramadan, and some things about what can be challenging and what can be beneficial for all individuals. [continue reading…]