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Dear JDRC Friends,
As a Deaf person growing up in the 1960’s I didn’t really understand the meaning of Judaism as no formal Jewish education was available to me. Back then, we did not have access to American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters nor captioning. So it is especially meaningful to me as Deaf president of JDRC when we cultivate opportunities for Jewish Deaf and Hard of Hearing individuals to enjoy the richness of the Jewish experience and gain a deeper understanding of Judaism.
For too long, Jewish Deaf and Hard of Hearing adults have lacked pathways to an education that provides more than Judaism 101. Consequently, JDRC sought out partnerships with three national Jewish organizations in 2022: the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ), Melton School for Adult Jewish Learning, and the Academy for Jewish Religion (AJR). In past projects we have also worked closely with the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards in the Conservative Movement and Chabad.
These partnerships are innovative and groundbreaking because a Jewish Deaf leader is now an active participant in the key decision making and dialogue related to curriculum development, communication access including captioning, staff training, subsidies through JDRC, recruitment, hiring, and evaluation.
JDRC believes that we can best create a Jewish world complete with communication access when each one of us has an equal opportunity to be at the decision making table from the beginning of the effort. This models the “Nothing About Us Without Us.”
We are proud of our partnerships. Classes taught in American Sign Language (ASL) through the URJ partnership have become so popular that we now have a waiting list for the Fall. Additionally, Deaf and Hard of Hearing students who completed a course, also taught in ASL, through a pilot partnership with the Melton School for Adult Jewish Learning, are hungry for more Jewish learning. Judaic ASL interpreters who study in collaboration with Deaf and Hard of Hearing prayer leaders through classes offered by AJR in partnership with JDRC are now learning newer tools for meaningfully interpreting the depth of prayers to give Deaf congregants a richer Jewish experience. This program was featured in the “Finger of God” article. Whenever voicing was available, we provided captioning.
JDRC’s partnership with the wider Jewish Community is all about opening doors to deeper Jewish educational opportunities for the Jewish Deaf and Hard of Hearing community.
May this Shavuot be the beginning of all believing that the Torah was truly revealed to each of us who can access Judaic learning that is so much deeper than Judaism 101.
Thank you for your partnership.
Shalom,
Susan F. Cohen
President
Jewish Deaf Resource Center
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