Four years ago, we held our first Shabbat of the Senses during J.D.A.I.M, Jewish Disabilities Awareness and Inclusion Month. This Shabbat led our congregation through prayer as if we were missing one or more of our senses or abilities. One night of attempting to experience prayer as those in our community who have different abilities do every Friday night, led many of our congregants to share their stories with me. Our conversations always ended by asking ourselves what we could do to elevate inclusion awareness and what could we do to make ourselves accessible to everyone in our community. How could we make sure everyone in our midst felt included in Jewish life? Koleinu[1], TE’s inclusion awareness committee was born out of those conversations and the desire to increase awareness and facilitate participation for everyone within the five main pillars of Jewish life at Temple Emanu-EL. From live streaming, to our assistive technology room, to providing magnifiers and adapted … [Read more...]