This prayer shared below was part of the observance of Jewish Disability Awareness Month Shabbat at Temple Sinai in Sandy Springs. I think the the movements of the prayer in the separation and bringing together the community is thought provoking. It becomes a prayer for the re-membering of community.

I would love to hear your thoughts?

A Prayer For Peace and Wholeness (Shalom and Shleimut)

A good resource for learning about Pesach (Passover).

Here is a helpful reflection on Pesach titled: Passover: Why Redemptive Things Happen to Good People.

One of the questions from the article that I find interesting is:

Is freedom escape from pain or is it embracing our challenges and using them as a catapult for inner growth?

I would be interested to know how other people with disabilities experience the G-d of Pesach and what freedom looks like in the live of people with disabilities.

Reading this reflection and looking at the questions it poses Makes me want to share a reflection of my own:

I must first say that I am not Jewish, but as a person who identifies as a Christian with a disability I find resonance and hope in the story of the Passover. Because the Jewish community is about to begin the observance of Pesach I wanted to comment about the significance the holiday holds for me.

The story of passover has always had a resonance with me as a person who lives with a disability. The are ways people with disabilities are made disabled by the barriers communities erect. Some of these barriers include buildings without ramps and systems that do not prepare for the presence and participation of people with disabilities.

Some of the barriers to freedom also include the ways I erect barriers for myself that keep me from realizing the fullness of who G-d has called me to be.

In the light of this, I need to read and hear stories about a G-d who partners with people to overcome the ways we enslave ourselves and others. The G-d of the Passover is a G-d who hears and responds to the cries of G-d’s people.
The G-d of the passover is with us as we work to build communities where everyone, persons with and without disabilities, have opportunities to be who they are without the barriers of shame, inaccessibility, ignorance, fear, and isolation.

At Passover and everyday may we partner with G-d to be agents of liberation, hope, and possibility in communities where hopelessness too often rules the lives of too many.

What are the stories in your life that speak of the the journey you are making toward freedom?

Another helpful question may be to ask are there ways in which my actions and/or inactions are keeping others from freedom/liberation?

I am a frequent reader of “Or Am I?” a blog by Rabbi Paul Kipnes. Rabbi Kipnes. Rabbi Kipnes in the Senior Rabbi at Congregation Or Ami in Calabasas, CA. I have read many posts about the congregation’s commitment to welcome people with disabilities and their families. This post was a opportunity for me to read more about Rabbi Kipnes and the congregation’s commitment to the full-inclusion of people with disabilities in the Jewish community there.

The congregation’s web site includes a number of wonderful resources for understanding the foundation of the congregation’s commitment to people with disabilities and their families.

Congratulations to Rabbi Kipnes and the Congregation Or Ami Family on their much deserved EP Maxwell J. Schleifer Distinguished Service Award.

I am inspired by the congregation’s efforts and I hope you are too.

Do you know about a congregation or a leader that is doing wonderful things like this?

I recently listened to a National Public Radio Program called Speaking of Faith. The Program featured Rabbi Sharon Brous, Rabbi and Founding Member of the IKAR Community in Los Angeles, CA. The interview centers on the meaning and practice of Judaism in the midst of the High Holy Days. I found it to be very  inspiring and informative.

You can listent to the program here.

If you heard the program I would love to know what you think?

I am in a little behind in posting this as the Eid Feast is upon us now, but I found this article really interesting. The article comes from the BBC and is written by a Muslim Woman with multiple Sclerosis.

The article is interesting for a couple of reasons. First, for its explanation of Ramadan as more than a call to go without food and second for it explanation of reasonable accommodations made for Muslims with disabilities during Ramadan.

The author is clear that the call of Ramadan is about a call to a disciplined life.  She also writes about the flexibility in Islamic practice that provide a pathway to authentic practice for those who have disabilities.

I have learned much from my Muslim friends with disabilities and one of the biggest surprises to me about Islamic practice are th multiple paths of Islamic practice for those who are unable to practice in typical ways.

I would love to get some feedback from Muslims with disabilities regarding the article and the practices of Ramadan?

This story from the Cleveland Plain Dealer examines some of the ways that inclusion in our religious communities benefits everyone.

I would love to hear what some of you think about this?

I am Grateful to Shelley Kaplan, Co-Chair of the USCJ Commission on inclusion for sharing the

  Open Wide the Gates of the Temple So That All May Worship Packet..High Holiday Inclusion Packet  The packet includes information specifically shared to assist synagogues in their preperations for I for the High Holidays 5769. There is some food for thought as well as incredibly practical tips for making your synagogue accessible to and inclusive of people with disabilities and their families.

I hope you will consider downloading the packet and implementing some of the strategies as your synagogue  prepares to welcome worshipers during these holiest days of the Jewish year.

I am grateful for the work of USCJ Inclusion Commission members Shelley Kaplan and Linda Zimmerman who both happen to be long time IDC Board members and champions of our work.

I must first say that I am not Jewish, but as a person who identifies as a Christian with a disability I find resonance and hope in the story of the Passover. Because the Jewish community is in the midst of the observance of Pesach I wanted to comment about the significance the holiday holds for me.

The story of passover has always had a resonance with me as a person who lives with a disability. The are ways people with disabilities are made disabled by the barriers communities erect. Some of these barriers include buildings without ramps and systems that do not prepare for the presence and participation of people with disabilities.

Some of the barriers to freedom also include the ways I erect barriers for myself that keep me from realizing the fullness of who G-d has called me to be.

In the light of this, I need to read and hear stories about a G-d who partners with people to overcome the ways we inslave ourselves and others. The G-d of the Passover is a G-d who hears and responds to the cries of G-d’s people.
The G-d of the passover is with us as we work to build communities where everyone persons with and without disabilities have opportunities to be who they are without the barriers of shame, inaccessibility, ignorance, fear, and isolation.

At Passover and everyday may we partner with G-d to be agents of liberation, hope, and possibility in a in communities where hoplessness too often rules the lives of too many.

What are the stories in your life that speak of the the journey you are making toward freedom.

Another helpful question may be to ask are there ways in which my actions and/or inactions are keeping others from freedom/liberation?

Here is another helpful reflection on Pesach titled: Passover: Why Redemptive Things Happen to Good People.

One of the questions from the article that I find interesting is:

Is freedom escape from pain or is it embracing our challenges and using them as a catapult for inner growth?

I would be interested to know how other people with disabilities experience the G-d of Pesach and what freedom looks like in the live of people with disabilities.

Last night at sunset the Islamic holiday known as Ramadan began. Ramadan is a 30- day period of fasting, praying and reading Quar’an. Ramadan is a month when prayers, charity and accountability are stressed. The observance of Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam.

Ramadan also  celebrates the beginning giving of the Quar’an to the Prophet Mohammad (Peace be upon him.)

The fast during Ramadan is required of every Muslim who can participate but the are a few exceptions. These include elders, people who are sick, women who are pregnant, mothers who are nursing, and travelers do not have to fast but they must fast at a convenient time later on.

Ramadan Mubarak (Blessed Ramadan) to the Islamic Community!