We Can’t Leave Anyone Behind – Parashat Bo
Bo is an unusual Torah portion, in that it opens in the middle of a story – the story that immediately precedes the greatest event in our people’s history. The final three plagues – swarms of [...]
The Fearlessness of Starting a Tikvah Program
As a lifelong Ramahnik and Ramah California Tikvah staff member, I was excited to spend time at the newest Ramah camp in Northern California (“Ramah Galim”) this past summer, helping start a [...]
Outside Looking In – Parashat Metzora
This week’s Torah portion, Metzora, is a challenging one, to say the least. It begins by describing steps that must be taken by the priests when they learn that someone has leprosy. The leper has [...]
The Eternal Flame – Parashat Tzav
In any Jewish sacred space, our eyes will be drawn in some way upward to the ner tamid, the eternal light. A symbol of God’s eternality, nearly every Jewish sanctuary will have some kind of [...]
It’s February – Let’s Talk!
Disability is common; inclusion, less so. As Jews, we have an obligation to all of our people, regardless of ability. There has been increased attention to this issue in recent years, but there [...]
Without Exclusion, We Wouldn’t Have to Talk About Inclusion
A few months ago, I had the honor of being the keynote speaker at The Matan Institute for Early Childhood Educators. My topic? Defining inclusion in order to build a classroom for all students. [...]
A Call for Justice – Parshat VaYeira
Our patriarch Abraham is venerated by our tradition for many good reasons. He is a most dedicated and obedient servant to God, having been willing to leave his homeland with his family and travel [...]
Helping Children Understand Siblings and Friends with Special Needs
The largest minority in America is the population of people with disabilities. Children live in a world full of people who are different from each other in all sorts of ways. Helping them to [...]
13 Tips To Help Your Child With A Disability Succeed In Religious School Read
This post, written by Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi, originally ran on The New Normal Blog of the NY Jewish Week. As someone with a disability myself, and who also knows what it means to parent a child [...]
Teach Your Children to Be Accepting of Disabilities
Written by Lisa Friedman, Matan’s Manager of Social Media and Alumni Networks. It’s not hard to teach our children to be accepting of disabilities. Children are naturally eager and excited to [...]
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