Jewish community Archives

By Rabbi Edward C. Bernstein

Posted May 25, 2016

Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness – Parashat Behar

The Liberty Bell in Philadelphia has inspired countless visitors for generations. In the American psyche it represents much more than independence of the original thirteen colonies from Great [...]

By MeredithPolsky

In Dvar Torah, Original Articles

Posted March 14, 2016

What Matan’s Dvar Torah Project is Teaching Me

Hopefully by now you know a little bit about Matan’s Dvar Torah Project. We are sharing a weekly dvar torah (word of torah) on this blog that links the parasha (torah portion) to disability [...]

By DoriKirshner

In From Matan's Executive Director

Posted October 26, 2015

Bison Have Inclusive Instincts

This summer, my family took an eight-hour tour of Yellowstone National Park. We saw flora and fauna, smelled sulfur coming from geysers, got rained on, took many photos and heard more [...]

By MeredithPolsky

In Cross-posted article

Posted August 10, 2015

A Disabilities Act For The Jewish Community

The following post, written by Meredith Polsky, originally ran on the New Normal Blog. If you have been following The New Normal, or mainstream media, or even happened to do a web search on July [...]

By Sarah Parkes

In Original Articles

Posted July 21, 2015

Transforming Training into Action to Build an Inclusive Community

At the end of May, I attended the National Ramah Spring Staff Training Institute at Camp Ramah in New England as a representative of Ramah Day Camp in Nyack. I participated in a specialized [...]

By Dr. Laurie Katz Braun

In Cross-posted article

Posted July 1, 2015

Resources and Tips for Inclusive Educators

The original version of this article was posted in GLEANINGS: Dialogue on Jewish Education from The Davidson School of the Jewish Theological Seminary. We Are the First Responders We educators [...]

By Rabbi Rachel Ackerman

In Guest Bloggers

Posted February 10, 2015

A Different Look at Noah’s Ark

The following is an excerpt from a stunning sermon written by Rabbi Rachel Ackerman, Director of Education at Temple Shalom in Chevy Chase, Maryland and a participant in the DC Cohort of the [...]

By Shelley Cohen

In Cross-posted article

Posted August 15, 2014

You Had Me At Hello

The following post by Shelley Cohen originally ran on Zeh Lezeh, the blog of the Ruderman Family Foundation. “Hi.” What a significant little word. I have been saying hi to this young woman for [...]

By DoriKirshner

In From Matan's Executive Director

Posted November 27, 2012

Giving Thanks – A Good Thing to Do No Matter the Date!

A package arrived today…10 copies of the 2012-2013 Slingshot Guide – the Zagat-like guide to the 50 most innovative non-profits in the Jewish community. On page 31 is the most [...]

By MeredithPolsky

In Original Articles

Posted July 23, 2012

The Bigger Picture

Written by Meredith Polsky, Matan co-founder It has been a challenging week in the world of Jewish Special Education, as news of a blind camper asked to leave Camp Ramah in Canada spread at [...]