Ways for Synagogue Leaders to Start Thinking More Inclusively

Parashat Pekudei - SULAM 32,
March 7-8, 2008

by Susan A. Drazen

MARCH 2008 – In parashat Pekudei we read of the design and construction of the mishkan – the sanctuary, the Israelites' desert house of meeting and worship. Building any sort of structure requires planning and organization – details, details – and parashat Pekudei enumerates virtually every one. There are descriptions of the furnishings, the altar, the utensils, the menorah, the ark... the list goes on and on.

Details, details. We moved to a new home in a new community almost two years ago. What were the details we had to consider?

• Would our furniture fit?
• What would we need that we did not have?
• What did we no longer need that we did have?
• What did we have to do to make ourselves feel comfortable?

As we felt more comfortable and prepared to welcome guests to our home, we looked at our home with yet different eyes:

• What do we need that we don’t have to make our guests feel comfortable?
• What do we need to move to make our guests comfortable?

If we want people to return, what will we need to do?

Think about your spiritual home, the beit tefilah, beit knesset and beit midrash that is your synagogue:

• What is your favorite place in the building?
• What are your happiest memories there?
• Were you sad there?
• If you were, who or what helped you through the sad times?

Now, think of your synagogue building as though you’ve never seen it before:

• Are your entrances easily located?
• Do people know where to go when they enter:
  • On erev Shabbat
  • On Shabbat morning
  • For weekday minyan
  • On weekday mornings during the business day
• Is it easy to find the restrooms?
• The coatroom?
• The sanctuary?
• Do you have childcare facilities?

Imagine that you were a young family shul-shopping.

• Would your building and who and what they found inside make people want to come back?
  • What will be their favorite place in the building?
  • What will be their happiest memories there?
  • In times of sadness, who or what will help them through?
• Now think of your building and your congregation once again. But this time, think as though as if you were someone who:
  • has difficulty seeing
  • has difficulty hearing
  • has a wheelchair
  • uses a cane
  • uses crutches
• What will they find when they enter your building?
  • What will be their favorite place in the building?
  • What will be their happiest memories there?
  • In times of sadness, who or what will help them through?
  • Will they be able to enter at all?

Shortly after we moved to New York, Paul fell at Grand Central Station. He injured his knee quite badly. After several weeks on crutches he graduated to a cane, and we began to return to “regular life.” We began to look at our world through very different eyes as we began the re-entry process to that life. Part of it was returning to Shabbat morning services, and the questions began:

• Once we got there, which door would afford us easiest access?
• Paul couldn’t bend his leg. Where would we sit?
• Suddenly stairways took on a whole new meaning.
  • Was the railing immediately accessible at the top and at the bottom?
  • Was the pitch steep?
  • How deep or shallow were the risers on the stairs?
• Was the carpeting on any floor we would encounter smooth and even?
  • Was it torn or bumpy?
  • Was it a hazard for someone whose balance was compromised?
• Paul’s disability was temporary, but what if it had not been? What parts of our lives would we have avoided because they would have become too dangerous or too difficult?

Each of us is sure that our congregation is the warmest and most welcoming…and to our own loving eyes, it may well be. But now try looking through different eyes.

For too many, Jewish life is seen from the outside looking in. Those onlookers include people with challenges, from children with cognitive and developmental disabilities to the people who gave their time, energy, and resources to build our congregations and whose lives have been turned upside down by accident or illness.

Can we make sure that each child is educated as a Jew and has opportunities to be with other Jewish children? Can our older members participate in the congregation that has meant so much for so many years?

It is time to look at our congregations with new eyes, and to make sure that:

• Our entrances are easily located and accessible
• We welcome and are prepared to welcome someone who
  • has difficulty seeing
  • has difficulty hearing
  • has a cane
  • has a walker
  • has a wheelchair

The United Synagogue’s Commission on Inclusion of People with Disabilities reminds and teaches all of us that we are all created in God’s image, and each of us is to be valued. The commission is a resource for our congregations.

Our holy and sacred mission is simple – to sensitize professional and lay leadership to a synagogue’s profoundly important responsibility to be accessible architecturally, programmatically, and attitudinally to those who otherwise would be denied the opportunity to participate in all aspects of synagogue life, and to assist congregations in meeting the needs of members with disabilities.

“The cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the Presence of the Lord filled the Tabernacle.”

That Presence is not just for those who are physically able to enter easily. Let us share our collective strength and make sure that our congregations are places in which all congregants can enter to worship, to learn, to share the happiness of good times, and to receive companionship and comfort at sad times.

Let us share our collective strength to make sure that our batei tefilah, batei midrash, and batei knesset are accessible to all.

Shabbat shalom.