He’s the bassist for a Jewish spiritual community, an inventor of cutting edge technologies for the blind and now: a MacArthur Genius. This week, the MacArthur Foundation announced Joshua A. Miele as a 2021 fellow. The fellowships, commonly called the “Genius Awards,” come with $625,000 over five years, with no strings attached, and are given…
When our 18 year old daughter Sophie, who has Down syndrome, graduates from high school next year, leaving both the school’s fine arts program and her dance studio, I fear she’ll lose her community and the relationships she’s worked for years to foster. This is the stuff that makes life worth living for all of…
On a typical Rosh Hashanah at Temple Beth Solomon of the Deaf in Los Angeles, congregants gather around the bimah and place their hands on the wooden podium to feel the vibrations that accompany blasts of the shofar. This year, as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has meant many synagogues are once more planning remote or…
Benjamin Rosloff, an aspiring Jewish filmmaker living with autism, was filming a bar mitzvah in Port Washington, NY. But the young boy getting bar mitzvahed didn’t say the prayers or read the Torah with his own voice. He also had autism, and relied on an augmentative speech device to communicate. “I couldn’t tell whether the…
In 1970, Judith “Judy” Heumann became the first wheelchair user to teach in a New York City public school. Seven years later, she led a 28-day sit-in that resulted in the signing of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act — the first federal civil rights law protecting those with disabilities. Since then, Heumann, 73, has…
Jews may be the “chosen people,” but when it comes to Jewish education, adults with disabilities have often been left out. Coinciding with Jewish Disability Awareness and Inclusion Month, the Marcus JCC of Atlanta’s Lisa F. Brill Institute for Jewish Learning offers inclusive education classes through the Florence Melton School of Adult Jewish Learning virtually…
When he was just 30 days old, Rabbi Douglas Goldhamer suffered a botched radiation treatment for a skin ailment, leaving half his body discolored. Growing up he was often teased and treated differently. Eventually, Goldhamer found his career calling in the seminary, attending Hebrew Union College in 1967.His experience as an outsider led him to…
When artist Riva Lehrer was a child, Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein” deeply resonated with her. Her association with the legend was understandable—Lehrer was born with spina bifida, a condition when the spine and spinal column do not fuse in utero. Lehrer was born in 1958, when 90% of children with spina bifida did not survive. It…
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