Jewish Disability Awareness and Inclusion Month (JDAIM) begins next week. It’s been held in February for the last ten years and is a worldwide unified initiative for Jewish organizations to raise awareness and foster inclusion of people with disabilities and mental health conditions. JDAIM is a call to action as we act in accordance with our Jewish values, honoring the gifts and strengths that each one of us possesses.
ELI Talks has a number of talks that are great conversation-starters for your community. ELI Talks have been shared in adult education programs, for inclusion committees and also with high school programs. They can serve as a limmud for your board meeting or other committee meeting–during JDAIM or at any time during the year.
You can download our new discussion guide featuring four of our ELI Talks that examine disability inclusion:
We Were All At Sinai: The Transformative Power of Inclusive Torah
Faith, Companionship and Disability: Standing With Families Who Have a Child With A Disability
We Will Hear and We Will Profit: The Mitzvah of Inclusion
By Howard Blas
I am Here; Hear Me Bark: Comedy, Disability and the Inclusive Synagogue
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Our dynamic ELI Talks speakers all leader programs, workshops and give talks to communities just like yours–email Mary Rubenstein (mary@elitalks.org) if you’d like to connect with one of the following speakers.
Mary Rubenstein is a nonprofit organizer passionate about how individual identities and communal narratives intersect to create tension-filled stories that weave us all together. Mary was born in Rockford, Illinois. She moved to Chicago after living, studying, and working in Europe for several years. After a career in the food world, Mary transitioned to Director of Operations and Rosh Bet Midrash at SVARA in Chicago. She has taught and been part of the behind-the-scenes operations at many of Chicago’s most dynamic Jewish communities, including Mishkan Chicago, and has spearheaded award-winning collaborations between them.
