Temple Beth El shares the joy of Shabbat with special needs children
By Rachel Rosin
December 7, 2007
Temple Beth El recently launched Simchat Shabbat, a series of once a month Saturday services designed for children with special needs and their families.
December’s Simchat Shabbat service is this Saturday at 9:00 a.m. It should last about an hour. Rachel Rosin, NewCastleNOW.org contributing writer, sat down with Rabbi Joshua Davidson to learn more about this unique program.
Rachel Rosin: Why was this program developed in the first place?
Rabbi Joshua Davidson: Over the course of the years various people came to me to talk about how they had a child with special needs or developmental disabilities and they didn’t think their child would be able to become bar or bat mitzvah the way other children do. They asked whether there was something we could do to allow them, still in a way that was meaningful to them and their family, to celebrate this great milestone.
I also came to realize that while a handful of these families had come to me, invariably there are more than a handful in every congregation. Many of them, because of the needs of their children, aren’t able to participate in the regular programs that we have.
And so we needed to figure out a way to create opportunities that would be right for them, too. There should never be a barrier for anybody to become involved in Jewish life. But sometimes the need must be brought to your attention before you realize what you should have been doing.
Rosin: How did it develop into Simchat Shabbat?
Davidson: Under the leadership of our Religious School Committee, our long-term goal is to create an education program for children with developmental disabilities. One thing I realized we could do immediately was to create a Shabbat morning experience that would not only be accessible to kids with special needs and developmental disabilities, but for some of them a vehicle for learning the prayers that they wouldn’t ordinarily be able to learn just by attending a regular Friday night service. And so, I had to figure out who was going to come in and do this for us. And I knew that there was somebody in the community who would be fantastic at this, Cantor Ellen Dreskin. I have known her for a very long time and I knew she had all of the tools to create that experience.
With the help of one of our members and our school committee we made contact with Jacqui Phillips at Richmond Community Services. Jacqui served as our consultant and she affirmed what Ellen and I believed would be true: the services needed to have a lot of singing because people with significant disabilities can get tremendous joy out of that.
That was going to be the primary mode for the service. And the service is designed to catch the interest and participation of children with a wide spectrum of disabilities.
Those who have the ability to learn the prayers can learn them in these ways. And those who do not, are there in a Jewish setting worshiping and experiencing Shabbat with their families. Their parents see the joy on their children’s faces and it’s incredibly profound.
Rosin: What does Simchat Shabbat mean?
Davidson: The joy of Shabbat. And it should be available to everyone.
Rosin: How unique is this program?
Davidson: We’re very proud of Simchat Shabbat. Though it may exist, I don’t know of any other program like this in Westchester County. And so what we’ve done is notify every Reform congregation, because that’s the network we are a part of, and the various private schools and institutions to let them know that this is taking place here. My hope is that other congregations in the area, not only Reform synagogues, will read this article and they will say “terrific.” There are so many families in this area, in both Northern and Southern Westchester, for whom it would be a great experience.
For more information about Simchat Shabbat or anything else pertaining to Temple Beth El, please go online to http://www.bethelnw.org.
Rachel Rosin is a congregant of Temple Beth El and has been its volunteer publicist and advertising director for the last four years.
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