On February 19-20, Norfolk, Virginia, hosted a very special Shabbaton for a very special organization. Our Way, an outreach organization for the Jewish deaf, is a division of the National Jewish Council for Disabilities and an agency of the Orthodox Union. Rabbi Eliezer Lederfeind is its devoted leader. Intrigued by the concept of an outreach Shabbaton for the deaf, I was determined to find out more about the organization and the people involved in it.

Rabbi Eliezer Lederfeind
Rabbi Lederfeind, a child of deaf parents and the father of two deaf daughters, has devoted his life to helping deaf people and bringing them closer to Torah. He discussed the goals and programming of the Our Way Shabbaton.

While the main goal of the Shabbaton was kiruv, it also provided camaraderie for about 25 deaf people – both frum and non-frum – from Maryland, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Virginia.

Rabbi Lederfeind explained that since 1969, when Our Way started, there has been a radical change in the way deaf people communicate. Although there was always a controversy between those in favor of signing and those who promoted oral communication, with the advent of the cochlear implant, the majority of deaf children is now able to communicate orally and are being mainstreamed in local yeshivos and day schools. The Shabbaton was arranged to accommodate both groups.

Friday night began with hadlakas neiros, davening and a special session by Rabbi Lederfeind for those not yet observant, entitled