Judaism is the first religion on earth. It started with Abraham and Sarah 3,000 years ago. As the population of people grew, it was only natural that slowly, different movements would emerge representing different schools of thoughts.
Chassidim is one of these movements. It started in Eastern Europe around 1700. It is an ultra-Orthodox movement. Although the movement was first started by Rabbi Yisroel Ba’al Shem Tov, it has resulted in about twenty five different groups, each group having their own Rebbe; a wise leader who is believed to possess powers given by G-d.
You may have seen these people in Jewish neighborhoods. The men wear black jackets with white shirts and black pants with black hats, and the women wear long dresses or skirts to cover their legs and long sleeved blouses.
Deaf Chassidim?
Would you be surprised if you knew that several Deaf people are members of the Chassidim movement? Being a Deaf Chassid is more difficult than just being Orthodox because no schools exist for these students. Most Chassidic communities have no contact with the outside world which makes it harder for deaf Chassids.
Most of them attended H.I.D. (Hebrew Institute of the Deaf) in New York. It was a coed school which also had non-Chassidic students. Parents of Deaf children in Chassidic families are ashamed to admit that they have a child who is Deaf so they often shelter their Deaf children and isolate them. As a result, many Deaf Chassids are still in the “closet” even in 1997!
In this issue of JDCC News, we interview several Deaf Chassids who share their experiences. Many Chassidic families speak only Yiddish and we do not know of Yiddish sign language but some develop and use their own ‘home made’ signs. All of the Rebbes weekly lectures are available on videotapes and/or written text but they are very technical and are not captioned.
CHASSIDIC COMMUNITIES
There are Chassidic communities spread out across the country but it is widely known that they are heavily concentrated in the New York area of Crown Heights, Monsey, Williamsburg, and Boro Park. These Chassidic movements are known under such names as Lubavitcher, Satmar, Bobov, Klausenberg, Pupa, Tselemer, Skverea, Vizhnitz, Stolin-Karlin, Viener, Belz, Spinka, Munkacs, and Breslov, Gerer, etc. We will focus on two, the Lubavitch and Satmar movements.
SATMAR CUSTOMS
Satmar members have very little contact with the outside world. They do not watch TV or read the newspapers other than their own Jewish weekly newspaper, Der Yid. They eat their own food products with Ribbon certification and their own buses with curtains to separate men and women. They even run the famous 47th Street Jewelry Exchange in New York. Their sales people will deal directly with their own sexes! They speak Yiddish because Hebrew is considered too holy to be used as an everyday language. They usually do not learn English.
LUBAVITCHER CUSTOMS
The Lubavitcher movement is different. Members can live and deal with the “outside” world. They also operate over 1,000 programs under Chabad which is probably the most famous service organization in the Lubavitch movement reaching out to Jews all over the world. Lubavitchers also serve in the Israeli Army. Lubavitchers eat products that carry OU certification as well as meat, poultry and cheese products produced by Lubavitch businesses including Ahava. Lubavitchers can learn and speak English but many do not own television sets although they can use video monitors to watch Jewish TV programs and weddings and create Jewish videos.
CUSTOMS
Married Satmar women shave their heads and wear black scarfs. On Shabbos, Satmar men wear fur lined hats and long payos (curly sidelocks) while Lubavitch men have short payos. JDCC News interviewed six Deaf Chassidic people:
FAIGY BERLIN ZARETSKY
Faigy was born into a Satmar family. She was born deaf because her mother had rubella during her pregnancy. Faigy grew up in Boro Park, New York and attended H.I.D. and is married to husband, Harold who is also deaf. They met through Beth Torah of the Deaf’s Melave Malka and are considered modern Orthodox because they do not understand all Satmar rules and customs. They have one son who goes to a modern orthodox school. Faigy’s parents do not known sign language, but her sisters did communicate in sign language. She learned Hebrew and Jewish customs at school and at home with a tutor. Faigy feels that the Satmar community are not open to the fact that there are people who are born with different kinds of handicaps and they do not get help for these children.
AVREMI SWERDLOV
Avremi was born into a well-known Lubavitcher family. He was born deaf because his mother had rubella during her pregnancy with him. He attended the American School for the Deaf (ASD) in Connecticut and H.I.D. when his family moved to New York, as well as Lexington High School for the Deaf. He learned Jewish Studies at H.I.D. and his family taught him the Lubavitcher customs. He doesn’t keep all of these customs today because he feels that religion is not so important, but G-d is and that He accepts everyone as they are. He did have a Bar Mitzvah and he learned some Hebrew. He communicates with his family using sign language. He observes the Lubavitcher customs when he is at home out of respect for his family. He uses a TV with closed captions to know what is going on in the world. He says that he is addicted to it.
CHAIM HERSHKOVIC
Chaim was born into a Satmar family in New York and also attended H.I.D. He was born with the umbilical cord wrapped around his ears which caused his deafness, and currently works for a trucking company making deliveries. He is married to Miriam who is hearing and is helping him to understand Jewish laws and customs. He had a Bar Mitzvah but does not follow the Satmar way of life because he doesn’t understand all of it. They have one hearing child. His wife, Miriam also says that the Satmar community tend to hide the fact that there are children who are handicapped and they don’t have a good educational system or supportive environment to deal with these issues. They do watch television with closed captions in their home. Chaim reads lips and Miriam doesn’t know many signs. They met through a matchmaker and say that no one should be embarrassed to admit that someone has a handicap and needs help because of it.
CHAIM MUELLER
Chaim is the eldest member of a Bobover family, another Chassidic movement, in Boro Park, New York and also attended H.I.D. He had a large Bar Mitzvah because he is the first-born male in the family. He was born hearing and lost his hearing when he was a few weeks old due to an ear infection that was not treated with proper medication. His family helped to understand what it means to be Jewish and a Bobover Chassid. He follows these customs today and is married to a deaf woman, Esther Gittel Hirsch. They have three hearing children. He is a locksmith and their family has a television set with closed captions in their house so he knows what is happening in the world. He follows the Bobover customs and feels that they are very beautiful. He used to go to the Rebbe’s Tish (Table) every Friday night while he was growing up, and that was a very positive experience for him. He has tremendous support from his community and family and really appreciates them. He does know how to read Hebrew, but is not good with translating from one language to the other. He uses English to understand the Hebrew language. His wife, Esther also comes from a Chassidic family of 17 children of which five are deaf. They knew each other at H.I.D. and met at a party in Boro Park. Then a matchmaker arranged for them to meet formally. After the third date, her father asked him if he was going to propose or forget her. He proposed and they got married a few months later. They have been married for now seven years.
BERYL KOHN
Beryl was born into a Satmar family who are very strict about their life and what kind of contacts they have with the “outside” world. He is deaf because his mother had rubella during pregnancy. He went to H.I.D. until he was 9 years old, then a Yeshiva. He had to stop learning after his Bar Mitzvah because his parents could not find a Yeshiva for him to go to and wouldn’t let him attend a public school for the deaf. When he was 18, he learned with a private tutor for a few years, then he got married and a short while later got divorced. He doesn’t keep the Satmar customs today because he really doesn’t understand them and feels that he is not a part of the community. He is religious and is a locksmith and also does home improvements. He tried to have a TV as a means of knowing what was happening in the world in general. Unfortunately his family and Rabbi made him give it up because this is not accepted by their customs. His family and community speaks in Yiddish which is really frustrating for him because he doesn’t understand it and it isolates him even further from them.
DINA DROR
Dina was born into a traditional Jewish family, She has mild cerebral palsy and is hard of hearing because she was born two months prematurely. She attended a regular public school, Chabad Talmud Torah and Gan Yisroel camp and, as a result, became a “Ba’alat Tshuva” which is basically someone who did not grow up in a religious family and became religious later in life. After completing high school, she lived in Israel for several years. She can speak Hebrew and understands some Yiddish. She tutors beginning Hebrew and Logic at a local college. She is a Lubavitcher and has a television set with closed captions but is not sure if she will have a TV when she gets married, although she would have a video monitor. She is very much accepted by the community. The one frustration that she has is that matchmakers do not understand that she is very different from most people who have a physical disability in that she has very little limitations in her everyday life. She plans to start a knitting business with blankets and sweaters being her speciality. She uses a regular phone with her hearing aid to keep in touch with people.
CONCLUSION
As you can see from these interviews, most of these people have not continued to keep the customs that their families raised them with because of the lack of educational opportunities that did and still do not exist for deaf people. This is a very unfortunate situation because Judaism is a very special religion with so much meaning and fulfillment in every way possible.
Shmura Matzos
Chassidic people eat only Shmura Matza during Passover. Shmura Matza is round and kneaded by hand. They do not eat machine-made matza because they fear that matza may come into contact with chometz which is strictly forbidden during Passover.
Many Chassidic people also do not eat any products made with matza meal for the same reason.
JDCC wishes you and your family a joyous Passover. We hope to see you at JDCC’s third Annual Community Seder during the first night Monday, April 21st.
