Temple Sharey Tefilo-Israel takes strides to make worship and learning accessible to all comers
By Edie Sachs | November 23, 2010
Temple Sharey Tefilo-Israel (TSTI) is among the first group of five synagogues, and the first in South Orange, to be certified as 100 percent accessible to individuals with disabilities by MetroWest ABLE, a committee that focuses on accessibility issues in the local Jewish community.
Photo: TSTI aids access Credit Marcia Worth
Operating under the auspices of United Jewish Communities of MetroWest NJ, MetroWest ABLE (Access-Belonging-Life Enrichment) is a network of community leaders and professionals that serve and advocate for individuals and families with special needs. Participating agencies include Jewish Family Services, Jewish Vocational Service, Jewish Service for the Developmentally Disabled, and South Orange’s own JESPY House.
Rebecca Wanatick, community coordinator for the MetroWest ABLE program, said TSTI was the first synagogue to submit a completed application package for the certification.
At TSTI, accessibility had been a priority for years prior to the completion of the certification requirements. “Making the synagogue fully accessible to the disabled has been important to the congregation for as long as I’ve been here,” said Rabbi Ellie Miller, the temple’s associate rabbi.
MetroWest ABLE has a self-assessment checklist to enable synagogues to gauge and enhance their level of accessibility. Checklist items are divided into two main categories. “Architectural Accessibility” includes priorities such as a wheelchair entrance to the building, access to desks or tables for all participants in classes and meetings, and doors that swing open automatically. The “Synagogue Life” category cites, among others, the requirement to include special-needs policies in the membership packet, have a specific designated contact person to handle special-needs questions, and provide training to ushers and other “greeters” on how to handle special-needs requests.
According to Miller, the synagogue had already accomplished many of the major items on MetroWest ABLE’s checklist when it began pursuing certification earlier this year.
“About five years ago, Rabbi Cohen [TSTI’s senior rabbi] was up on the bima during Simchat Torah services, and he looked down and saw a little girl in a wheelchair at the bottom of the stairs,” said Rabbi Miller. “She had no way to get up onto the bima with the other kids. She looked up at him, and he knew in that instant that we had to do something to help her.”
By the time of the girl’s bat mitzvah, the synagogue had installed a ramp leading up to the bima, and had modified the reading desk to accommodate those in wheelchairs. “Her parents were so grateful that they hadn’t had to fight for these things,
