On a lovely and very warm Saturday, September 7, 2002, sixty deaf, hard-of-hearing and hearing family members including fifteen children and some out-of-towners came together for the JDCC Rosh Hashanah services at JDCC President Sharon Ann Dror’s residence in Burbank, California.
The services were entirely led by the lay-people, with twelve individuals called up front to sign out several passages and blessings, thus creating a sense of involvement and community. The voice interpreter enabled the some hearing individuals to follow the services and joined the group discussion in between.
The group discussion covered a variety of topics, ranging from the question of how important to keep Jewish holidays and traditions to growing up deaf in the hearing Jewish households and, to the current situation in Israel and the dilemma of being the oppressed/oppressor.
After the second half of the services, blessings over wine and bread were signed. In addition to pieces of challah and wine, slices of apple and honey were also served. Then a luncheon buffet followed after with many participants enjoying themselves in the back patio.
In addition to many locals, some individuals came out of town, as far as Long Beach and New York. the simplicity and the length of services which he felt was kept to a minimum yet retaining some measures of tradition, the gathering and access to communication.
Along the spectrum of the Jewish deaf community is Allon Yom Tov of New York City: Though he prefers Modern Orthodox services where only Hebrew is read, spoken and chanted, he also echoed Mark Corson’s and many others’ sentiments: “we can follow and understand the service itself.” Also, access to communication with the leader and congregation gave him another reason to be a part of, in his words, “the High Holiday Deaf services”, and the group discussion where he had the chance to express some sense of general feelings, issues and concerns deaf Jewish people faced or experienced. These turned out positive and enjoyable for him. He also delighted in seeing some old friends there. as well as meeting new people. He ended with “Thank JDCC for giving me an opportunity to experience the wonderful Deaf service. Happy sweet and new year to you all. Shalom!”
Still continuing the spectrum is Jenny Coffin who came with her hearing parents. She appreciateively explained the opportunity and tradition of coming to JDCC-sponsored holiday occasions: …”the main reason we came together was that my mother has wanted more involvement in the Jewish community but I didn’t want to go with her because of the lack of access to interpreters. Then I told her about JDCC and she wanted to go too. So we’ve been going to Passover with JDCC for three years and Rosh Hashanah services is our 2nd year. It is a way for both me and my mom to share the Jewish heritage without one of us feeling left out. It is wonderful that they provide voice interpreting or this common bond would not happen for us.”
“I have a seven-year-old son so I wanted to expose him to the Jewish community as well. My husband is not Jewish and neither is my father. They both come with us because we want them to attend but if it was up to them, they would prefer not to attend. My father was raised a Catholic so he just attends the Jewish services because it’s nice for the family to be together. They go along with what is involved in the Jewish community.
“My mom thinks JDCC is wonderful because it has helped us-me and my mom share something we have in common that we weren’t able to before we joined JDCC. It is a rewarding experience for us both.”
In memory of David Bloch – September 16, 2002
Artist David Bloch’s Holocaust Images
