ANCIENT JEWISH LAWAncient Jewish Law from the Talmud names three groups of people who do not have full rights to own property or form contracts. They included, in today’s language: a) minors, b) people with cognitive delay or mental retardation, and c) people who are deaf. A person was defined as deaf if s/he could neither hear nor speak. If a person showed the ability to speak, s/he could enjoy full rights of citizenship.
I learned about this many years ago in graduate school. It was my understanding that no one followed this concept anymore. However, I recently learned that there are still situations within religious contexts where deaf people are being judged by their ability to speak Hebrew. Some rabbis are still in the habit of “testing” deaf people’s speaking ability, before allowing them to say the blessing over the Torah. If the rabbi does not feel the deaf person speaks intelligibly enough, they will insist that a hearing person repeat the blessing before the Torah is read. Usually, this is done politely, so as not to embarrass the deaf people. However, their use of sign language is not judged as equal to spoken Hebrew.
I was quite surprised to learn that some rabbis still abide by this ancient law. It was my understanding that the Chief Rabbi of Israel had overturned this law in 1982. In the landmark book The Deaf Jew in the Modern World [1986, Schein & Waldman, ed., Ktav Publishing, through the NYSD], in chapter 2 is a reprint of the remarks on this subject by Rabbi Shlomo Goren, Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel addressed to the Second Congress of the World Organization of the Jewish Deaf. In it, he states, “(regarding). . .means of communication. Now that this has been developed through reading, writing, and sign language, I am convinced that from a halachic point of view we can give the deaf virtually equal status to the hearing and speaking, except in cases requiring actual speech…”. In re-reading the rabbis remarks, I realize that the rabbi did not make a total declaration, but rather was implying that the Jewish community is moving in the direction of accepting deaf Jews as equal participants in their religion.
My recent research revealed that this book (which I thought was out of print) is for sale through Amazon.com and Barnes & Nobles.com, for about $12 to $16. In a phone conversation with Pearl Johnson, Executive Director of the NY Society for the Deaf, I found out that she still has quite a number of copies of the book for sale as well. She can be reached at 212-358-9312.
What is your personal experience? Have you ever been denied an “aliyah” (being called to the Torah to make the blessing) or have you witnessed deaf people not being given aliyahs or having their aliyah repeated by a hearing person? If you would like to share your own experiences, please feel free to write to me at [email protected].
