Last January, I attended the Women Reform Network (WRN) conference in London, England, which is an organization for reform women rabbis. The WRN conference is held every two years in different parts of America. This was the first time that the WRN conference took place in Europe. There were several rabbis from different parts of Europe (Germany, Hungary, Russia, Norway, and England) and Israel who attended the conference for the first time. It was one of the most wonderful experiences meeting these European rabbis and exchanging stories about our lives as rabbis.
My husband, Michael and I arrived London on Friday afternoon and checked into the hotel. We were invited to attend Shabbat Services at Finchley Reform Synagogue. The Shabbat Services was a joint service with the hearing congregation and Jewish Deaf congregation which was part of the London Jewish Deaf Association. Michael and I had arranged for a taxi to come pick us up one hour before services began. We were told that it was only 20 minutes away but it took us an hour to get there! Why? Because the cab driver got lost! One can imagine how we felt especially the fact that we were special guests of the Finchley Reform Synagogue and Jewish Deaf Association. We finally arrived at the synagogue and the congregation was singing a beautiful melody welcoming the Shabbat. It was a relief to be there during the beginning of the service.
One may assume that because there were about 40 Jewish deaf people who attended the service that there would be one interpreter. Wrong …there were two! One was the interpreter who signed BSL (British Sign Language) whereas EJ Cohen from California was signing ASL. My goodness …there were two different signings at the same time and very little alike. It was an incredible sight because not only were there two signers but also the spoken English language as well as the prayers being chanted in Hebrew. It was lovely and we enjoyed it tremendously.
After services, we were invited by the Jewish Deaf Association to attend a Shabbat dinner in my honor. The JDA have their own building in London which was a modern and beautiful building. We gathered in the dining room where there was no room except for the 40 of us. Delicious chicken soup was served and the Shabbat candles were glowing everywhere. The members of JDA were so pleased to have me visit with them. They were lovely hosts and we were able to meet everybody who came just for this special Shabbat visit.
After we finished our meal, I gave a sermon related to the Torah portion of the week and I also shared a bit about my personal story as to how I was raised in a Jewish family and how I decided to become a rabbi. They were very interested as to what I do as well as meeting my husband Michael. Many of these British Jewish Deaf grew up in traditional Jewish homes but did not really receive a Jewish education because there was very little offered in sign language. However, they are a proud group and many of them have been able to find jobs, get married and have children.
The JDA building is supported by many grants and funds so they offer many different services besides religious related activities. They have a youth lounge for the young people, resource and technology room, a kitchen, a custodian who lives in the building, and many other rooms filled with activities as it’s a four story tall building. Some of their programs include weekend meetings, Jewish cultural activities and celebration of Jewish festivals. They offer computer courses programs for hearing people to learn sign language and for families with deaf members. This is a very vibrant community of Jewish Deaf and I was extremely impressed with the support they receive from the greater Jewish community in London.
It was special evening and I felt truly honored to have met these London Jewish deaf people. I have already informed them that another trip to London will be planned in the future and that I looked forward to seeing them again. I also encouraged them to come visit us… in America and I am sure you will open up your homes to welcome them!
The most important message that I want to share with you is that the Deaf British Jews are very proud of their Judaism. Even though they may not know much but they are an eager group wanting to learn. Just like us. We must continue to believe that there is much to learn about our heritage and to let others know that we are very proud to be a part of the Jewish Deaf community worldwide!
Rabbi Rebecca & Michael Dubowe
