The Our Way, a division of National Jewish Council for Disabilities (NJCD) which is an agency of the Orthodox Union in New York City, hosted a Chanukah contest for students between 15-20 years old.
Our Way did a mailing to several hundred Jewish deaf students in grades 1-12 to promote the Contest, which has 10 questions with four possible answers to each question.
A separate test was given to Yeshiva and Hebrew Day School students, and the other to Public School students. Each participant received a bag of Chanukah chocolate gelt and a dreidle for participating in the contest.
A random drawing for a grand prize of $50 US savings bond was held for students who scored certain amount of points. One winner is selected from the Yeshiva Contest, and one from the Public School Contest. Deaf students did all grading of the tests and picking the random winners.
Photo: Boruch Zalman Raskin, Yehuda Zev Lifchetz, and Naftoti Herz (left to right), students at The Cheder, as contest coordinators with Rabbi E. Lederfeind in back.
An Our Way representative observed one radical change in the deaf participants over the years of the contest: “Originally most of the participants were Public School students and now almost all are Yeshiva students.”
Winners of the Youth Chanukah Contest, held last December, are Toba Miriam Raskin, a student at the Bais Yaakov in Boro Park, NY (Yeshiva), and Jonathan Soleimani, a student at North High School in New York (Public School).
Photo: Toba Miriam Raskin
Photo: Jonathan Soleimani.
