One by One
Yes, I know I promised that I would do an interview this time, but I received some sage advice from a close friend of mine, who said: “Isn’t it more important to talk about issues concerning young adults in the Jewish Deaf world than to talk about who’s who?” So, I have decided to follow that advice!
I just wrapped up a role in a play called “A Sign Upon Your Hand” which is a Jewish musical about a deaf boy who wants to have a bar mitzvah. (If all goes well, you may see this at the Jewish Deaf Congress convention this August!)
The setting is a classroom inside a synagogue and the deaf boy is just sitting there, not getting any information from the teacher or the rest of the class. That got me thinking:
Do we, as young Deaf in the Jewish community, have an obligation to learn about our culture and heritage? Should we learn the Hebrew alphabet like every other 3rd grader in Hebrew school? I vividly remember my Hebrew school experience from 1st grade to 7th grade. Until the last two years, I didn’t have an interpreter. I didn’t receive much of an education there. I don’t know if anyone else did, but I know that I missed out a lot on a rich variety of topics relating to our history and background.
Thank goodness as soon as I entered Hebrew High, which is a night school for Jewish high school students, I got an interpreter. A whole new world was opened up to me. I learned about tons of subjects from the Kabbalah (the 17th century mystical depths of Judaism becoming more popular than ever today) to the role of Jews in the 21st century! Would you believe that ancient Jewish folklore tells tales of “Golems,” which are beasts molded by ancient rabbis out of mud in the shape of man? I bet you never knew that kind of thing existed in Judaism!
My point is that too often I find other Jewish Deaf young adults that don’t know much about our Jewish background, mostly because our access to that information is limited. What we need to do is just try and enroll in classes and learn as much about our history as we can. Read books from the Judaica section at your local bookstore or library. Ask your rabbi about anything you think is important, or get involved in your local synagogue activities. That’s how I came to be involved in the current play I mentioned earlier.
But don’t think you’re limited to that! For example, the Orthodox Union’s “Our Way” newsletter offers Torah classes on-line or through the TTY! I personally haven’t tried these classes, but I’ve heard positive feedback about these. Other options could be going to meetings or conventions like the Jewish Deaf Congress this August in Universal City. The ultimate choice would to be go to Israel! Yes, ladies and gentlemen, Israel offers a neverending educational experience. I think it should be the personal goal for each and every Jew, old or young, to visit Israel at least once in their lifetimes. (um…l haven’t been yet)
A central idea in the play, contained in the song “One By One”, is that if each person does a mitzvah, we all can rebuild the world. I believe that if young Jewish Deaf adults, one by one, learn about our rich heritage, we can share that information with other Jewish Deaf, and through that, the whole community will benefit. Yeah, I know, Sunday School sucks, but the rewards of a good Jewish education never cease to amaze me. By becoming more knowledgeable about our heritage, we can feel more sure about ourselves and our Jewish identity and pass that onto other people. After all, being Jewish isn’t just a label, right? You can’t label yourself Deaf if you don’t know anything about Deaf culture. The same goes for being Jewish, too.
So, the point of this whole article is to LEARN! Also, stop behaving like a victim of the hearing world and take responsibility for your own education. It doesn’t hurt at all and you can only gain in the process. Now, in this increasingly secularized world, we can’t afford to be ignorant about our Jewish background. Like I wrote in the last article, our children are going to be the ones that look up 😮 us and they’re going to ask us questions about Judaism. What will happen if we can’t answer their questions? Our kids will become disillusioned with their Jewish background and the Jewish world will have yet again lost a person.
Just go to class or ask your rabbi about anything that interests you. Remember that Judaism isn’t just the story of Hanukkah or Esther or the sacrifice of Isaac. There’s a host of modern currents happening, like Jewish meditation, Jewish political history, and Jewish mysticism! Why do you think we’ve been going to all these High Holy Services? The holy and high feeling one gets from delving into the prayers and stories that make up such a rich culture.
To reiterate, please send your opinions and advice to me and I will try and include them in the next article for the JDCC newsletter. You can send me email at [email protected] or just through Sharon. For now, B’Shalom and have a great summer in Israel, Istanbul, Indiana, or India! There are Jews and Jewish experiences to be found everywhere!
