Steven Lependorf conducts a weekly class in sign language for Lubavitcher students on Thursdays in Midwood, N.Y. Using the Code of Jewish Law bythe first Lubavitcher rebbe, Schneur Zalman, Lependorf read first in Hebrew, then in English and, finally, he spoke with his hands. The six men in the class then responded with their hands. All of Lependorf’s students are either hard of hearing or deaf. This night’s class included a discussion of the tallit, a four-cornered prayer shawl with fringes, tzitzit, attached to each end. “It is a commandment to do all in your power to make the tallit beautiful,” Lependorf told the men, speaking at once with his voice and his hands. “You are saying, `He is my God. 1 will glorify Him. It is beautiful to serve the King.”‘

A retired public school teacher, Lependorf, 56, has been an American Sign Language interpreter for 32 years. He has interpreted for former President Jimmy Carter, several New York governors and mayors and celebrities such as Beverly Sills and Dr. Ruth Westheimer. The classes began in November of last year in memory of Edward Goldberg, a World War II Navy hero who died that month.

His son Michael, who lives in Midwood and has a hearing loss, asked friends to join him in a year of study. Goldberg explained, “It’s a custom to study in memory of someone. We’ll continue studying until the anniversary of my father’s death – and beyond.”