Adults with special needs work toward b'nai mitzvah
LEISAH NAMM
Assistant Editor
Translating Hebrew pray-ers into sign language isn't standard b'nai mitzvah preparation - except in one Valley b'nai mitzvah class.
This adult b'nai mitzvah class, the first of its kind in Arizona, is made up of nine adults with special needs who are working toward participating in a January 2002 group adult b'nai mitzvah service at Temple Chai in Phoenix.
The program, sponsored by the Council for Jews with Special Needs, is geared toward adults over 18 who have developmental or severe learning disabilities.
Students, ages 20-40, learn Hebrew letters and prayers and discuss Jewish holidays and lifecycle events in preparation for their service.
"This is something that is rightfully theirs as Jews," says instructor Gila Brook, a special education teacher who runs the class. "They're having the opportunity to achieve."
Robin Eichner, a teacher for the deaf, uses American Sign Language to interpret the class to student Stuart Grossman, 22, who is deaf. Eichner also translates Hebrew prayers into English and then into American Sign Language, which she says is the most challenging part of her job.
Our Way, a deaf organization for Jewish people affliliated with The Orthodox Union, offers translation of some standard prayers, such as the kiddush and hamotzi, but Eichner must translate any additional prayers used in the b'nai mitzvah service.
"It's very exciting to watch (the students) learn about Judaism," says Eichner, who has been a sign language interpreter for 14 years. "It's exciting to watch the smiles on their faces because they know they're going to be an adult now according to the Jewish law."
Stuart's mother, Shirley Grossman, says her son has really enjoyed the class, and she and her husband Charles are "glad that he can have the chance to learn more than what we can show him at home."
Ele Schnier, whose son Jesse, 20, has autism, says her son "has been wanting a bar mitzvah, but he did not have the confidence to have one on his own. I think that the support of the rest of the group ... has given him confidence."
When CJSN founder Becca Hornstein's son Joel was 13, she wanted him to become a bar mitzvah formally, but because he has autism, she could not enroll him in a standard class. She approached Rabbi William Berk at Temple Chai and "was blessed to find a congregation that agreed this was an important and appropriate thing to do," she says.
"All these years later, I realized that other parents had not had that opportunity ... for their children to enjoy the experience of a Jewish education and the pride of standing on the bimah for the bar mitzvah. I knew what it meant to me so (I wanted to) give this opportunity to other families," Hornstein says. Her son, who is now 27, is in the class to share the experience with his friends.
Class members are also active in the Yad B'Yad, a CJSN organization that meets once a month for social activities.
In future classes, Brook and Eichner will determine the responsibilities that each student will have in the service, from opening the ark to leading a group prayer.
The class, which began in November and meets one Sunday each month, is still accepting new students. Call CJSN, 602-277-4243.
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