|
|
July 20, 2001/Tamuz 29, 5761, Vol. 53, No.41
Jewish eyesight for the blind
SIVAN RABINOWITZ
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
From left, Aline Goodman, Jewish Braille Institute program coordinator, shows Rose Hacker how to use an audio player.
Photo courtesy of the Jewish Braille Institute |
When Barry Wiener turned 13, he wanted to have a bar mitzvah.
Blind since birth, however, Wiener couldn't read the Torah.
Fortunately for Wiener, the Jewish Braille Institute of America provided him with all the necessary materials in Braille - including a Braille Torah - so he could study for his ceremony.
"This organization is wonderful, one-of-a-kind," says Wiener, now 50 and a clinical psychologist living in Brooklyn.
Wiener is not alone.
Some 300,000 American Jews - as well as others around the world - who are blind, have trouble reading standard print or are otherwise visually impaired benefit from the free services of the Jewish Braille Institute, which likes to think of itself as the "best-kept secret in the Jewish world."
Since 1931, the Manhattan-based institute has provided visually impaired Jews with books, magazines and special publications in Braille and in large print, as well as audio cassettes, to help them participate in Jewish educational, cultural, religious and communal life.
Arielle Silverman, daughter of Sharona Silverman, director of the Shalom Center at Temple Chai in Phoenix, benefited from the Jewish Braille Institute when she was training for her bat mitzvah in 1998.
"JBI provided us with Tanach (Hebrew Scriptures) in Hebrew and English," says Sharona Silverman. JBI prepared a Hebrew-Braille folder of Arielle's Torah portion; Arielle's parents followed along in the Torah text as she read the words from the Braille text.
In addition to her bat mitzvah training, JBI has helped Arielle in religious school classes. The Silvermans sent her books to JBI to be transposed into Braille texts. "They even helped out with flash cards and games," says Sharona Silverman.
When a call is received at the Shalom Center asking for a Braille version of a Jewish book in English or Hebrew, Silverman says she always refers them to JBI.
The institute was founded by Leonard Dubov, the son of a blind rabbi, with the help of Rabbi Michael Aaronsohn, who was blinded during World War II.
The institute is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year with a number of receptions and events in conjunction with the New York Public Library.
The institute was formed at a time when Judaic materials in Braille were generally unavailable. The institute provides religious materials such as Haggadahs and Bibles in large print, as well as Reform, Conservative and Orthodox prayer books on tape.
Other Jewish resources include 8,000 titles in the institute's Talking Book Library and magazines ranging from the in-house JBI Voice to more political publications such as Commentary and Tikkun. It also sponsors lectures, concerts and dramatic readings in English, Russian, Yiddish, Hungarian and Romanian.
Since its founding, the institute has passed several milestones. In 1950, it published its first Braille Torah, and in 1992 extended its services to the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe.
The books serve a growing population, says Israel Taub, the institute's associate director.
As the American life span increases, the elderly suffer from a larger number of diseases - including macular degeneration, which limits vision.
These diseases can have harmful psychological effects as people accustomed to reading find they no longer can, Taub says.
The institute's extensive services help with both the physical and psychological effects of blindness.
The institute "has opened up a whole new world for me," says Evelyn Liefer, 80, who gradually lost her sight from macular degeneration.
"Unlike other libraries, where there are only limited copies available, if you request a title they'll record it for you within a week so you don't need to wait," Wiener says.
"Macular degeneration is such a disappointing area," says Becca Hornstein, executive director of the Council for Jews with Special Needs. "There must be so many people suffering from it (in the Valley)."
Unfortunately, Hornstein adds, she does not know of any resource in the Valley that provides recorded or large-type books.
Like Silverman, Hornstein says she refers any callers requesting any books for those who are losing their sight to JBI.
Clarita Gollender, a retiree originally from Argentina, went blind gradually after contracting measles at the age of 6. She graduated from the Maryland School for the Blind and received a bachelor's degree from Maryland's Goucher College, using Braille and recordings.
A few years ago, however, she faced a crisis. Gollender had been the only blind member of a book club - participating with the aid of a friend who read to her over the telephone - until her friend dropped out of the club.
Luckily for Gollender, the institute helped her to rediscover her love for books.
Gollender, who already knows Spanish, Russian and English, said enthusiastically, "Maybe I'll try books in Yiddish someday."
Books can be ordered from the Jewish Braille Institute by calling 800-433-1531 or online at jbilibrary.org.
Editor Barry Cohen contributed to this story.
|
