"You've surely heard the phrase 'it takes a village to raise a child'. In the case of my children, it takes a highly specialized group of village leaders. My sons are unique in many ways, including that they are disabled, Jewish, adopted (from foster care) and have a single mom of a different race (who went through cancer treatment two years ago)..."
So began a letter we recently received from Emilie Bard, a long-time participant in our Special Needs Family Camp. Like many Jewish families with special needs, Emilie and her family have often felt like outsiders. There were other reasons -
"There are children at their school who tell the boys they can't be Jewish because they are Mexican; this is ignorance on the part of their classmates, but still hard and confusing for my children to hear."
It's a funny thing - our Jewish organizations spend an enormous amount of energy trying to engage more people in Jewish life, with good will and good intentions. And still, people end up feeling like outsiders, like they do not belong.
We Jews come in many shapes, sizes, colors, languages, cultures, abilities, ethnic backgrounds, and interests. None of those trappings should be confused with admission to (or rejection from) Jewish Peoplehood.
Engaging unengaged Jews does not mean "getting them to come to our stuff." It means listening to their voices, understanding their needs, and finding the common ground between what they seek and what we have to offer.
We and our partners are listening. And we are using what we hear to make Jewish learning work for more people. How about you? If you are a Jewish educator, clergy or organizational leader - is engaging unengaged people important to you? If so, are you succeeding? Let's talk. We want to hear about your success and we want to know about your challenges.
Emilie and her kids found their place through Family Camp - "Jewish Learning Works provided a place for my children where they felt included, helped me raise my children, and helped solidify the foundation upon which they've grown and flourished..."
The Talmud asserts that Torah has 70 faces. The breadth and diversity of learning opportunities below reflect that rabbinic view. As educators, we hope that the "faces of Torah" are the faces of our students. When I look at this photo of Emilie's boys I see two of those faces of Torah.
