Gideon Pianko, left, with friend Eric Kirschner, recites the blessing over wine during Shabbat at his parents home. Photo: Charles Murkofsky

Creating Synagogues of Inclusion

For Susan Wiener, chair of the inclusion committee at Westchester Reform Temple and also a parent of a 12-year-old son with special needs, creating a culture of acceptance requires collaboration between the family and the synagogue.

“My mantra is, open your eyes, open your heart, and open your mouth. I can’t expect people to know I’m isolated and alone if they don’t know what I’m going through. I have to do my part,” Wiener says.

A synagogue culture of inclusion for people with disabilities means creating an environment where anyone, of any ability, is supported and welcomed to join in synagogue life.

The overriding goal is to create a place where children and adults with special needs — like Gideon Pianko, 22, a Pace University student who is also high functioning on the autism spectrum — can fulfill their vision of synagogue participation.

How to Reach Out

Inspired by programs UJA-Federation has sponsored, Westchester Reform Temple is one of many synagogues that have taken an active role in creating a culture of inclusion, including these outreach efforts:

  • Discussing disabilities through a d’var Torah
  • Speaking to religious-school students
  • Having a ramp to the bimah
  • Offering large-print prayer books and listening devices
  • Sponsoring support groups for parents of children with special needs

Vision of Participation

“I like going to synagogue because it’s a nice way to celebrate my religion, to learn about things in Judaism, and be with other people,” Pianko says about his experience in Connecticut and at the Society for the Advancement of Judaism in Manhattan. “I like to have an aliyah and hold the Torah. I like to be invited to lunch.”

UJA-Federation’s Caring Commission has supported many ways of raising awareness about people with special needs at New York–area congregations. The programs have included training, two symposiums at the Jewish Community Center in Manhattan, volunteer opportunities, and Shabbat of Inclusion services at more than 50 sites in the New York metropolitan area.

“Our values as Jews are to be open and to be inclusive, but it’s a process of educating as well, so synagogues have the tools to help,” says Rina Pianko, chair of the Caring Commission’s autism committee and Gideon’s mother.

The message of inclusion has clearly reached fellow congregants.

“Being welcoming to people with disabilities is not something tagged on as an afterthought … and it’s not with a heavy hand. It’s really woven into the fabric of the temple,” says Bob Miller, a congregant at Westchester Reform Temple. “Any time you’re forced into a place that’s not like you, your life becomes different. You gain perspective, you gain awareness, you gain appreciation, you gain empathy.” ♦

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