Writing Disability Torah

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gabrielle Kaplan-Mayer is Ritualwell’s Director of Virtual Content and Programs. She writes frequently about disability, spirituality and creativity and edits the Jewish Disability Inclusion News. Previously she directed Whole Community Inclusion, working to make the Philadelphia Jewish community more accessible. Her book The Little Gate-Crasher was selected as a Jewish Disability Awareness, Acceptance & Inclusion Month book selection.

 

 

Rakhel Silverman-Gitin is a student at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College whose Auerbach Ignition grantt aims to educate and engage the community of Or Haneshamah, Ottawa’s Reconstructionist Congregation, on disability justice, and place it in conversation with the tradition of Shabbat. Instead of being focused on how to address the “issue” of disability within Judaism (i.e. what Jewish text thinks of disability), this project is focused on what Jews can learn from the wisdom of the disability community regarding rest and joy, and how to apply these teachings to deepen personal and communal Shabbat practices.

 

Rabbi Asher Sofman is Reconstructing Judaism’s Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) Program Coordinator who  has curated Disability and Accessibility resources for the movement. Ash studied creative writing and world literature at Brown University, earning a B.A. with honors in Literary Arts and is a 2023 graduate of RRC. He has served as an associate chaplain at continuing-care retirement communities in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

 

 

Mat Wilson (they/them) enjoys board and video games, road trips big and small, and any opportunity to be in the water. They discovered a love for Torah study through the art of source sheet creation and are currently expanding their written reflections through the Disability Torah Project. Outside of their free time, Mat is a student at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College and is pursuing a Master’s in Nonprofit Leadership at the University of Pennsylvania.