Jewish Deaf Tidbits |
Eva B. Dicker-Eiseman from Milwaukee, WI in tracing the origins of sign language, says "As an educator of the Deaf and a person who has studied Sign Language for many years and for whom Sign Language was a first language (as a Jewish CODA) I want to bring your attention to one fact. Sign language was not invented by a priest. It was generated by Deaf individuals themselves who found themselves in a group together in a monastery under the direction of the Abbe de Ueppe in France. It grew out of a need for these individuals to communicate with each other about daily needs and obviously some of those needs were Church oriented, thus the beginning of some signs that had to do with Church practices and particularly Christian practices. Until that time Deaf individuals, particularly children, received no formal education, except for wealthy families where children were educated one to one by private tutors and most of this education was executed without signs."
New Additions To Jewish Deaf Hall Of Fame
The Jewish Deaf Congress/National Congress of Jewish
Deaf has announced the following new inductees: Leon Auerbach - General Leadership (deceased), Irvin Friedman - Religion (deceased), Cecil Weinstock - Religion
(deceased) , Barbara Boyd - Religion, Max Ray - General Leadership, Alfred Sonnenstrahl - General Leader
ship, Joe Dannis - Professional, Harvey Goodstein - Professional, Danny Fine - Sports, and Sharon Ann Dror -
Sports. They will be honored during the Shabbat dinner at the Jewish Deaf Congress's biennial convention in
Washington, D.C. on August 16, 2001.
New Book Focuses On Kitty Fischer
Kitty Fischer, born to a Cajun family in rural
Lousiana, first left home for education at the Louisiana School for the Deaf, then
left her people altogether for the promise of a better life at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C. Graduated, working as a librarian at her alma
mater, married and raising a son, Fischer had little reason and little time to contemplate the people and places she
had left behind. Her discovery that she had Usher syndrome, a genetic condition that causes both deafness
and blindness, however, proved to be an unlikely catalyst toward revisiting her cultural roots, a powerful story
movingly told by authors Cathryn Carroll and Catherine "Kitty" Hoffpauir: "Fischer in Orchid of the Bayou: A Deaf
Woman Faces Blindness". In coming to terms with Usher syndrome, Fischer learned of the high incidence of the
condition among Cajun people; suddenly, what seemed like disparate parts of her life began to come together.
"Now, as an adult, I undertook to learn about the heritage that was my birthright and slowly managed to overcome
some of the ignorance that occurs when one is cut off from one's hearing family by being deaf." Orchid of the
Bayou is a story not only of personal triumph but also of the multiple cultural traditions - Deaf, Blind, and Cajun -
that comprise one woman's genuinely postmodern identity.
Kesher Camp
Camp Ramah in the Poconos, Pennsylvania will be having their 6th Annual Kesher Family Camp on June 27 to
July 1st. The family camping model of Ramah enables children and their parents to relax and learn together as
a family as well as allowing time for age appropriate programming to take place. All facilities at Camp Ramah include excellent sport, camping, arts and educational staff.
In addition, the Kesher Family Camp staff includes deaf and hearing professionals who specialize in areas such
as Jewish Education, Liturgy, and Deaf Education, American Sign Language interpreters are also on staff. $400
per adult, $300 per child. Contact Susan Gottesman, Kesher Program Director at 610/789-7490 TTY or email
at SusanG@RamahPoconos.org
Eisenberg Promoted At R.R. Donnelly Financial
Elliot R. Eisenberg, a board member of the Hebrew Seminary of the Deaf in Skokie, IL was recently promoted to
senior vice president, capital markets with R.R. Donnelley Financial, a worldwide financial printer and communications services company. This announcement was made
February 20th in Chicago. "Elliot has a solid record of delivering excellent service and results and we are delighted to have him direct our domestic and international
sales effort," said Paul Masterton, president, R.R. Donnelley Financial, "We are confident Elliot will play a
key role in growing our business and supporting our industry-leading service position."
Hadassah Conference Interpreted
A women's community conference, "Whole Woman: Mind,
Body and Soul" at the Stephen Weiss Temple in Los Angeles, CA on March 25th will be interpreted in sign language. Organized by Hadassah Northern Area, speakers will focus on Jewish woman in all aspects of their
lives, including stress, spirituality, identity, and the like. $40 includes continental breakfast and lunch. For more
information, contact the Hadassah Northern ARC office at: (818) 783-3488 or Email
EBrown@ Hadassahsc.org
Holocaust Program At Lexington
Lexington School for the Deaf in Jackson Heights, NY
has announced that the Carol F. Reich Forum will be presenting 'Remembrance Of Deaf Persons In The Holocaust' on Thursday, April 26, 2001. Among speakers will
be Rabbi Irving Greenberg who is Chairman of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council and President of the
Jewish Life Network, John Schuchman, Ph.D., Professor of History at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C.
The program will start at at the school at 7 pm at the UJA-Federation, 130 East 59th Street, New York, NY
10022. For information, contact Oscar P. Cohen, Ed.D., Superintendent at Lexington School for the Deaf, 718
350-3050 or 718-899-1621, e-mail: OPCOHEN@ LEXNYC.ORG
Deaf Canadian Boy To Get Implant
David Lazarus, staff reporter with The Canadian Jewish
News reported on Thursday, February 8, 2001 that nine year old Ryan Duchoeny is scheduled to get his cochlear
implant on March 5th. While Duchoeny's father battles with Quebec health officials for funding, the community
has raised half of the funds needed for the surgery which will take place at the
Fletcher Allen Memorial Health Care Centre in Burlington, VT and will cost cost $36,000 (US).
He credits the Jewish community for helping to raise some of the funds. Shirley Roll, a member of Duchoeny's synagogue in Chomedeyand active with Federation CJA
spearheaded the fund-raising campaign and asked local rabbis to bring attention to Ryan's situation from their
pulpits. In addition, the Canadian Jewish Congress, Quebec region sent a letter to Health Minister Pauline Marois
asking her to review the matter. Ryan's case, largely through his efforts, made headlines across the province
after a report was published indicating that Quebec Medicare was paying for breast enlargement surgery on a 15
year-old girl. Critics have slammed Quebec's policy on cochlear implants. Only 40 cochlear implants are performed annually in the province, compared to hundreds
in Ontario. Also in Quebec, there is a list of 125 families waiting an average of two years for the surgery. Only one
surgeon, Dr. Pierre Ferron at Quebec City's Hotel-Dieu Hospital - who said that Ryan did not qualify because of
his age and ability to "sign" - performs the procedure. Despite the negative publicity, Marois declined to allocate more funds to make the operation more widely accessible and timely, saying her budget would not allow it.
Duchoeny suspects the real reason is the $35,000 each cochlear implant device costs. Duchoeny said despite the
go-ahead for Ryan's surgery, he has every intention of pursuing Quebec Medicare for full reimbursement. At this
writing, he was still waiting for a date to appear before a tribunal to appeal Quebec's refusal to do the surgery.
Duchoeny has also brought the case before the Quebec Human Rights Commission, alleging discrimination
against his son. Duchoeny said if he does get reimbursed by Quebec for the surgery, all the funds raised by the
Jewish Community Foundation would be reserved for the next person in need of a cochlear implant.
New Website To Urge Infant Hearing Tests
Terry Black with American City Business Journals reported
that Paula Rosenthal, who is hearing-impaired, decided to set up a Web site,
HearingExchange.com in St. Louis,
MO after her experience when her daughter was diagnosed of hearing loss. Rosenthal, a lawyer by training,
had relocated from New York so that her child could attend classes at the Moog Center for Deaf Education that
teaches hearing impaired children to speak. School founder Jean Moog said about 75 percent of the children
at the center moved to St. Louis for the purpose of at tending the school. Rosenthal was angry that her child
had lost valuable learning time due to the delayed diagnosis. Her daughter might already be developmentally
behind schedule: Children who do not begin to speak within their first couple years have considerable difficulty
learning later on. "Our doctors did not tell us about new born hearing tests, such as the ABR or the OAE tests
that were available. It wasn't until (our daughter) started to talk that I suspected she had a problem, because she
could say 10 to 15 words, but others were not forthcoming." She hopes that the website will "...provide a community where people with hearing loss, parents of deaf
and hard-of-hearing children and professionals can learn, network and find the information they need."
Hearing Exchange.com debuted in September, 2000 and
offers news, articles, forums and opportunities to solicit advice from experts. There also is a network of links to
other Web sites related to hearing loss. Rosenthal writes a bi-monthly
"e-zine" that keeps those on the mailing list apprised of the latest news and articles related to the
subject. The site is privately owned and funded by
Rosenthal, who said she spends at least 30 to 40 hours a week working on it.
New Jewish Signers Group
The Jewish deaf people in Eastern Massachusetts has a
new Jewish Signers group that you can sign up for news through their email distribution list and anyone is welcome to subscribe to
Jewish Signers of MA by sending a message to JewishSignersofMA-subscribe@yahoogroups.com. They started this service
on September 12, 2000 with 55 members.
Join our Jewish Signing Families for the Seventh Annual ASL practice Passover Seder will be with Maria Berkowitz on Sunday, April 1, 2001 from 2:00 to 6PM at the Learning Center for Deaf Children (TLC) Gym, 848 Central Street Framingham MA. 978-443-7617 V/TTY or E-mail SNYDERTPSA@aol.com. Adults and Children of all ages are welcome. Interpreters provided for non-signing family members. Kosher samples of Passover food will be served. A matzo alternative will be provided if you do not eat matzo before Passover. Special thanks to: Combined Jewish Philanthropies (CJP) and Jewish Family Service of MetroWest for their support.
The Jewish Deaf community recently received a one-time $30K funding from CJP through a private donation to provide accessible Jewish related events in the Boston Area. Rabbi Fred Friedman will come to Boston on Friday March 23 and we will have a traditional shabbat dinner at Allon Yomtov's apartment. On Sunday March 25 Rabbi Friedman will give a presentation on Jewish Life Cycle at the Brookline JCC from 12:30 to 3:30. There are plans to have a screening of Russian Jewish film "Desire to Know" in Brookline. The Jewish signing community gets together occasionally at our dinner gatherings at kosher restaurants.
National Convention
Our Way's national convention for all Jewish deaf people
is being held in Philadelphia, PA on May 10-13th. It includes deaf leadership,
shabbaton, touring Philadelphia, Dorney Amusement park, and many more. For more information, contact
OurWay@ou.org or 212/613-8234
A New Sunday School Program
Ahavas Yisrael of the Deaf will be opening a new Hebrew School for children ages 8 to 12. Classes will be
held on Sundays for two hours starting in the fall, 2001 in Columbia, MD. For more information, contact Rabbi David
Kastor at Kastor2@juno.com or TTY 410/580-1353 or
FAX 410/580-1354.
Temple Israel In Miami
Temple Israel in Miami, Florida is now offering interpreted services on Friday evenings.
Rabbi Jeffrey Kahn's services begin at 7:30 p.m. each week following Shabbat dinners.
Arizona Sabbath Service Interpreted
As part of its outreach, the New York-based Our Way
arranged for a Family Shabbaton at Beth Joseph Congregation in Arizona on February 3rd to be interpreted in
sign language. "A Jewish deaf person would be lost in most synagogues," Rabbi Eliezer
Lederteind, Our Way national director explains, "We're trying to encourage them
to come back to the synagogues .... The Jewish deaf, rightly or wrongly, don't feel themselves part of the Jewish community." Although the Council for Jews With Special Needs in Phoenix has worked with some families to
have some services interpreted, "Our Way Arizona Family Shabbaton was much more comprehensive" says
Shirley Grossman, who is the mother of a Deaf son, Stuart. All services and program activities from the start
of the Sabbath on sundown Friday to its end on sundown Saturday was interpreted. "We want him to feel a part of
it," Grossman adds, "It's emotional for me as a mother to see him participating .... I enjoyed it because there was
so much signing for Stuart, and he doesn't always have that experience." Stuart Grossman, 22 said he particularly enjoyed meeting Rabbi David
Kastor, who is Deaf and part of Our Way.
Thirty Years Celebration
Congregation Bene Shalom/Hebrew Association of the
Deaf will celebrate its 30th anniversary on May 5, 2001, with a dinner dance at the DoubIeTree Hotel in Skokie, IL
The only full-time synagogue for deaf and hearing in the Midwest, Congregation Bene Shalom was founded in
1972 by a group of twelve deaf families and Rabbi Douglas Goldhamer. The dinner dance will begin at 6:30 pm
with a Havdallah service. Afterwards, there will be a Silent Auction, Raffle, dinner and dancing. Jackie Roth, a
deaf entertainer from New York, will also perform. Tickets for the evening are $75 per person. If you are interested in joining us, call for more information 847/674-0327
tty, 847/677-3330 voice, or email ravdoug@ aol.com