Learners with special needs have a very special place here!

At Congregation B'nai Israel, we are committed to making EVERYONE feel welcome, secure and a part of our community. We are consistently working to create an environment that meets all needs. While we are not yet there, we have come a long way and will continue to improve.

Access to Judaism

Access to Judaism has been a hallmark of the Reform movement since our first congregation began seating women and men together over 120 years ago. Today, access involves such things as large-print prayer books, bar and bat mitzvah training for children with special needs, and increasing sensitivity to the scope of needs within each community.

Our congregation's clergy, educators, and lay leaders have always worked thoughtfully and creatively to adapt our curricula and programs to reach out and embrace students with a range of disabilities. Nevertheless, we recognize that we can always do more. In 2002, we received a $4,000 gift to launch Project Keshet (literally, "rainbow;" because children are as different as the many colors of the rainbow) - a program of religious enrichment for 3-5 year-olds with special needs and their parents.

We created this opportunity because we realized that some Jewish preschoolers might not be able to participate in our early childhood programs because they might need services we cannot provide. Yet, couldn't we - shouldn't we - offer these children and their families a point of connection within an appropriate, supportive Jewish community?

When God speaks to Moses from the burning bush and instructs him to lead the people, Moses responds, "Please, Adonai, I have never been a man of words, either in times past or now that You have spoken to Your servant. I am slow of speech and slow of tongue." (Exodus 4:10)

But God does not see Moses' disability as a reason to dismiss him. Instead, God provides Moses with an assistant, Aaron, for the mission. This teaching is one example of how our Tradition demands that we resolve to make sure every Jewish child - no matter what his/her strengths or weaknesses may be - have the opportunity to encounter God and participate fully in the Jewish community.

To do make our effort to make Jewish education accessible to children with all levels of learning capability, we need your help: Help us assess what our congregation's needs are by letting us know if there is a child (of any age) in your home who has special needs (physical, educational, or emotional). Please contact us so that we can provide the best learning environment for this child.

If you know another family in our congregation with a child with special needs, do not call, but please share this article and encourage your friend or family member to speak with us. This is the beginning of a more formal process becoming an accessible place for all.

We will not be able to achieve all of our goals immediately, but we will be able to set in motion a development plan to make B'nai Israel (Children of Israel) a spiritual home for all of her children. Click here or call me or Ira Wise at (203) 336-1858 so we can talk about your part in ensuring access to Judaism.

Is There a Child in Your Congregation
with Autistic Behaviors?

There is a blessing in Judaism meant to be recited when beholding unusual-looking people:

"Blessed are You, O God, who creates a variety of creations."

The very existence of such a blessing indicates a Judaic perspective on physical and mental differences among human beings that is far different from that of the mainstream culture. Judaism sees the mark of holiness in the variety of shapes and abilities.

Every summer, Jewish children with autistic behaviors are invited to the URJ Kutz Camp in Warwick, New York for our Mitzvah Corps program. Serving children from the ages of 8 —15, these children come to camp for ten days fitted with Jewish memories, sports, worship, and love.

Participants are monitored by a well-trained staff as well as our high school Kutz campers with the goal of providing a warm, Reform Jewish camp experience. If you know such a person who would benefit from this special program, please contact us so that we can begin the application process at 845.987.6300 or at kutzcamp@urj.org

Keshet means "Rainbow"

Keshet Rishon (First Rainbow) engages children ages 3-5 years old with special needs in a creative, structured learning and social environment.

Keshet Reaches Out:
We connect with children who may not be able to participate in typical early childhood programs, yet need a framework to encounter the synagogue community in a thoughtful, supportive way.

Keshet Makes Connections:
Students begin their own connections to Jewish holidays, symbols, stories, and music, all of which foster strong Jewish identities.

Simultaneously, their parents meet in a "support group" environment. (Parents of kids with special needs often feel isolated from other parents because they deal with such different learning styles, behaviors, fears, etc.)

While the students have their group, the parents meet with an expert to share information and insights about children with special needs, or the parents just have an opportunity to talk amongst themselves to seek support and share resources.

Keshet Sheini (Second Rainbow) engages early elementary children with special needs in a creative, structured learning and social environment.

Keshet Sheini – After Kindergarten
We have been successful - so far - in bringing Keshet graduates into our religious school with the support of our special needs coordinator, madrikhim and where needed paraprofessionals.

If we have students for whom inclusion is not the right path, we are prepared to offer Keshet Sheini (2nd rainbow) serving early elementary school students for whom the regular religious school classroom is not the best option. The format will be similar to Keshet Rishon, with parallel sessions for children and parents. Keshet Sheini is for children of B’nai Israel member families.

For more information about Keshet or to register, please contact
Ira Wise at 336-1858 x135 or iwise@congregationbnaiisrael.org . 
Space is limited.

Keshet Communicates:
Every person created by God has value and is entitled to a relationship with God and the Jewish community. Further, parents feel that their needs are being met, that they are included in their spiritual community and their children who often do not "fit in" are accepted, welcomed and valued.

Our faculty are credentialed special education teachers and experts on child development. Keshet offers Jewish programming for the children, as well as thoughtful, supportive discussions for the parents.

If you are interested in participating in Keshet, please contact Ira Wise at 336-1858 x135. Space is limited.

Click here or call Ira Wise at (203) 336-1858 if you are interested in supporting our Special Needs Programs for children and to discuss your part in ensuring access to Judaism.

Special Needs in the Religious School

Our Religious School teachers have three overall goals:

1. To help students view what they are learning as relevant and meaningful in their own lives so that they will make informed Jewish choices;
   
   
2. To create a safe, comfortable, and joyful learning environment so that children will view the Temple as theirs;
   
   
3. To provide a variety of stimuli and approaches to teaching in order to reach all different kinds of learners.

In that light, we have long made it our policy to find a place in our school for all Jewish children who are in mainstream secular classrooms, no matter their learning needs. We have, where needed brought additional madrikhim (classroom aides) into a room. We have teachers in most grades with varying degrees of training and experience in working with these children.

In our middle grades (4th-6th) we have our Panim el Panim (Face to Face) Hebrew tutorial program. This enables those students who need more one-on-one interaction to be successful in learning Hebrew.

As we look forward to the new school year, our Special Needs Task Force has set as a goal to increase the amount of services we are able to offer students with special needs.

To address that, Wendy Bellefeuille serves as our special needs coordinator and is on hand Sunday mornings. She observes and consults with teachers and parents about their children, provide teacher and madrikhim training workshops. We will also be using specially trained madrikhim to assist in classrooms with children with special needs.

If you are enrolling achild with special needs, please complete and submit a Jewish Educational Action Plan (click here). That will help us understand your child, your hopes and expectations, and will enable us to better serve all children in our school.

Click here or call Rabbi Prosnit or Ira Wise at (203) 336-1858 if you are interested in supporting our Special Needs Programs for children and to discuss your part in ensuring access to Judaism.

Kesher means "Connection"

The Lee And David Lester Kesher Fund

Please call the Temple Office at (203) 336-1858, drop in or mail your donation to:

Congregation B'nai Israel
Lee And David Lester Kesher Fund
2710 Park Avenue
Bridgeport, CT 06604