The JWeb Inclusive Prayer Book United Synagogue Edition
“Siddur Lakol is an outstanding publication, produced by a team with deep knowledge and expertise, which celebrates inclusion and seeks to make Shabbat accessible to people with disabilities. My hope is that it will not only serve as a way of making religious services more inclusive, but that it will also prompt a community-wide conversation about what more we can do to ensure that every aspect of Jewish life is truly accessible to all”
Siddur Lakol is a tailor-made United Synagogue edition produced in partnership with JWeb working in collaboration with Gesher School and Kisharon and with the endorsement of Norwood and Langdon. You can download it for free below. A4 and A5 hardback editions will shortly be available to purchase.
Getting Started
You can read about Mill Hill Synagogue's Shabbat of Inclusivity and find out about what the Chief Rabbi had to say about this initiative. Take a look at What Being Inclusive Means by Gesher School and Norwood and read 18 Ways to be Inclusive in Synagogue by Mill Hill Synagogue.
Tamaryn Yartu, Co-Headteacher at Gesher School talks to us about how to uses Siddur Lakol with children and adults with additional needs.
Watch this short film to see how Siddur Lakol is used by Kisharon to open access to synagogues for people with learning disabilities
Resources
Gateways provides high quality special education services, expertise and support to enable students with diverse learning needs to succeed in Jewish educational settings and participate meaningfully in Jewish life. Browse and download free Shabbat resources for kids, prepared by Gateways' experienced special education teachers: Shabbat blessings with visual supports, Shabbat file folder activities, and books and social stories for Shabbat.
Jewish Interactive uses educational technology to create accessible Jewish education. The interactive Shabbat programme contains nine digital modules teach the history of Shabbat and the practical aspects of Shabbat, accompanied by blended learning lesson plans and curriculum. It is available in Sephardi, Ashkenazi, Chabad and Hebrew versions.
Respectability has produced a Faith Inclusion Resources pack including a High Holiday Synagogue Toolkit, Synagogue Inclusion Toolkit and links to Jewish Inclusion Webinars.
The Foundation for people with learning disabilities has produced a toolkit entitled ‘Thinking about Inclusion’.
The Judith Trusts’ Inclusion Handbook is full of ideas and information about why inclusion is important and how to make it happen.
Articles and Blogs
This is an interesting panel discussion on 'Jewish Disability Awareness and Inclusion' led by Rabbi Friedman from Hampstead Garden Suburb United Synagogue with Rabbi Dovid Cohen (YACHAD), Deborah Gundle (JWeb) and Dr Beverly Jacobson (Norwood):
Chabad has some advice for raising awareness and supporting people with disabilities in our communities.
Read Gesher School’s article in the Jewish Chronicle on how synagogues can be more inclusive to children with autism.
The Ruderman-Chabad Inclusion Initiative offers a range of essays and articles on Jewish disability inclusion.
Read this article for real-life inspiration on what inclusion could mean for your congregation.
Rabbi Konigsburg has written extensively on revitalizing synagogues, and this article on ‘Growing a Synagogue’ has some important ideas for all kinds of inclusion.
This article focuses on what parents can do to help their child attend services at their synagogue.
Take a look at this video made by Talya who has cerebral palsy, learning disabilities and a severe visual impairment. Talya helps to run the toddler service at her shul, and during lockdown she made a film for her young friends to enjoy at home:
Music and Song
Find Shabbat morning service prayers at We Sing Together We Stay Together.
Kef Kids have made a short and sweet davening sing-a-long video.
http://www.zemirotdatabase.org is a user-editable online collection of zemirot. You can browse an extensive database of zemirot and liturgy, contribute to the database and add songs.
Download and purchase from a wide collection of Jewish music: https://mostlymusic.com
http://oysongs.com offers a wide selection of contemporary music for services and other Jewish events. Listen to samples, buy mp3s and sheet music.
https://www.transcontinentalmusic.com/ contains a huge collection of traditional and contemporary sheet music to purchase, much of which is now available as pdfs.
There is also a wealth of recordings of synagogue music (traditional and contemporary) available to listen to for free on YouTube and Spotify.
Makaton and Sign Language
