{"id":19091,"date":"2012-06-21T22:51:29","date_gmt":"2012-06-22T03:51:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/?p=19091"},"modified":"2012-06-21T23:27:25","modified_gmt":"2012-06-22T04:27:25","slug":"spurred-by-a-torah-portion-alexis-kashar-is-breaking-down-barriers-for-deaf-jews","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2012\/06\/21\/spurred-by-a-torah-portion-alexis-kashar-is-breaking-down-barriers-for-deaf-jews\/","title":{"rendered":"Spurred by a Torah portion, Alexis Kashar is breaking down barriers for deaf Jews"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Spurred by a Torah portion, Alexis Kashar is breaking down barriers for<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong> deaf Jews<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>By Lisa Keys<\/p>\n<p>June 13, 2012<\/p>\n<p>NEW YORK (JTA) &#8212; It was an ancient sentence &#8212; a fragment, really &#8212;<br \/>\nthat changed everything for Alexis Kashar.<\/p>\n<p>An attorney specializing in special education and disability rights,<br \/>\nshe has successfully argued high-profile litigations, including one<br \/>\nagainst Los Angeles County for not making highway call boxes accessible<br \/>\nto people with disabilities.<\/p>\n<p>Yet despite her focus on the rights of others, Kashar, 45, has<br \/>\nrepeatedly encountered a roadblock in her own life: access to the<br \/>\nJewish community. As a deaf Jew, she could not understand religious<br \/>\nservices or participate in organized Jewish life.<\/p>\n<p>An unlikely call to action occurred three years ago as the eldest of<br \/>\nher three children &#8212; none of whom is deaf or hard of hearing &#8212; was<br \/>\nabout to become a bat mitzvah. Her child\u2019s assigned Torah portion<br \/>\nincluded the verse in Leviticus that reads: \u201cYou shall not curse the<br \/>\ndeaf nor put a stumbling block before the blind.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Learning that the Torah had something to say about deaf people, she<br \/>\nsaid, was a \u201cwake-up call\u201d to push for unimpeded access to the<br \/>\norganized Jewish community.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI wanted a part of it, I wanted my kids to have a part of it,\u201d said<br \/>\nKashar. \u201cIf I didn\u2019t have a part of it, my kids wouldn\u2019t, either.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She knew that from experience. Growing up in New York and Texas, Kashar<br \/>\nand her family &#8212; her parents and grandparents are deaf &#8212; had little<br \/>\ninteraction with the organized Jewish community. Nonetheless, she said<br \/>\nthey were culturally Jewish.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI consider myself Jewish inside and outside,\u201d she said. \u201cWhatever my<br \/>\nparents did, they did something right.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For the past two years, Kashar has been president of the Jewish Deaf<br \/>\nResource Center, an organization that promotes and advocates full<br \/>\ninclusion in organized Jewish life of the deaf and hard-of-hearing<br \/>\ncommunity. Working closely with the center&#8217;s executive director, Naomi<br \/>\nBrunnlehrman, Kashar has spearheaded a variety of programs, including<br \/>\nthe application of a grant from the UJA-Federation of New York to<br \/>\nsubsidize interpreters for services and Jewish events.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re not just about one interpreter in one temple,\u201d she said about<br \/>\nthe Hartsdale, N.Y.-based JDRC. \u201cWe\u2019re about raising the Jewish<br \/>\nstandards, making the Jewish community available to anyone.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Speaking of deaf Jews, Kashar said, \u201cWe have excluded a group that is<br \/>\nwilling and capable. JDRC is making a bridge to bring the deaf<br \/>\ncommunity and the Jewish community together.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Brunnlehrman praises Kashar for helping to expand the organization and<br \/>\nfor forging partnerships with other Jewish organizations, including<br \/>\nJewish Women International and the Jewish Funders Network.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur vision has widened,\u201d Brunnlehrman said. \u201cAlexis really believes<br \/>\nthat when you open the doors for one group, you\u2019re opening minds and<br \/>\nphilosophies, so that we\u2019re welcoming to all people. We\u2019re trying to<br \/>\nchange the cultural landscape within the wider Jewish community.<br \/>\nAlexis, in her discussions with people and her partnerships, has really<br \/>\ntried to convey that vision.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Kashar succeed in doing that at her daughter\u2019s bat mitzvah celebration.<br \/>\nHeld at Scarsdale Synagogue Temples Tremont and Emanu-El in Scarsdale,<br \/>\nN.Y., the service was made accessible for deaf and hard-of-hearing<br \/>\npeople. It marked the first time that Kashar and her extended family<br \/>\nprayed under the same roof, and it garnered her a new perspective on<br \/>\norganized Jewish life.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt changed the way I thought about social justice,\u201d she said. \u201cIt<br \/>\nwasn\u2019t that they didn\u2019t want me to be a part of the community; it was<br \/>\njust a lack of understanding and education. I didn\u2019t have to go to<br \/>\ncourt. I just had to make the time. I had to be the change agent.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was raised with the notion that anything is possible. So when<br \/>\npresented with a good challenge, I intend to take it on, especially<br \/>\nwhen it involves social justice.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Kashar began her own education at a school for the deaf and transferred<br \/>\nto a public school in the first grade. It wasn\u2019t until high school that<br \/>\nKashar and her family won a battle with the school district to provide<br \/>\nan interpreter. The experience was transformative: Her educational<br \/>\nopportunities expanded and Kashar realized she wanted to make special<br \/>\neducation law her career.<\/p>\n<p>At the University of Texas, she received a bachelor\u2019s degree in finance<br \/>\nand a law degree. There she met her future husband, Gary, who also is a<br \/>\nlawyer.<\/p>\n<p>The couple moved to Los Angeles in 1993, where Kashar worked at a<br \/>\nprivate firm that was a \u201cpowerhouse\u201d of lawyers for special education.<br \/>\nIt was an exciting time, as the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990<br \/>\nwas just beginning to make its impact.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI had the opportunity to test the waters and really do the first group<br \/>\nof litigations under the ADA,\u201d she said, including successful suits<br \/>\nagainst Universal Studios and Weight Watchers to make their programs<br \/>\naccessible to the deaf and hard of hearing.<\/p>\n<p>When the couple decided it was time to start a family, Kashar knew she<br \/>\nwanted her children to have a Jewish education. So they joined a<br \/>\nsynagogue and later enrolled their eldest daughter in its preschool.<\/p>\n<p>Still, she said, the congregation was hesitant to accommodate her<br \/>\nneeds. \u201cI was asking for what seemed to be the impossible: occasional<br \/>\naccess to synagogue life via sign language interpreters,\u201d she recalled.<\/p>\n<p>Kashar didn\u2019t push back; instead she agreed to provide some of the<br \/>\nfunding for an interpreter. The lack of precedent was one hurdle.<br \/>\nAnother was that for her daughter\u2019s sake, she didn\u2019t want to become<br \/>\n\u201cthat difficult parent.\u201d Still, Kashar added, \u201cwith each child, I<br \/>\nbecame bolder.\u201d (Over time, the synagogue ultimately assumed all<br \/>\nfinancial responsibility, she said.)<\/p>\n<p>In 2004, the family relocated to Scarsdale, N.Y., and since the move<br \/>\nKashar has dedicated herself to activism and pro bono work. In addition<br \/>\nto her JDRC role, she is the board president at the New York School for<br \/>\nthe Deaf and chairs the public policy committee at the National<br \/>\nAssociation of the Deaf.<\/p>\n<p>Last month, the JDRC sponsored the first Jewish Deaf and<br \/>\nHard-of-Hearing Awareness Shabbat, encouraging rabbis of all<br \/>\ndenominations nationwide to address inclusion issues in their sermons.<br \/>\nThe event was timed to coincide with the same Torah portion that<br \/>\nKashar\u2019s oldest daughter read at her bat mitzvah two years ago.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI would not have been involved if the Torah portion hadn\u2019t been given<br \/>\nto her,\u201d Kashar admitted.<\/p>\n<p>Source:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/news\/article\/2012\/06\/13\/3098126\/alexis-kashar-breaks-down-barriers-for-deaf-jews\" target=\"_blank\">http:\/\/www.jta.org\/news\/article\/2012\/06\/13\/3098126\/alexis-kashar-breaks-down-barriers-for-deaf-jews<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Spurred by a Torah portion, Alexis Kashar is breaking down barriers for deaf Jews By Lisa Keys June 13, 2012 NEW YORK (JTA) &#8212; It was an ancient sentence &#8212; a fragment, really &#8212; that changed everything for Alexis Kashar.&hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"more-link-p\"><a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2012\/06\/21\/spurred-by-a-torah-portion-alexis-kashar-is-breaking-down-barriers-for-deaf-jews\/\">Read more &rarr;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[9921,3472,4621,2871,14221,14223,40,3992,9751,9746,9920,14220,13087,630,14222,13076,519],"class_list":["post-19091","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-deaf-news","tag-alexis-kashar","tag-americans-with-disabilities-act","tag-article","tag-attorney","tag-bat-mitzvah","tag-emanu-el-in-scarsdale","tag-interpreter","tag-jewish","tag-jewish-community","tag-jewish-deaf-resource-center","tag-jews","tag-los-angeles-county","tag-naomi-brunnlehrman","tag-national-association-of-the-deaf","tag-scarsdale-synagogue-temples-tremont","tag-uja-federation-of-new-york","tag-university-of-texas"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p752R-4XV","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":16816,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2011\/11\/29\/scarsdale-mom-advocate-for-the-deaf-lauded-nationally\/","url_meta":{"origin":19091,"position":0},"title":"Scarsdale mom, advocate for the deaf lauded nationally","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"November 29, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Scarsdale mom, advocate for the deaf lauded nationally November 28, 2011 Written by Rebecca Baker WHITE PLAINS \u2014 At age 11, Alexis Ander Kashar got to experience a whole new state when her family moved from New York to Texas. But when the deaf child got her first interpreter as\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":14941,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2011\/07\/06\/thou-shalt-not-curse-the-deaf\/","url_meta":{"origin":19091,"position":1},"title":"Thou Shalt Not Curse The Deaf","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"July 6, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Thou Shalt Not Curse The Deaf One woman\u2019s struggle to make Jewish life accessible for herself and others. Alexis Kashar Tuesday, July 5, 2011 I was fortunate to be born into a Jewish family with three generations of deaf members. Both of my parents are deaf, as were my paternal\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":18087,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2012\/03\/21\/jewish-deaf-and-hard-of-hearing-awareness-shabbat\/","url_meta":{"origin":19091,"position":2},"title":"Jewish Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Awareness Shabbat","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"March 21, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Jewish Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Awareness Shabbat FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 12, 2012 The Jewish Deaf Resource Center (JDRC) is proud to announce that the Shabbat of May 5th, 2012, is being recognized as Jewish Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Awareness Shabbat. The JDRC builds bridges between Jews who are deaf and hard-of-hearing\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":14734,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2011\/06\/20\/jdrc-salutes-conservative-judaisms-ruling-to-include-deaf-jews-as-equals\/","url_meta":{"origin":19091,"position":3},"title":"JDRC Salutes Conservative Judaism&#8217;s Ruling to Include Deaf Jews as Equals","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"June 20, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"JDRC Salutes Conservative Judaism's Ruling to Include Deaf Jews as Equals The Jewish Deaf Resource Center (JDRC) applauds the Conservative Movement's Committee on Jewish Law and Standards (CJLS) for unanimously passing a historic Teshuvah positively impacting the lives of Jews who are deaf and hard-of-hearing. With this Teshuvah, the Conservative\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":44807,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2024\/01\/19\/deaf-performers-at-super-bowl-lviii\/","url_meta":{"origin":19091,"position":4},"title":"Deaf Performers at Super Bowl LVIII","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"January 19, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Deaf Performers at Super Bowl LVIII The National Association of the Deaf (NAD), LOVE SIGN, and the NFL proudly announce that Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas, Nevada on February 11, 2024 will feature Deaf performers Daniel Durant, Anjel Pi\u00f1ero, and Shaheem Sanchez during pregame festivities. Actor Daniel Durant, who\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/SUPER-BOWL-LVIII.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/SUPER-BOWL-LVIII.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/SUPER-BOWL-LVIII.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/SUPER-BOWL-LVIII.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2184,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2007\/09\/05\/announcing-launch-of-jewish-deaf-congress-inc-website\/","url_meta":{"origin":19091,"position":5},"title":"Announcing Launch of Jewish Deaf Congress Inc website","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"September 5, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Contact: Marla Berkowitz, MA President, Jewish Deaf Congress, Inc. President@JewishDeafCongress.org Announcing Launch of Jewish Deaf Congress Inc website! Columbus, Ohio (August 27, 2007 ) Announcing the launch of a national Jewish Deaf organization, Jewish Deaf Congress website, http:\/\/www.JewishDeafCongress.org ; everything you've wanted to know about Jewish Deaf\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19091","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19091"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19091\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19098,"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19091\/revisions\/19098"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19091"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19091"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19091"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}