{"id":30784,"date":"2015-05-18T06:02:20","date_gmt":"2015-05-18T11:02:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/?p=30784"},"modified":"2015-05-18T06:04:46","modified_gmt":"2015-05-18T11:04:46","slug":"deaf-boys-and-girls-to-experience-summer-camp-steeped-in-judaism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2015\/05\/18\/deaf-boys-and-girls-to-experience-summer-camp-steeped-in-judaism\/","title":{"rendered":"Deaf Boys and Girls to Experience Summer Camp Steeped in Judaism http:\/\/wp.me\/p752R-80w"},"content":{"rendered":"

Deaf Boys and Girls to Experience Summer Camp Steeped in Judaism<\/strong><\/p>\n

MAY 13 2015<\/p>\n

BY: MENACHEM POSNER<\/p>\n

Two different programs offer children sports, excursions and more in a warm atmosphere and Jewish context<\/p>\n

For most of his childhood, 12-year-old Joel Pennington was unique. He was the only child in his Houston, Texas, neighborhood who was Deaf, and one of the only Jewish students in the special school for the Deaf that he attended in Austin.<\/p>\n

\u201cJoel has a very special soul and was always drawn to Judaism,\u201d says his mother, Orit Pennington. \u201cBut we really had no way of teaching him beyond what he picked up at home.\u201d<\/p>\n

Orit made her son a special Sign Language Haggadah for Passover and another booklet for Rosh Hashanah, but was stymied when it came to finding a synagogue or Hebrew school where he would be able to interact with Jewish peers and experience Jewish tradition firsthand.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis soul was thirsty for something more that I was not able to give him,\u201d she acknowledges. \u201cHe knew it was there, but he could not access it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Orit describes what happened next as a \u201cmiracle.\u201d In the spring of 2014, she attended a pidyon haben ceremony for first-born boys in an Orthodox synagogue, and the rabbi encouraged the attendants to make whatever request they wanted from G d at that special time. During the reception that followed, she met a person who put her in touch with Rabbi David Kastor, a Deaf rabbi; she never even knew one existed.<\/p>\n

The two began learning on a weekly basis over VP (video phone). During one of their sessions, Kastor introduced his young pupil to Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff of the Jewish Deaf Foundation, who is Deaf and was busy organizing a Jewish overnight camp for Deaf boys within the framework of Camp L\u2019man Achai in Upstate New York.<\/p>\n

At the camp last summer, Joel found himself among 10 other Deaf boys from throughout the United States and Israel for a first-of-its-kind experience. Soudakoff, 23, and other Deaf staff members led discussions on Jewish topics, organized sports activities and took the kids on excursions, many of them focused on nature.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor the first time, Joel was able to be part of a group\u2014a Jewish Deaf boy among Jewish Deaf boys like himself,\u201d says his mother. \u201cThere he was making challah,being fully engaged in a communal Shabbat dinner and just living Judaism in a very warm environment with boys like him.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of them was Elian Zfati, from Frederick, Md., who also relished the opportunity to interact with other Jewish Deaf boys. \u201cMy son especially enjoyed learning foreign sign languages from the children from Russia, Israel and other countries,\u201d says his mother, Simi, who is also Deaf, in an interview conducted via an interpreter. \u201cHe also gained tremendously in his Jewish engagement, learned how to read the Hebrew alphabet and so much more.\u201d<\/p>\n

Simi Zfati learned about the camp from internal networking within the Deaf community, which she describes as close-knit. She says that many more of her friends will be sending their children there this year after hearing of last summer\u2019s success.<\/p>\n

\u201cI myself went to Jewish camp when I was a child,\u201d she says recalling her own childhood in a Deaf Orthodox Jewish home. \u201cI loved going to camp, but I felt very alone a lot of the time, not able to understand what was happening and why.\u201d<\/p>\n

Learning in Their Own Way<\/p>\n

But this summer will come full-circle for her. Ninety miles to the south of where Elian will attend camp, his two sisters, aged 10 and 12, will join with other Deaf girls for their own camp experience within Camp Gan Israel of the Poconos in Dingmans Ferry, Pa. This is the first time such a program has taken place there.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are so looking forward to the experience,\u201d says their mom. \u201cIt will be so special for them to meet Deaf girls, and learn about Judaism and their common Jewish heritage in their own way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Altogether, Soudakoff expects 30 children to participate in the two programs, including eight boys and two girls from Israel, and two counselors who will be flying along with them.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, it is amazing to see how the program has grown,\u201d says Soudakoff. \u201cAs more and more children and their families become involved in this project, the more the Jewish Deaf community grows\u2014in numbers, involvement and cohesiveness. Our community is thinking more about Judaism, talking about it more and doing more.\u201d (Chabad.org)<\/p>\n

SOURCE:<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.jewishvoiceny.com\/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=10938:deaf-boys-and-girls-to-experience-summer-camp-steeped-in-judaism&catid=121:special-features&Itemid=325<\/a><\/p>\n

SOURCE #2:<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.chabad.org\/news\/article_cdo\/aid\/2944828\/jewish\/Deaf-Boys-and-Girls-to-Experience-Summer-Camp-Steeped-in-Judaism.htm<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Deaf Boys and Girls to Experience Summer Camp Steeped in Judaism MAY 13 2015 BY: MENACHEM POSNER Two different programs offer children sports, excursions and more in a warm atmosphere and Jewish context For most of his childhood, 12-year-old Joel…<\/p>\n

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