Page 53 - HaMizrachi #33 Sukkot 2021 USA

PARTNER PROFILE

The World Organization of

Orthodox Synagogues and Communities

Making Shul

Accessible

ach year, we leave our com- It is also critically important, as a for accessibility challenges in shuls.
fortable homes and move to religious community, to address the Examples include the installation
a temporary dwelling, despite halachic issues related to people with of wide doors to enable entry, creat-
Ethe inconveniences, out of a disabilities and the shul experience. ing adapted seating and bathrooms,
desire to fulfill the mitzvah of sitting Examples include calling a blind man installing Shabbat elevators, develop-
in the sukkah. up to the Torah for an aliyah, including ing siddurim and chumashim written in
those on the autistic spectrum in a
Sukkot is an appropriate time to reflect minyan, reciting birkat kohanim from a Braille, and providing guidance for the
on the significant challenges and incon- wheelchair, davening with a catheter in mentally ill who want to pray in shul.
veniences that people with disabilities shul and bringing a guide dog into shul, By increasing awareness and sensitivity
face all year long and how we as a com- among a myriad other issues. WOOSC to those struggling with complex dis-
munity can help them be full partici- organizes rabbinic conferences and
pants in synagogue life. abilities and by working to create inno-
works together with halachic authori- vative solutions to those challenges, the
One of the most important tasks of the ties to publish and distribute booklets WOOSC hopes to open synagogue doors
World Organization of Orthodox Syna- addressing these questions. to people with disabilities all over the
gogues and Communities (WOOSC) is to The WOOSC also works with profes- world. Please partner with us to pro-
make synagogues accessible for people sionals to provide technical solutions mote shul accessibility for all. n
with disabilities in both Israel and the
Diaspora.
The WOOSC works to make synagogues
accessible to people with disabilities
through education, halachic guidance
and by working with professionals to
solve practical challenges.

Educationally, WOOSC works to pro-
mote awareness of the challenges
faced by people with disabilities, and
the responsibility that the religious
community bears to address these
challenges.
If a wheelchair-bound individual is
unable to enter a shul, it is not merely a
personal problem, but a challenge that
the entire community is obligated to
address. And so our first priority is to
create a shift in mindset, so that com-
munities recognize the challenges of
disabled people and become our part-
ners in addressing these challenges.

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