Celebrating Inclusion

February 7, 2025 in From the Clergy, Hazzan Asa Fradkin, Scroll

By Hazzan Asa Fradkin.

Here in Montgomery County, we are accustomed to acceptance, respect, and ­– most importantly – inclusion.

We breathe it like the air around us. My wife served as a chair of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion department at CESJDS and does lots of displays in her current job at Rockville Memorial Library on diversity, whether it’s Black History Month, Holocaust Remembrance, or a focus on First Nations’ heritage.

Here at Beth El, our sanctuary is equipped for those who have hearing impairments, and there are ramps in the chapel and sanctuary for those who need access by wheelchair or simply an easier way to ascend the bimah.

The Beth El parking lot contains multiple parking spaces for those who need closer access to the building for mobility purposes.

We have come a long way as a country in this regard. Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the 32nd President of the United States, was famously used a wheelchair since a battle with polio and took pains to hide it in public. Now, there are public figures like Tammy Duckworth from Illinois, a double amputee veteran, who proudly serves in Congress and does not hide her disability.

This coming month is a special one for disability inclusion in the Jewish community. We call it by the acronym JDAIM, Jewish Disability Awareness and Inclusion Month.

In this vein, we have invited Pianist Dave Schlossberg to join us for Shir Yachad on Friday, February 7 to share his story of a car accident that changed the course of his life and through which he found faith and a connection with his Judaism and Jewish music.

Dave will share his story in song and talk about how this fateful accident molded him into the person he is today.

I look forward to celebrating this month by recognizing the diversity in our own community, and learning from those who can teach us about their unique experiences and courageous fortitude that sets an example for us all.

Happy JDAIM!