Old York Road Temple - Beth Am is unique in many ways . . . one being that we have worship services not only in two languages (Hebrew and English) as most synagogues do, but often in THREE languages.

Quite a few years ago, a long-time member of our congregation, Lilleta (Lee) Fink Z”l, brought to our attention the need to include deaf Jews in religious services, life cycle events and religious education. As a child of deaf parents, Lee was painfully aware of the isolation deaf Jews felt when they attended family life cycle events (or even their own) and of their reluctance or outright refusal to attend Erev Shabbat and Shabbat morning services because there was no way to follow what was happening.

Beth Am decided to invite the members of the Philadelphia Chapter of the Hebrew Association of the Deaf (HAD) to be our guests at a congregation dinner and interpreted Erev Shabbat service. While they have their own interpreted monthly service in the basement of their small facility in Northeast Philadelphia with Rabbi David Maharam, attending services at Beth Am was very different. The members of HAD thoroughly enjoyed themselves at that first service and were finally able to follow a religious service. The current treasurer of HAD, Richard Balsam, states that he enjoyed that first service and wishes he could attend more often. Those who participated in this event were so moved that Beth Am decided to make the “HAD Shabbat” a yearly event. While it is not always possible to have the service coincide with a congregation dinner, the tradition has been going on for about 12 years and Beth Am’s commitment to the Jewish Deaf community has grown exponentially.

Beth Am now provides a sign language interpreter for Family Erev Shabbat Services on the first Friday of every month, a second Erev Shabbat service each month, High Holy Day services, holiday services, parent education classes and other events, such as Family Fun Night and adult Hebrew classes.

Although we unexpectedly lost Lee Fink in July, we have not lost our commitment to the people to whom she dedicated her life’s work. While the annual HAD Shabbat service continues, Beth Am would like to make our commitment to the Jewish deaf community even stronger, making our synagogue a yearround home for deaf Jews in the Philadelphia area. In order to make this happen, we have created a fund to support our varied programming for the deaf community, providing sign language interpretation for growing numbers of individuals. This is a fitting way to honor Lee’s contribution to the Jewish Deaf Community, while welcoming HAD and the rest of the community more than just once a year.

Please join us for HAD Shabbat, Friday, April 28 at 8pm, including honoring April birthdays and anniversaries.