Opening the Gates to Bar and Bat Mitzvah

Arlene Remz

For the past eight years, Gateways: Access to Jewish Education, Boston’s central address for Jewish special education, has prepared dozens of youngsters with disabilities for Bar and Bat Mitzvah. Young adults have been able to enjoy the Jewish rite-of-passage that only a few short years ago would likely have been denied them. This presentation will take you through several of our “gates” to becoming Bar or Bat Mitzvah–from students with autism who learn to read Hebrew and chant from the Torah using a specialized multi-sensory approach, to students who are non-verbal who recite the blessings by activating a computer, to students who are deaf and sign both the prayers and D’var Torah. Learn ways to work with special needs children, so that each child will celebrate his or her Bar or Bat Mitzvah “each according to their way.”