Disability Torah
These words of wisdom from rabbis, rabbinical students, Jewish teachers and professionals, and other writers with disabilities speak both to humanity’s universal struggles and to the particular experience of living Jewishly in a less-than-accessible world. A common slogan in disability activism is “nothing about us without us.” May the pieces of disability torah linked below guide your work, your conversations, and your understanding of the Jewish values of justice and inclusivity.
Guide to Jewish Values and Disability Rights
The Jewish Funders Network’s Guide to Jewish Values and Disability Rights, written by Rabbi Julia Watts Belser, connects Jewish texts and values to disability justice work. You can use this versatile guide as the basis for communal text study, or to lift up helpful stories, voices, and practices.
The Holiness of Being Broken: Trauma and Disability Justice
Rabbi Elliot Kukla teaches how disability justice helps all of us think more holistically about our brokenness. In his essay, “The Holiness of Being Broken: Trauma and Disability Justice,” he writes with gentle frankness about personal and intergenerational trauma, its relation to disability, and the spiritual tools he finds in Judaism to “live with and companion others with trauma.”
Disability Torah Project
The Disability Torah Project's mission is to grow the library of disability Torah by empowering and compensating disabled writers who explore the weekly parsha through the lens of disability. This includes examining explicit disability themes in the text, using the Torah as a springboard to explore lived experiences of disability, and delving into everything in between and beyond.
