Rabbi Judith Abrams and William Gaventa have assembled a brilliantly mellifluous harmony of uniquely Jewish voices that address the theology, history, and practical experience of disability. Jewish Perspectives on Theology and the Human Experience of Disability is an international and multi-denominational anthology including contributors from the Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform movements of Judaism who are from Israel, the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia. The text is a consistently easy reading, delightful foray into rabbinical theological debates, the practical implementation of religious beliefs and the genuine experience of disability in the Jewish community. The articles are uniformly animated by Rabbi Artson's belief that "Perhaps what the Torah is reminding us, then, is an insistence on a community that includes all of its members — that makes none of them invisible, that asks none of them to step outside. Perhaps only that community is a community fit to offer a sacrifice that God will accept" (8). Without extensive theoretical discussion and references to mainstream disability studies theory and writing, Jewish Perspectives on Theology and the Human Experience of Disability aptly represents a wide array of disabilities at a theological and pragmatic focal point of the access, inclusion, identity, equality, self-advocacy and interdependence that is imbued in the disability rights movement. The text is an impressively practical demonstration of disability rights and theory.
Following Rabbi Artson's probing questions and call for an inclusive Jewish community, Wallace Greene's article "Jewish Theological Approaches to the Human Experience of Disability: A Primer for Rabbis and Rabbinical Students" explores the Torah's many biblical patriarchs and matriarchs that have disabilities of some kind and significantly discusses the prevalence of dysfunctional families in Genesis. Greene clearly proves that there are many "philosophical/theological foundations for a Jewish value system which mandates that we include people with disabilities. We need to move beyond seeing people with disabilities as needy, and toward a view that all people have needs. This model stresses interdependency as a central characteristic of life and society" (15). The collection boldly celebrates the interdependency of the Jewish community in action. Moreover, Greene applies his theory to suggested congregational services that include accessible buildings, large print books, Braille books, support of schools and programs for people with disabilities, Jewish/Kosher adult residential programs for people with developmental disabilities, guaranteed meals, and sign language instruction for the Jewish Deaf. In fact, this entire volume never fails to associate action with theory because of the primacy of justice in the Torah.
Rabbi Nevin's exploration of ways that Jews who are blind may read from the Torah and completely participate in worship provides another example of Jewish equity and justice. This text is a work of rabbinical genius, searching for doctrinally sound access to worship and ending with yet another set of practical means of access to the Jewish religious community. Nevin's work is intelligently followed by excerpts of disability statements and decisions issues by the Reform movement's Committee of the Central Conference of American Rabbis regarding their responsibility towards those with disabilities. The discussion and findings clearly display an admirable attitude toward people with disabilities that stresses accord with the Torah and practical human justice.
Most extensive in scope and scholarship is Melinda Jones' essay "Judaism, Theology and the Human Rights of People with Disabilities." Her wise and compassionate disability rights conscious study seeks to place Jewish theology and a world view based on Jewish thought and philosophy in accord with "the newly developed human rights framework for people with disabilities" (103). Jones' work is clearly informed by disability studies and the disability rights movement and boldly cites the inconsistencies of Jewish laws and human rights for people with disabilities. Then, she develops a ritual and practical approach to the hope and help that Jewish theology offers to people with disabilities.
A large part of Jewish Perspectives on Theology and the Human Experience of Disability is dedicated to praxis. An executive report of a Jewish Community Inclusion Program discusses the strengths and weaknesses of a specific social program. Eve Kuhr Hersov's essay contains a significant collection of comments and interviews of family members including people with learning disabilities. Finally, Robert Brown's ambitious attempt to reconcile the use of adaptive technologies with the importance of physically reading the Torah from its parchment in Jewish rites provides an interesting call to adapt Jewish tradition to modern technology. The collection closes with Rabbi Artson's moving and personal account of the way his autistic child led him to a palpable and personal experience of Shabbat.
Jewish Perspectives on Theology and the Human Experience of Disability is a valuable assembly of articles that uniformly seeks to positively acknowledge and include people with disabilities in every aspect of Jewish religious community and explains how Jewish community can and will contribute to the disability rights movement. Each article succinctly answers discrete and important questions about human value and human contributions to community and religious life. Moreover, each article brings the reader an answer to the difficult questions of various abilities and disabilities in a world where human interdependency makes a society and their god whole. This is a valuable and accessible book that will appeal to theological students and disability scholars interested in the ways that a formal religion releases the fetters of cultural exclusion to enact a paradigm of egalitarian human community.
