own Barriers

ng to make the Jewish
essible to the disabled.

LISA GOLDBERG and ELIZABETH APPLEBAUM

Dr. Mark Young on
a ramp providing
wheelchair access
to a Lubavitch
synagogue in
Baltimore.

photo by Craig Terkowitz

here has been no greater
vision for Dr. Mark
Young than the presence
of a wheelchair-bound
man at a Yom Kippur
Neilah service.
"Seeing the disabled
participate in religious
endeavors is an awesome
sight," said Dr. Young, a
specialist in physical
medicine and rehabilita-
tion. "It's something of
which we don't see
enough."
Because the Jewish
community still has a
long way to go in meet-
ing the needs of the dis-
abled, the 32-year-old
physician at Johns
Hopkins Medical School
recently formed the
Torah Organization for

Access
Disability
(TODA). His colleague
and TODA's New York
regional coordinator is
former Detroiter Dr.
Samuel Kelman, son of
Bunny and the late
Jerome Kelman of
Southfield.
TODA comprises pro-
fessionals in the rehabil-
itative field "who want to
get involved in accessing
all Jewish communal life
to everyone," said Dr.
Kelman, a Brooklyn phy-
sician specializing in
rehabilitative medicine.
The fledgling national
organization was inspir-
ed in part by the late Dr.
Gary Davidoff of Ann
Arbor. Though diagnosed
with Hodgkin's disease

while still in his teens,
Dr. Davidoff worked dili-
gently for the rights of
the disabled. His obitu-
ary, published in the
Journal of the American
Medical Association, was
written by Drs. Kelman
and Young.
A further impetus for
TODA's founding came
from an awareness that
no organizations ad-
dressed the issues sur-
rounding religious ac-
cess, Dr. Young said.
"Synagogue attendance
is a fundamental credo of
the Jewish faith," he
said. "Often, people with
physical handicaps are
literally prevented from
being actively involved
in Jewish areas because
of their disabilities."
The Americans with
Disabilities Act, which
went into effect last
year, obligates public
facilities to be easily
accessible to the dis-
abled. Religious organi-
zations are excluded
from the national act,
though Michigan law
demands that they
include ramps for the
wheelchair-bound.
A number of area syna-
gogues and temples are
instituting changes to
make their facilities
more easily accessible to
the disabled.
The new B'nai Moshe,
for example, includes a
main entryway, side-
walks and parking lot
without steps or curbs.
The sanctuary features a
wheelchair ramp that
runs up to the bimah.
Several Detroit-area
temples, including Ema-
nu-El, Beth El and
Temple Israel, also pro-
vide sign interpreters

during some Shabbat'
services.
Although TODA is still
in the organizational
stage, Dr. Young said the,'
group plans to educate \
the public about various
disabilities and "how
they impact spiritual
involvement." He further
wants TODA to serve as
a clearinghouse for
architectural informa—(
tion on adapting syna-
gogues for wheelchair
access and would like to
assemble a national
panel of rabbinic advis-
ers to provide spiritual
_
guidance.
Dr. Kelman believes-
the main reason some - 1
religious institutions
have yet to consider dis-
abled congregants is
ignorance, not a lack of-:
interest.
"They simply need to
be made aware," he said.
It wasn't until the
1940s that Americans
first began to seriously
consider the needs of the
disabled, Dr. Kelman_J
added. American soldiers \I
returning from World
War II fostered a new
interest in rehabilitative
medicine.
In addition to provid-
ing access to wheel --,
chairs, TODA hopes to
see more synagogues
offer large-type and
Braille prayer books for
the elderly and blind.<
Access to other areas of
Jewish life, includin'g'
communal events, lec-
tures, schools and kosher
restaurants also will be
considered.
For information, con-
tact TODA at 3402;
Shelburne Rd., Balt-
imore, MD. 21208, or call
(410) 764-6132. ❑