Synagogue Hosts Services For Deaf

Forest Hills' reputation for diversity reached a new level this past weeked as roughly 45 hearing-impaired individuals from as far away as Arizona and Maryland gathered at the on 108th Street for a two-day Orthodox Jewish Shabbas celebration.

Entitled "Our Way Jewish Deaf Russian Shabbaton," the event began with a candle-lighting ceremony at sundown on Friday and ended with the screening of "Ingelore," a movie about a deaf Jewish girl who escapes German persecution during World War II.

Activities in between included communal meals, prayer services, Torah readings, a report on the Jewish deaf in Russia, a mime show and games such as "Jewpardy," an adaptation of the TV game show "Jeopardy."

And all the while, Russian and English sign language interpreters made sure that participants understood one another.

"I wanted to reach out to elements of the Jewish community that haven't felt comfortable in the shul," said Rabbi Yossi Mendelson. "We are a unique congregation. People see Orthodoxy as something for the Orthodox. It's not. It's an ancient tradition [for anybody]."

Rego Park resident Vladislav David Yusupov was the event's main organizer and "deaf host." With help from an interpreter, he explained that leaders of many synagogues feel that constant hand-signing between deaf people can disrupt their services. Thus, he wanted to create an interactive, all-inclusive event that embraced sign language.

And he had such a good time that he hopes to organize more events at Machane Chodosh. "This is the first annual," he said. "Next year will be the second annual."

"We want to do this everywhere," added Rabbi Eliezer Lederfeind, an interpreter from Brooklyn who is part of a group within the Orthodox Union that works with the hearing-impaired.

Due to travel restrictions during Shabbas, observant out-of-towners trekked to Forest Hills before sundown on Friday and spent the night with friends or members of Machane Chodosh. They could return home after sundown on Saturday.

Rabbi Mendelson said that the event gave him a new perspective on worshipping, as it highlighted the visual and the meditative over the auditory. He felt that his congregation grew emotionally and spiritually.

"There was real joy on people's faces," he said. "There was a feeling of great cooperation and flow."

Now Rabbi Mendelson is interested in doing more with the deaf community during upcoming Jewish holidays, such as Hannukah and Purim.

"We have only touched a fraction of the local Jewish deaf people."