Congregation Rodeph Sholom has a long commitment of meeting the needs of individuals with special needs. We evaluate all activities and programs with the goal of making our community as accessible as possible.
In our continuing effort to build a fully inclusive community, Congregation Rodeph Sholom has developed our SHIREINU (Our Songs), Special Needs Worship Services, open to members and non-members, providing families and children the opportunity to worship together in an accessible, interactive, and sensitive environment for four holidays: Rosh Hashanah, Chanukah, Passover, and Purim.
“I had [an] absolutely amazing experience this year on the second day of Rosh Hashanah. I observed an amazing, spiritual, welcoming atmosphere…. Children and young adults with different special needs attended the service along with their families. Parents, grandparents, siblings, aunts, uncles and friends of kids with special needs came together to share it with their loved ones… There’s a community here.”
Frances Victory
Volunteer
“It was such a lovely experience for us and it was so disability-friendly. The storytelling and music was wonderful! You could feel the joy in the room…In the past, there was nothing at our temple for our son, so this is a treat for us.”
Shireinu Parent
“My child is twelve years old. We have never been able to comfortably attend High Holiday services until just now.”
Shireinu Parent
“Other synagogues have welcomed Joey, but Rodeph Sholom is very special in that there are a lot of other people besides Joey who have special needs. You don’t feel like you’re singled out or that people are looking at you. I just enjoy seeing everyone enjoying themselves and being part of it.”
Roberta Lowenstein
Shireinu Parent
“I have not been able to stop raving about your special needs service… It felt wonderful to have my son be a part of it. I was really impressed with your understanding of the various diagnoses – in terms of the quiet area; of the rabbi warning about the loud sound before blowing the shofar; of the various senses used in the service – the visual, the auditory, the tactile. Really and truly I was blown away…Sitting in your shule gave me renewed hope that there is a place for my son in Judaism, and there is a way to get from here to there, even if I can’t see it yet. So thank you, not only for the services but for the hope you gave me for my son’s Jewish identity.”