[NFBJ] NJ Chapter Meetings and Shabbat
Stewart Prost
sprost82 at gmail.com
Thu Nov 9 20:47:46 UTC 2023
Kristen,
Let me first apologize for not responding sooner. The day you sent your
email, I was working as an election officer in Norfolk, VA and could not
use my phone until late that evening. I also wanted to do some research
before responding to your email. Just so you know, I am the chair of the
NFB in Judaism group. I am very concerned about what you have indicated in
your email. I would think that there are a large number of individuals who
are blind, Jewish, and observant in New Jersey and in the Philadelphia
area. Here are some thoughts and suggestions:
- If by any chance, one of the local chapter meetings are within walking
distance of your home and that chapter meets in the afternoon, consider
walking there and attending the meeting. In a way, the attendance of such
an event is not really in the tradition of Shabbat, but walking there may
not be in violation of Shabbat observance. For example, I am the president
of the Tidewater Chapter in Norfolk, VA. The chapter meets the third
Saturday of most months. I would really like to hold it at a different
time, but the members would not be able to attend due to a lack of
transportation on Sundays and weekday evenings. Our meeting is scheduled
in such a way that I am able to go to services and then go to the meeting.
- The National Federation of the Blind of New Jersey's state convention
is starting today. Some sessions are being put out on Zoom, while others
others will be recorded. I would encourage you to check out the schedule
of events at their website, www.nfbnj.org . I understand that the NFB
of New Jersey is also replacing the at large chapter with a series of
webinars.
- This group has meetings via Zoom at least a couple of times during the
year, with an in-person meeting at our national convention, which is also
put out on Zoom. This would be an opportunity for you to meet and interact
with others who are blind and Jewish.
- I can offer you the option of meeting with and joining the Virginia at
large chapter, which meet the third Tuesday of each month from 8-9 PM. If
you wish, I can let the person who is in charge of the chapter know that
you are coming. Here is the Zoom information for this meeting:
*https://zoom.us/j/8297256345?pwd=SFAyamlQNU44ZTJ6dUZNMTV4RmhCQT09
<https://zoom.us/j/8297256345?pwd=SFAyamlQNU44ZTJ6dUZNMTV4RmhCQT09>*
* One tap mobile*
*tell: +13017158592,,8297256345#*
* Telephone Dial: 1 (301) 715-8592*
*Meeting ID: 829 725 6345#*
I have also copied the President of the NFB of New Jersey, Linda Mendez.
My hope is that once the NFBNJ state convention is completed, that someone
will reach out to you.
GENERAL QUESTION: Are their others who find themselves in the same
situation as Kristen? Let me know either by responding to this email or
privately so that we may consider setting up more frequent meetings to talk
about what is going on within the NFB.
Finally, if you wish, I encourage you to speak with me privately. My
contact information is below. I hope you find this helpful.
Shalom,
Stewart Prost, Chair, NFB in Judaism
Phone: 757-572-6891
Email: sprost82 at gmail.com
On Wed, Nov 8, 2023 at 12:20 PM Andre Zelvin via NFBJ <nfbj at nfbnet.org>
wrote:
> Hi,
> It's unfortunate that NFB like most of this country is kind of Christian
> oriented. They generally don't have Sunday meetings because that's
> Christian sabbath, even though it's rarely put that wey. It's a shame for
> the NYC area where the population is more diverse and where there is public
> transit if a group wanted to have evening meetings. I just looked to see
> when ACB in NYC meets, which I know has many Jewish members, but apparently
> not halachicly observant as it's also Saturdays. I don't particularly
> like going to such meetings. For some reason Blind people generally have
> very long meetings without breaks or minimal breaks and not even coffee or
> other drinks where it doesn't seem like much is accomplished. I think most
> of the work of the organizations goes on outside of the large meetings and
> while some do use those meetings to get together with friends or go out
> with them afterwards, I don't think they are very conducive for meeting
> people if you don't already know anyone there.
> I'm wondering what it is you hope to get out of these chapter meetings and
> if maybe it's something you could get in different ways.
> If it's political involvement, I'd check in with the contacts given for
> both NFB and ACB and ask what issues they are working on locally and if
> something interests you, ask who's running that particular campaign and if
> you can get in touch. Of, as someone suggested, look for groups in other
> states that have virtual meetings. National issues will be the same
> anywhere. You might also look at the lists of special interest affiliates
> for both NFB and ACB, or interest groups that aren't affiliates. Most
> probably meet virtually and possibly through email lists or facebook
> groups. These will be groups for people of similar occupations, like
> teachers or writers, or or by other interests, such as the guide dog users
> groups. Both organizations have long lists and you needn't feel compelled
> to stick with one organization. For example, I knew people who were ACB
> members who joined the NFB writer's group because it's apparently very
> good, while I think the ACB guide dog handlers group is larger than the NFB
> group and more active.
> Outside of ACB and NFB there are different sorts of ways Blind people
> conect. In NYC the NLS branch, Andrew Heiskell has a has a lot of local and
> virtual activities, many are technology related, but you'll see a variety
> of other activities from reading groups to origami, many held virtually.
> Because of the growth and popularity of virtual meetings and classes that
> started because of covid, there are such programs all over the place. Like,
> I think the San Francisco Lighthouse has a lot of virtuall programming
> which is open to anyone anywhere, even though they don't promote it as
> such, There's a lot of good programming out of Pittsburgh and perhaps
> that's not unique, and I just connected with it through someone I know who
> lives there.
> Besides that sort of learning and discussion resource, there are
> activities everywhere that are essentially in-person like the tandem
> cycling club in NYC and I think there is a rowing group here also, and
> different cities will have running groups or cross-disability running
> through Achilles. Many museums have some sort of program for Blind and
> Visually Impaired people and many are in-person tours but after covid many
> started including virtual options. A lot of this doesn't happen on
> Saturdays or has different days as options. Some of these activities are
> also good as places to connect with others.
> Well, those are just some thoughts. There's no central place to find out
> about it all. You kind of have to do some searching on type of activity or
> place, and spend a little time doing that searching, but if you make some
> connections you can ask about other things. It's also worth checking out
> facebook groups. There's one called New York City & Tri-State Blind and Low
> Vision Community which tends to be closer to NYC but it's just a small
> facebook group where mostly people announce things, so joining and asking
> what's happening in your general area might well turn up people who have
> that knowledge.
>
>
> On 7 Nov 2023, at 7:39 am, Kristen Aronoff via NFBJ <nfbj at nfbnet.org>
> wrote:
>
> Hello all!
>
> This is something I’ve been sitting on for a while. I live in NJ and I
> want to join a chapter to get to know people.
>
> But every single meeting of every chapter in the state is on Saturday. I
> even looked into the Philadelphia chapter (I live near Philadelphia), but
> it is also on Saturday. I tried to join the DeafBlind division, and it’s
> also a Saturday meeting. (I did email about that and I wrote an impassioned
> plea and they moved the time to be after Shabbat).
>
> I’m feeling very frustrated by this. How do you folks stay connected with
> people in the NFB? It just feels isolating.
>
> Kit
>
> Sent from my iPhone
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--
*Stewart Prost*
Phone: 757-572-6891
Fax: 757-210-7504
Email: sprost82 at gmail.com
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