[NFBJ] NJ Chapter Meetings and Shabbat

Sun Nov 12 20:15:29 UTC 2023

I appreciate everyone’s thoughtful input and ideas. It’s nice knowing others have felt this too. Unfortunately the closest chapter is still a few towns over, so it’s not within the eruv. Someone had asked about what I was hoping to get out of NFB. I’d say it’s a mixture of wanting to be more engaged politically on issues related to Blind and Deafblind people in my state and also around the country. It’s also about networking and meeting likeminded folks I think. I’m very interested in agendas related to increasing braille access. 

I did have a chance to go to the State Convention over the weekend. It was a great time! My husband joined me for shabbat and we brought all of our food with us and had a nice shabbat meal in the hotel. We just used the stairs to get around instead of the elevator. We go to Science fiction and fantasy literary conventions sometimes, and have a good system for staying in hotels over shabbat. The biggest downside of the convention was… Boy howdy was there a whole kerfuffle around my request for a kosher meal at the banquet. I had emailed about 2 months in advanced to the organizing folks, and asked about kosher options at the hotel. For context,t the hotel was RIGHT next door to a sizable jewish community. So there were like 5 restaurants within a 2-mile radius, and I know people have had bar mitzvahs at this hotel. 

The organizers got back to me and said that the hotel stated they couldn’t provide kosher meals. I said fine, but we’d still like to attend. I said we can still purchase tickets if necessary we just wouldn’t be eating. So they said we didn’t need tickets. WELL. When we got there, it turns out we DID need tickets, it’s just no one told us. The hotel refused to seat us at the table without having purchased tickets. We offered to buy tickets, but the organizer said we’d have to pay the $75 rate instead of the $50 rate, which it would have been in advance. I was like, “We’re… We’re not doing that…” 

So we didn’t go to the banquet. It was… a weird experience. I guess no one has ever asked for a kosher meal? Which I find odd, because NJ has a pretty big Jewish community. But I guess since all of the meetings are on shabbat, it’s not really giving off “friendly for jewish people” vibes. 

The DeafBlind division did move their meeting to be after shabbat, so that is nice! I’m DeafBlind (the convention also struggled to provide DeafBlind accommodations). But it’s nice to be able to connect on some level. I think I might look into joining committees in the state, and see if people would be willing to shuffle the committee meetings around if I were to join, since they’re typically fewer people and online. I imagine this is going to take a lot of advocating on my part, to get some understanding. I did join my local chapter, so I’ll start trying to advocate for them to have some of their special events on other days. We’ll see how this goes! 

Best wishes, 

Kit Aronoff

> On Nov 10, 2023, at 7:00 AM, nfbj-request at nfbnet.org wrote:
> 
> Send NFBJ mailing list submissions to
> 	nfbj at nfbnet.org
> 
> To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit
> 	http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfbj_nfbnet.org
> or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to
> 	nfbj-request at nfbnet.org
> 
> You can reach the person managing the list at
> 	nfbj-owner at nfbnet.org
> 
> When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific
> than "Re: Contents of NFBJ digest..."
> Today's Topics:
> 
>   1. Re: NJ Chapter Meetings and Shabbat (Stewart Prost)
> 
> From: Stewart Prost <sprost82 at gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [NFBJ] NJ Chapter Meetings and Shabbat
> Date: November 9, 2023 at 3:47:46 PM EST
> To: NFB in Judaism <nfbj at nfbnet.org>
> Cc: Andre Zelvin <l.andre.zelvin at gmail.com>, Linda Melendez <president at nfbnj.org>
> 
> 
> 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
>> _______________________________________________
>> NFBJ mailing list
>> NFBJ at nfbnet.org
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfbj_nfbnet.org
>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for NFBJ:
>> 
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nfbj_nfbnet.org/l.andre.zelvin%40gmail.com
>> 
>> _______________________________________________
>> NFBJ mailing list
>> NFBJ at nfbnet.org
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfbj_nfbnet.org
>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for NFBJ:
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nfbj_nfbnet.org/sprost82%40gmail.com
>> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> *Stewart Prost*
> Phone: 757-572-6891
> Fax: 757-210-7504
> Email: sprost82 at gmail.com
> 
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> NFBJ mailing list
> NFBJ at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfbj_nfbnet.org