[NFBJ] A shortfall in the Jewish Community regarding the print disabled and many others

Tue Aug 18 16:28:43 UTC 2026

Tell her from me"

She Should host a nationwide zoom for synagogue and Federation office managers.

One thing that stands out is creativity--the sticker on the envelope.

A Simple Dymo Braille labeler would also work.

Some agencies serving the blind don't even do what she routinely does. 

-----Original Message-----
From: NFBJ <nfbj-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Daveed Mandell via NFBJ
Sent: Tuesday, August 18, 2026 12:21 PM
To: nfbj at nfbnet.org
Cc: Daveed Mandell <daveedmandell at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [NFBJ] A shortfall in the Jewish Community regarding the print disabled and many others

Shalom:

Mia Rossi, the office manager at Congregation Netivot Shalom here in Berkeley, has been a rock! She has maintained a solid commitment to accessibility since I joined. She makes no big deal about it. She just does it. 

Mia routinely sends me our weekly newsletter as a Microsoft Word document, instead of a Google doc. She found a digital copy of a volume of Drashot that our Congregation's members have delivered over the years. She sends source sheets and other handouts for After-Kiddush talks and other discussions and meetings. She will affix a sticker on the envelope containing this year's High Holiday ticket. She's a wonderful example of how accessibility should be tlordeated, without fanfare. She's a true Mench!  

----- Original Message -----
From: mlevy--- via NFBJ <nfbj at nfbnet.org>
Date: Tuesday, August 18, 2026 09:01 AM
To: NFB in Judaism <nfbj at nfbnet.org>
CC: "mlevy at verse-onality.com" <mlevy at verse-onality.com>
Subject: [NFBJ] A shortfall in the Jewish Community regarding the print disabled and many others

Some mobility-impaired and some with degenerative diseases can't use a keyboard or a Mouse and might not be able to read any Torah in any setting outside their home.

My belief

All who take Judaism seriously must study Torah at least once every daytime and once every night-time.

The source is the Book of Joshua, Chapter 1 verse 8.

"Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it."

In this regard, I personally would strive for

-1.  More telephony

-2.  More awareness among the blind of such telephony.

-3.  Awareness among clergy, health professionals, and lay leaders of such telephony.
-4.  This applies to Torah scholars and lay people who age into blindness.  

-5.  They, and too many "experts" who are afraid of blindness, believe that life comes to an end if you can't se.

A Dilemma that is three thousand years

-6.  King Solomon said it in Ecclesiastes chapter 10 Verse 19, to paraphrase,

"it always comes down to how much money is available."

-7.  Do we fund massive initiatives so that perhaps two thousand blind people can read from the Torah,

Or

-8.  Do we spend the same amount of money so that two hundred thousand people can LISTEN TO Torah

?  Or

-9.  How, and by whom, should it be split?
_______________________________________________
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/daveedmandell%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/mlevy%40verse-onality.com