[NFBJ] a braille Sefer Torah in Every Synagogue---a cherished dream butunfortunately unrealistic

Wed Aug 26 05:51:37 UTC 2026

When Batya Sperling says that she reads Torah very often, I’m wondering how she does this. I’m wondering if her synagogue actually owns a braille, Torah ,or if she is allowed to read from braille text. Somehow, given that I think this is an Orthodox synagogue I doubt the latter. I do believe that this requires a very serious Hallachic discussion regarding the attitude toward disabled Jews. Both the Torah and the book of Isaiah say that obstacles should not be put in the paths of blind individuals. Therefore, if a law creates such a barrier or obstacle, we must make it very clear that this goes against a specific commandment in the Torah.

We should always remember that it was Rabbi Sheshet and Rabbi Yosef who were able to convince other Rabbis to change Hallachah so that blind men were no longer exempt from doing the Mitzvot. It’s time to push for serious Hallachic changes regarding the attitude toward blind Jews.
Sent from my iPhone

On Aug 23, 2026, at 9:23 AM, mlevy at verse-onality.com wrote:

Thought Experiment.---a Regular non-Braille Torah Jewish Synagogue

It has 2000 worshippers.

500 come every Shabbat.

Only fifty of them read Torah.

Only ten of them feel confident enough to read from the Torah without massive preparation.

There are three Torahs.

Two or three times a year all Torahs emerge from the ark.

Shabbat Rosh Chodesh Chanukah for example.

The reason?

If there were only one Torah.]
It would be a "tircha dtzibura"

To wait, As the Torah was rolled and rolled on its "handles" to get from one reading to the next.

Ideally, congregations would have THREE braille Torahs.

To avoid " tircha dtzibura"

Daveed,

Ask your friends from 1957 how many of them read Torah NOW?

more realistic

The blind people who want to read Torah,

Or JBI Library

Or one synagogue in New York, L.A., and other major cities

Should keep on hand Braille Torahs.

AS we with disabilities ALWAYS DO,

WE

PLAN AHEAD.

We

Insure that

WE OR J.B.I.

Send braille Torahs to where WE want to worship, ahead of time.

Hungry, ill, and traumatized Israelis, Ukrainians and others

Need our monetary support.

For right now,

The money needs to go to them

Not to a Braille Torah everywhere

at all times.

-----Original Message-----
From: NFBJ <nfbj-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Daveed Mandell via NFBJ
Sent: Sunday, August 23, 2026 10:53 AM
To: nfbj at nfbnet.org
Cc: Daveed Mandell <daveedmandell at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [NFBJ] Scribes interested in learning about blindness

Shalom, Rabbi:

I am very well aware that the Torah itself contains no trope signs. However, the Tanakh does. I have always felt deprived of a very basic right, perhaps a privilege, in Judaism, by not being able to read Torah. Since 1957 until now, all of my sighted Jewish friends and colleagues — whether in Hebrew School, Los Angeles Hebrew High School, Camp Ramah (in Ojai, CA), the Hebrew Teachers Institute (in Los Angeles), in Jerusalem (where I lived for many years), and now at Congregation Netivot Shalom in Berkeley, CA — have been able to read Torah and Hafarah.

I firmly believe that your contribution to Judaism is stellar and extrepely pivotal. However, I feel equally strongly that Synagogues with blind Congregants should own Braille Sifrei Torah. Borrowing one for a few weeks won't allow us to read Torah whenever we wish to do so. The American Jewish -munity is extremely wealthy. It is time to seriously invest in accessibility specifically for blind Jews and generally for all disabled Jews.

Kol tuv,

Daveed Mandell    

----- Original Message -----
From: Rabbi Lenny Sarko via NFBJ <nfbj at nfbnet.org>
Date: Wednesday, August 19, 2026 02:16 PM
To: NFB in Judaism <nfbj at nfbnet.org>
CC: rabbi at rabbisarko.org
Subject: Re: [NFBJ] Scribes interested in learning about blindness

David,
There are no trope signs in a sefer torah.  A sefer torah, with a scribe or braille, costs in the order of $75,000.  No synagogue is going to fund this for one or two people.  It is why I developed the way for people to borrow the scroll when they wish to use it.
Thanks,
Rabbi Lenny
On 2026-08-18 12:30, Daveed Mandell via NFBJ wrote:
> About another approach, which I know is controversial: What if we
> could read from the Torah with braille text, while someone such as the
> Gabbai, pointered with the Yad to every word as we read? Could this be
> a stop gap approach, until we are able to obtain a braille Torah scrol?
> Rabbi Lenny has only produced a few Sifrei Torah, as wonderful as they
> are. I would like to see one, but I'm on the West Coast. To borrow a
> Torah scroll for two weeks is good as far as it goes, but we need to
> be able to obtain braille Sifrei Torah for permanent retention. That
> is going to be a huge problem, because they are not considered kosher,
> and mass producing them would be unlawful. I would love to see one, to
> get my hands on it, to actually read from it.
> 
> Another problem is Braille trope signs.
> Does anybody have any information on them? I have heard that Duxbury
> contains Braille Trope signs in its Biblical Hebrew Braille code. Is
> that true? I've been trying to find out about Braille Trope signs for
> years. When I had my Bar Mitzvah, I made up my own Braille trope code.
> It worked. I just did so again for a recent Haftarah that I chanted.
> 
> Yes, all this is interesting and exciting!
> Sent from my iPhone
> 
> On Aug 18, 2026, at 7:42 AM, mlevy--- via NFBJ <nfbj at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Can I contact "these gentlemen" on my own?
> 
> Thank you.
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: NFBJ <nfbj-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Rachael D Hudson via
> NFBJ
> Sent: Tuesday, August 18, 2026 10:19 AM
> To: Daveed Mandell <daveedmandell at gmail.com>; in Judaism NFB
> <nfbj at nfbnet.org>
> Cc: Rachael D Hudson <hudson.rachaeld at gmail.com>; nfbj at nfbnet.org
> Subject: Re: [NFBJ] Scribes interested in learning about blindness
> 
> good morning,
> It's very interesting to me as well.  I personally like Rabbi Lenny's
> approach using just the braille itself..  I will definitely be wanting
> to ask these gentlemen questions of my own…
> 
> For instance, we don't touch the Taurus role because we don't want to
> smudge the letters - especially the Divine name!  G-D forbid!  So I'm
> very curious about their plans and look forward to learning more from
> them.  I also greatly value Rabbi Lenny Sarko's input on this
> discussion and on any meeting we might schedule with the group here.
> 
> -Rachael Everhart Hudson (She/Her)
> 267-268-5780
> "Do the hard things while they are still easy... The journey of a
> thousand miles begins with a single step."  -Lao Tzu
> ________________________________
> From: Daveed Mandell <daveedmandell at gmail.com>
> Sent: Tuesday, 18 August 2026 10:13:08
> To: in Judaism NFB <nfbj at nfbnet.org>
> Cc: Rachael D Hudson <hudson.rachaeld at gmail.com>; nfbj at nfbnet.org
> <nfbj at nfbnet.org>
> Subject: Re: [NFBJ] Scribes interested in learning about blindness
> 
> Shalom:
> 
> This is very exciting! Torah reading is something I have longed to do
> all my life. I was just recently thinking about a Torah with both
> print and Braille. Wouldn't that be something? By the way, does anyone
> have information on Braille trope signs for both Torah and Haftarah
> chanting?
> 
> Kol tuv,
> 
> Daveed
> 
> Sent from my iPhone
> 
> On Aug 17, 2026, at 4:32 PM, Rachael D Hudson via NFBJ
> <nfbj at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Shalom y'all,
> A friend recently met a group of scribes at a maker space in Minnesota.
> He connected them with me in the hopes that I could pass them on to
> this group to help begin facilitating conversation.   It's my
> understanding that these are orthodox or ultra orthodox scribes who
> are inspired by Rabbi Lenny's approach to a braille Torres scroll, but
> want to create something with the traditionally prescribed in and so
> on.  It is their hope that we can also perhaps put together a call in
> which they can learn from users of Hebrew Braille… Obviously, sometime
> after the high holidays.
> 
> I agreed to send their message (below)
> 
> A new project is exploring the creation of sacred Jewish texts that
> combine traditional handwritten Hebrew with Hebrew Braille, beginning
> with a prototype Megillat Esther and working towards a complete,
> kosher Torah scroll with Braille. The goal is to make communal ritual
> texts more accessible to blind Jews while preserving the rigorous
> requirements of Jewish scribal tradition. The project is feedback and
> suggestions from the blind community to help shape the work, which is
> being developed through the Kedusha Project: www.thekedushaproject.org
> [1]<http://www.thekedushaproject.org><http://www.thekedushaproject.org
> <http://www.thekedushaproject.org>>
> 
> -Rachael Everhart Hudson (She/Her)
> 267-268-5780
> "Do the hard things while they are still easy... The journey of a
> thousand miles begins with a single step."  -Lao Tzu
> _______________________________________________
> 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%40gmai
> l.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-onalit
> y.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/daveedmandell%40gmai
> l.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/rabbi%40rabbisarko.o
> rg

Links:
------
[1] http://www.thekedushaproject.org
_______________________________________________
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