Looking good so far!<BR />Thanks for sharing this.<BR /><BR />----- Original Message -----<BR />From: Stewart Prost via NFBJ <nfbj@nfbnet.org><BR />To: NFB in Judaism <nfbj@nfbnet.org><BR />Date: Monday, February 28, 2022 14:25<BR />Subject: [NFBJ] Fwd: Inclusion of Jews Who Are Observant of Jewish Traditional Practices<BR /><BR />Greetings, everyone,<BR />I want to thank all those who participated in our meeting yesterday. As<BR />promised, I am forwarding the email I sent out on March 12, 2021. As I<BR />stated yesterday, I never received any response to this email from the<BR />Diversity and Inclusion Committee. I think that this email would be a good<BR />start on the article we spoke about yesterday. Also, a reminder to<BR />everyone, the next meeting of this group is set for Sunday, March 27, 2022<BR />from 4-5 PM Eastern Daylight Time. The zoom information is below. I<BR />look forward to meeting with you all next month.<BR /><BR />I wish everyone a happy Purim!<BR />Stewart Prost, President, Tidewater Chapter, NFB of Virginnia<BR />Phone: 757-572-6891<BR />Email: sprost82@gmail.com<BR /><BR /><BR /><BR />---------- Forwarded message ---------<BR />From: Stewart Prost <sprost82@gmail.com><BR />Date: Fri, Mar 12, 2021 at 3:47 PM<BR />Subject: Inclusion of Jews Who Are Observant of Jewish Traditional Practices<BR />To: <diversity@nfb.org><BR />Cc: <officeofthepresident@nfb.org>, Tracy Soforenko <<BR />tracy.soforenko@gmail.com>, David Stayer <davidsysyer6@gmail.com>, NFB in<BR />Judaism <nfbj@nfbnet.org>, Stewart & Deborah Prost <sdprost@cox.net><BR /><BR /><BR />Greetings,<BR />In thinking about being as inclusive as possible, I want to have the NFB<BR />consider the practices of observant or traditional Jews. A traditional or<BR />observant Jew is an individual who observes the practices of traditional<BR />judaism. These practices will vary from individual to individual. Here<BR />are general examples of traditional Jewish practises:<BR /><BR /> - Observance of Shabbat (the Sabbath). Shabbat traditionally runs from<BR /> just.before sunset Friday evening to just after sunset Saturday evening.<BR /> This time is considered holy by observant Jews and is therefore<BR /> differentiated from the rest of the week. During this time, some people<BR /> will not drive or use any motorized transportation, will not use<BR /> electronics, or attend to regular business activities. Again these<BR /> practises will vary from individual to individual and from denomination to<BR /> denomination. (There have been some changes in practises due to the<BR /> pandemic.) these same practises are followed during major holidays which<BR /> include the following:<BR /> - Rosh Hashanah (The Jewish New Year)<BR /> - Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement)<BR /> - Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles)-the first two and last two days of an<BR /> eight day holiday)<BR /> - Pesach (Passover-first two and last two days of an eight day<BR /> holiday)<BR /> - Shavuot (Feast of Weeks)<BR /> - Special dietary practices, referred to as Kashrut or keeping Kosher.<BR /> In general, this includes separation of milk and meat, not eating pork or<BR /> shellfish, and eating meat that is produced in a special way. Some people<BR /> who keep kosher will eat out fish and vegetarian dishes out, others will<BR /> not.<BR /><BR /> What I have described above is very basic and does not include<BR />everything, nor can I go into detail of the thinking behind all of these<BR />practices. I also want to make it clear that there are many Jews who do<BR />not follow all or even part of the practices I describe ablove. Therefore,<BR />there are people who identify as Jews and do not follow all or part of the<BR />practices described above.<BR /><BR />At the last meeting of the NFB in Judaism, there were people stating that<BR />they were not able to attend NFB meeting because the meetings took place on<BR />Saturday. Also, at the last meeting of the Diversity and Inclusion<BR />Committee on March 8, President Riccobono indicated that some people who<BR />identified as Mulslim were concerned with the dates of the 2022 NFB<BR />National Convention. I have found myself having to make a choice between<BR />Jewish and Federation activities, both important in my life. I wish to let<BR />people know that I do not personally follow all of the practices I have<BR />described above.<BR /><BR />Here are some suggestions that I have that could make NFB activities more<BR />inclusive to observant Jews:<BR /><BR /><BR /> - Particularly, in an area of the country with a relatively high Jewish<BR /> population, consider not holding chapter or affiliate activities on<BR /> Saturday, choosing instead either Sunday afternoon or during the week. At<BR /> the very least, when possible, avoid having activities on Saturday morning,<BR /> as this is when services are held. (This would be the same as holding<BR /> activities on Sunday morning when many people attend church services.)<BR /> Consideration should be given to not holding NFB activities on major<BR /> Jewish holidays.<BR /> - If meals are a part of any activity, offer either to arrange for<BR /> kosher food or at least a fish, vegetarian or vegan option. For those<BR /> people who choose not to eat out in non-kosher settings, allow them to<BR /> arrange or bring in there own food to enjoy with others.<BR /> - If invocations are a part of a lNFB activity, such as a state<BR /> convention, Jewish members may be invited to lead some of the invocations<BR /> as other religious groups are invited.<BR /> - The NFB should stand ready to advocate for our Jewish members to be<BR /> full participants in the activities of the Jewish community.<BR /><BR />I realize that Jews are a minority in our country and In the NFB.<BR />Therefore, I propose my suggestions for inclusion, realizing that it would<BR />not be fair or possible to insist on these practices. For example, I am<BR />president of the Tidewater Chapter in Southeastern Virginia. Because of<BR />transportation issues it is not reasonable to hold chapter meetings any<BR />other day but Saturday. We do have the meetings in the afternoon. These<BR />are my ideas for increased inclusion and outreach to people who are<BR />Jewish. This represents my ideas aone. I welcome comments and thoughts of<BR />others. I feel strongly that the NFB has alot to offer to blind people. I<BR />look forward to any feedback anyone has. My contact information is<BR />below.<BR /><BR />Warm Regards,<BR />Stewart Prost<BR />Email: sprost82@gmail.com<BR />Phone: 757-572-6891<BR />Stewart Prost is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.<BR /><BR />Topic: NFB in Judaism Group Meeting<BR />Time: Mar 27, 2022 04:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)<BR /><BR />Join Zoom Meeting<BR />https://us02web.zoom.us/j/3661685508?pwd=a2RwY0o5TWVIa2xBbDBPSEJzL0l2QT09<BR /><BR />Meeting ID: 366 168 5508<BR />Passcode: 21211955<BR />One tap mobile<BR />+13017158592,,3661685508#,,,,*21211955# US (Washington DC)<BR />+13126266799,,3661685508#,,,,*21211955# US (Chicago)<BR /><BR />Dial by your location<BR /> +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)<BR />_______________________________________________<BR />NFBJ mailing list<BR />NFBJ@nfbnet.org<BR />http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfbj_nfbnet.org<BR />To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for NFBJ:<BR />http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nfbj_nfbnet.org/laura.meyer1379%40gmail.com