A new curriculum brings adults with intellectual disabilities into the heart of Jewish learning

Raffi Stein-Klotz, 24, is part of an adult Jewish learning series created specifically for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities at Jewish Association for Residential Care (JARC), where he and his housemates study Genesis, learn terms in Hebrew and English, and practice “boker or” and “boker tov.” The article makes clear why this matters: advocates say there are “few if any options” for formal adult Jewish education tailored to them, leaving adults pushed out of the learning that shapes Jewish life—until programs commit to providing “Jewish academic resources for adults with disabilities.”

The curriculum, “What’s Mine is Yours: Jewish Adult Learning for All,” is built to challenge exclusion that hides behind superficial accessibility. Rabbi Morey Schwartz argues that “Inclusion can’t just be about ramps,” insisting that people long left out must receive “inspiration, education,” and “thought-provoking materials,” not a “watered-down version of something else.” Developed by the Florence Melton School of Adult Jewish Learning in partnership with Matan, the program centers prayer, holidays, Shabbat, and rituals while keeping core elements of advanced learning—open-ended questions, engagement with original texts, and group discussion—so that exclusion is not rebranded as “access.” Inclusion can’t just be about ramps.

The article also shows that real access requires real adaptation—because barriers show up in materials, pacing, and classroom format. What’s Mine is Yours is “structured to be accessible for adults with intellectual disabilities” through open-ended questions and discussion, plus visual markers for students who have trouble with text-based materials; and teacher Harvey Leven describes translating vocabulary like “atonement,” “repentance,” and “self-denial,” previewing fast videos, and learning each student’s “idiosyncrasies” to keep the class meaningful. Yet exclusion still happens when only one format is offered: Alissa Korn says the group setting was “very challenging” for her daughter Jillian, who “learns best in a one-on-one setting,” and Leven avoids suggested physical activities because many students have limited mobility. The harm is not the learners—it is the barriers communities fail to remove for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Finally, the rollout highlights who gets stuck carrying the cost of exclusion—and what shared responsibility looks like when communities choose to change. The curriculum moved from an Atlanta pilot to being used in nine cities (including Cape Town) and can be taught in synagogues, Jewish Community Centers (JCCs), Jewish federations, residential facilities, day programs, and more—because “nationalize it, scale it up” was the response to families and advocates demanding more than scraps of access. Erica Baruch says simply offering the program “takes the burden off families” who often don’t ask because they assume it would be “a burden on the community,” even though “learning is such a big piece of Jewish life.” For Community Builders, the article’s call is direct: stop making families plead for inclusion, and build consistent structures that remove barriers so People with Disabilities can belong at the heart of communal learning. takes the burden off families

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By: Jackie Hajdenberg