“What’s To Come?” Series: Rebuilding Inclusive Community: Rethinking Disability + Taking Action

Four Lenses to Truly Accessible Jewish Community

After so many months of wishing for “back to normal,” we know we can never return to the way things were. Our “What’s To Come?” series continues our learning and conversation about what kind of Jewish community we can imagine in the future.

Our featured scholars are Rabbi Lauren Tuchman, Rabbi Ruti Regan, Tobey Karpel, and Sara Milner who will be leading our learning of what it means to be a truly accessible and inclusive community. Each educator will share a different aspect of the changemaking that is possible in building our communities better.

Come learn with us – there is Torah that informs the building of community as it should be.

Join us Tuesday 10/26 @ 8-9:30PM EST.

As always, the conversation won't be complete without you at our table. We want to be together with you. Tell a friend or family member to join in -- we would love to meet her, too!

Click photos for more about our fantastic educators.

Rabbanit Aliza Sperling, HerTorah Director

Rabbanit Aliza Sperling is a member of the faculty at Yeshivat Maharat and teaches Talmud at the Maharat-Yeshivat Chovevei Torah Beit Midrash Program. In addition to being the director of HerTorah, she serves as a Hartman research fellow and a Wexner faculty member. She received her ordination from Yeshivat Maharat and a JD from NYU Law School. She also authored a halachic analysis of whether a blind person may read Torah for the collective in Braille. She lives with her husband and four children in Riverdale, NY. You can reach Rabbanit Sperling here.

Rabbi Ruti Regan

Rabbi Ruti Regan is a ritual theorist at the Harvard Law School Project on Disability, and a feminist rabbi working towards greater equality. She was ordained by the Jewish Theological Seminary in 2017, and previously studied at the Drisha Institute for Jewish Education and the Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem.

Find her at www.rabbiregan.org

Sara Portman Milner, LCSW-C

Sara Portman Milner, LCSW-C, is the Co-Founder and Director of Student Services at Sunflower Bakery. She works to develop and implement innovative bakery and café employment training programs at Sunflower Bakery and Cafe Sunflower, changemaking institutions in the Greater Washington DC area. In addition, she shepherds students and their families from initial inquiry throughout the training program. Sara has 45+ years of experience in the disability field.

Find Sunflower’s deliciousness at www.sunflowerbakery.org

Tobey Lass Karpel, BCBA, LBA

Tobey Lass Karpel, BCBA, LBA is a behavior analyst who has worked with hundreds of children ages 2-21 on the autism spectrum for over 10 years. Tobey is an advocate for inclusive spaces in her community. She graduated from Teachers College, Columbia University with a Masters in Early Childhood Intellectual Disability and Autism. Tobey has helped learners of all ages overcome behavioral challenges and acquire social and communication skills that will enable them to be an active participant in activities in their home and community. In addition, she provides parent coaching to teach families practical skills to address challenging behaviors at home. Tobey’s favorite color is tie dye and she spends her free time traveling around the tri-state area looking for the perfect chocolate babka.

Rabbi Lauren Tuchman

Rabbi Lauren Tuchman is a sought after speaker, spiritual leader and educator. Ordained by The Jewish Theological Seminary in 2018, she is, as far as she is aware, the first blind woman in the world to enter the rabbinate. She provides consulting to individuals and organizations across the Jewish community on a variety of matters pertinent to disability access and inclusion. She has taught in numerous synagogues and other organizations across North America. She was named to the Jewish Week’s 36 under 36 for her innovative leadership concerning inclusion of Jews with disabilities in all aspects of Jewish life. In 2017, she delivered an ELI Talk entitled We All Were At Sinai: The Transformative Power of Inclusive Torah. She is a participant in the Institute for Jewish Spirituality’s Clergy Leadership Program. In 2020, she was honored by the Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance (JOFA).

Find Rabbi Tuchman at https://rabbituchman.com/

HerTorah gathers together a diverse community of Jewish women to connect over our shared heritage, explore our collective wisdom, and elevate our communal experience in learning with and from one another.

HerTorah is directed by Rabbanit Aliza Sperling, made possible in part by funds granted by the Covenant Foundation & the Aviv Foundation, presented in partnership with Maharat, and inspired by each one of us.

Thrilled to welcome MATAN as a guest sponsor!

Their work is transformative and Rabbis Tuchman and Regan are MATAN Consultants! Find them at www.matankids.org

We’ve been longtime fans…

Check out mission-driven Sunflower Bakery. After you’re wowwed by the work they do, consider supporting them by sending something delicious! www.sunflowerbakery.org

This gathering welcomes women* 12+ and learners of all backgrounds.

SVIVAH is dependent on the generosity of those who choose to invest in a powerful community of women. As always, cost should never be a barrier to anything SVIVAH, but if you can, please help us show respect to our speakers/facilitators for their time and expertise. www.svivah.org/donate

Questions about ZOOM or about this gathering? Email connect@svivah.org

*SVIVAH defines "Jewish woman" as anyone wishing to be included in a circle of Jewish women. If you want to be here, we want you to be here.