RELIGION / JOHN DART : Facilities for the Disabled Vary Widely Among Area Synagogues

Physically disabled Jews who want to attend synagogue services find a mixed picture at San Fernando Valley temples, according to a survey that looked beyond a few blue parking spaces painted with a wheelchair logo.

On the plus side, Arleta’s Temple Beth Solomon for the Deaf, now in its 32nd year, stands as the only synagogue in the country run by hearing-impaired people.

And Temple Beth Hillel in North Hollywood, Valley Beth Shalom in Encino and Temple Emet of Woodland Hills “get the highest grades” for their attention to a range of emotional and physical needs, said Elaine Albert, director of the Jews with Disabilities Commission of the Jewish Federation Council of Greater Los Angeles.

Some temples planning renovations or new buildings will incorporate ramps and other features required by state law.

However, “other big synagogues are not doing anything, or, if they are listed, they are pitiful,” Albert said, referring to data in a recently published guidebook.

The Jews with Disabilities Commission, which operates under the federation’s Council on Jewish Life, surveyed synagogues as well as Jewish schools and community centers throughout the Los Angeles area. Despite as many as five survey contacts by the commission, some synagogues in the Valley and elsewhere did not respond.

“I think some didn’t answer our requests for information because they were embarrassed,” Albert said. “There is no question that money helps to do these programs.”

At Orthodox synagogues, additional problems can arise in reconciling Jewish law with the needs of people with certain kinds of disabilities.

Pushing buttons to operate an electric wheelchair, for instance, or to use an elevator or switch on a hearing device in the pews are all acts normally prohibited on the Sabbath because they are considered work on the day of rest.

Shaarey Zedek, an Orthodox synagogue for nearly 400 families, will install an elevator during its $1.5-million renovation program for its two-story building in North Hollywood. State law requires either an elevator or an elaborate set of ramps, said Rabbi Marvin Sugerman.

In order to use an elevator on the Sabbath when services are held, the synagogue would have to purchase one that can be set to run continuously from dusk Friday to dusk Saturday without the need to push buttons. “We have not checked into that fully yet,” Sugerman said.

Electric wheelchairs would present a problem for the Orthodox synagogue, he said. But he added that someone in a wheelchair could be pushed--normally another task considered “work”--because a wide area of North Hollywood several years ago was declared an eruv , a home or courtyard, within which the acts of carrying and pushing are permitted on the Sabbath.

By contrast, the Reform-affiliated Temple Beth Hillel makes a conscious effort through its Moses program to attract Jews with disabilities into synagogue activities.

“I really doubt if there is another temple that has a hydraulic lift to the pulpit for people in wheelchairs,” said Iris Wechsler, coordinator of the Moses program, so named because tradition says that Moses had a speech impediment. With that device, members in wheelchairs may take turns at the pulpit for readings and other duties in ceremonies.

“Ours is an old building, so we’ve had to remodel the bathrooms, lower the drinking fountains and telephones,” Wechsler said. “Prayer books are available in Braille and we have a sign language interpreter when we have someone who’s deaf.”

Rabbi James Lee Kaufman started an unusual tradition at the North Hollywood synagogue in 1984 by bringing together Jews with disabilities and members of the congregation for a dinner and speaker one Friday evening a month prior to services.

“The average attendance is about 125 people, nearly half of them disabled,” Wechsler said. (The May dinner will be held 6 p.m. Friday, followed by the worship service at 7:45 p.m. For reservations, call the temple office at 818-763-9148.)

Temple Beth Hillel still has improvements to make, as does Temple Beth Solomon of the Deaf.

“We’re in the process of making our bathrooms more accessible,” said Jan Seeley, secretary for the 175-member Temple Beth Solomon, a Reform synagogue.

The current rabbi, on a three-quarters time basis, is Miriam Biatch, who leads the twice-monthly services on the first and third Fridays.

A full rundown on educational and social opportunities is contained in the 54-page guidebook prepared by the Commission on Jews with Disabilities, which has distributed about 3,000 of its 5,000 copies this year.

“There are many resource guides for people with disabilities, but this was the first time we had received funds to provide one for the Jewish community,” Albert said.