As the staff of Gateways, we don’t just acknowledge Jewish Disability Awareness, Acceptance, and Inclusion Month (JDAIM); we live it every day.
Across the Jewish world, communities come together each February to recognize JDAIM, an initiative to raise awareness and promote meaningful inclusion in Jewish life. While it is powerful to see synagogues, schools, and organizations spotlight inclusion during this month, our work reminds us that belonging is not a program. It is a commitment.
Awareness may be the beginning; acceptance is the goal! Awareness asks us to notice disability. Acceptance asks us to respect it. In our classrooms, you can find examples of acceptance and belonging every day. Acceptance looks like students using AAC devices to lead tefillah, visual schedules placed next to siddurim, and intentional break spaces that work for the students. It looks like teen volunteers learning how to modify lessons so every learner can access Torah.
As Jewish educators, we are not only teaching Hebrew reading or holiday rituals. We are shaping what Jewish community will feel like for the next generation. One of the most transformative parts of our Jewish Education Program is our Teen Volunteer Program. When teens learn to adapt materials, model regulation strategies, and celebrate small victories, something shifts. They stop seeing disability as “other.” They begin to see it as part of the fabric of Jewish communal life. These teens are the future board members, rabbis, camp counselors, and community leaders who will determine whether inclusion is sustained or sidelined. When they grow up expecting diverse learners in every space, inclusion becomes normalized.
Jewish Disability Awareness, Acceptance, and Inclusion Month invites every community to pause and reflect. But inclusion cannot live in February alone. Real inclusion means we design environments before a child struggles, not after. It lives in budget priorities, staff training, classroom design, material use, language choices, and leadership conversations. It lives in whether we assume competence. It lives in whether we presume belonging.
This month, may we move beyond awareness. May we lean into acceptance, and may we build Jewish spaces where every learner, every family, and every ability is not merely accommodated, but celebrated.
About the Author
Jodi Katz
Jodi is a Board-Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) and a graduate of Wheaton College in Norton, MA, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in Neuroscience. She began her career working in school settings supporting students with diverse learning and behavioral needs, including five years at the May Institute in Wilmington, MA, where she collaborated closely with both education and behavior teams across a wide age range. Jodi went on to earn her master’s degree in Applied Behavior Analysis from Simmons University, where she was the recipient of the Sutcliffe Award.For the past three years, Jodi has consulted with Jewish schools across the Greater Boston area, partnering with educators, mentoring teachers, and working alongside public school teams to support inclusive and responsive learning environments. Her work prioritizes family collaboration and a shared commitment to making Jewish education accessible and meaningful for all learners. Jodi is currently part of a cohort with the M2 Kehillot group and serves as a Behavioral Specialist in Jewish Day Schools as well as the Assistant Director of Gateways’ Jewish Education Programs. She believes strongly that behavior is always a form of communication and approaches her work through a lens of empathy, collaboration, and understanding.