The Changing Face of Judaism

April 26, 1999

Source: Los Angeles Times

On April 26, 1999, the Los Angeles Times published an article on Temple Beth Solomon in Arleta, California, which is the only temple in the United States founded by and for deaf Jews. Established in 1960, Temple Beth Solomon has served the community of 30,000 to 50,000 deaf Jews in this country who want to learn Torah and study Hebrew. Ancient Jewish teachings barred deaf Jews from undertaking bar and bat mitzvah ceremonies because the rabbis could not communicate with them. Now, deaf Jews have the opportunity to undertake bar and bat mitzvah ceremonies, but they have to learn how to speak Hebrew and how to do phonetic signing of Hebrew and learn its signed meaning. Many of the students grew up in hearing temples where they didn't know what was going on. Temple president Roz Robinson stated: "We (deaf people) own it, we run it. This is about deaf people deciding what deaf people want. The idea that we have our own synagogue, controlled by us, is really amazing."