An article published on YNET, a couple of weeks ago, disclosed that a rabbi on the Chief Rabbinical court once ruled that deaf people are ineligible for conversion to Judaism. No matter what the rabbi’s views may be, the whole matter comes off as a matter of discrimination against those with disabilities. And worst, this isn’t a hypothetical situation, a young deaf woman was turned away years ago based on that ruling.

The article came to mind this weekend when interestingly enough, I discovered an article about the deaf in this week’s Jewish Week. In Hear, O Israel, Carolyn Slutsky writes about how two newly ordained deaf rabbis might signal the acceptance of diversity within the Jewish community. But what both articles, in fact, seem to point out is that it’s hard out there for people for disabilities, though in some circles better than it has been in the past. (I have my own problems dealing with fibromylagia in the Jewish community and beyond.) Still, both articles together seem to point towards the need to ensure that we’re making the world a more accessible place for everyone…