ASL SHABBAT COALITION eNews 
Tuesday, December 9, 2025 | 21 Kislev 5786

Happy Hanukkah and Happy New Year from the ASL Shabbat Coalition! 

As we gather in this season of light, we extend our heartfelt greetings to you and your families. May the glow of the Hanukkah candles bring joy, hope, and renewed strength, and may the coming year be filled with peace, health, and connection for our entire community.

Blessings from all of us at the ASL Shabbat Coalition


Hillel at Gallaudet

Jewish Deaf Congress

Jewish Deaf Resource Center

Transcript: 


Opening banner: For generations, we've carried the flame. This Shabbat, we ignite it anew.

Daniel Israilov (White male with dark hair and beard, wearing dark shirt, signing to the camera) 
Everyone, what are we doing on December 12th? Come join us on zoom. I will be presenting visual vernacular (VV) to tell the story about Hanukkah.

Irina Normatov (White female with long dark hair without bangs and glasses, signing to the camera)
Hi! I was born in Uzbekistan in a town called Samaria. It's in the northern part of Russia near St. Petersburg. What was my Hanukkah like? Come and find out.

Savannah Dahan (White young female with pony tail over left shoulder, wearing a white sweater with black lines, signing to the camera) 
Hi! (Waving) I will be signing a Hanukkah song during Shabbat this Friday, December 12th. Come and join us.

Closing banner: Join us for a joyous ASL Shabbat of Miracles Around the World on Friday, December 12, 2025, at 7:00 pm EST.

All are welcome to join this virtual Shabbat experience led in ASL with voice interpretation for full accessibility. This gathering will also be captioned.

Register today to save your spot. To register, visit this link. 

Coordinated by the partners of ASL Shabbat Coalition: Hillel at Gallaudet, Jewish Deaf Congress, and Jewish Deaf Resource Center

This Shabbat's program will focus on the celebration of Hanukkah and therefore will not include prayers traditionally recited for Shabbat. For example, the Mourner's Kaddish will not be recited during this service. 

For those who wish to view the Mourner's Kaddish in ASL, we are pleased toi share the translation created by Janis Cole in 2021. The video is captioned.

We extend our appreciation to all who submitted the names of loved ones who passed away this past month or during December in years past. May their memories be for a blessing.

Jean Doble 
Monica Har

Sara Ann Hopp

Gene Long

Rex Rehfeld

Martin Rutishauser

Mal Soffer

Scott Truesdell
David White

Are you looking for in-person or virtual ASL-interpreted, captioned or Deaf-led Hanukkah, or other Jewish-related programs? 

For your convenience, we've compiled a list of Jewish Deaf organizations that maintain event listings or share their own local programs on their websites. These listings include events within the wider Jewish Deaf community as well as accessible programs offered in the broader Jewish community. 

Explore their calendars to find opportunities to connect, celebrate, and learn.

• Florida Society of Jewish Deaf
• Hillel at Gallaudet
• Jewish Deaf Congress
• Jewish Deaf Resource Center

Happy birthday to our December celebrants!

Dorothy Brenner (December 9)

EJ Cohen

Sharon Ann Dror

Rabbi Rebecca L. Dubowe

Lori Dunsmore

Larry Fass

Lilah Katcher

Jacqueline Kaufman

Harriet Loeb

Susan Margolin

Ruth P. Moore

David Redman

Su Robbins

Brian Saperstein

Marcie Stern

Muriel Strassler

If we missed your birthday or a special recognition, please email us and let us know sir we can include you either next year or in the next edition.

In the next issue, we will list January birthdays, anniversaries, or a celebration you want to share. Email us the name of the celebrant(s) you want to acknowledge, no later than January 5, 2026. Our email address is aslshabbatcoalition@gmail.com.

"Charity is central to Judaism - 
for we all are trustees to what we possess." 
Rabbi Jonathan Sacks


Join in the spirit of Hanukkah and give a little "gelt" to support our ASL Shabbat programming! 

We are deeply grateful to our past donors whose generosity makes it possible for us to provide vital services such as voice interpreting, video editing, and Zoom-related costs for all of our ASL Shabbat services.  Your gift today helps keep this inclusive space vibrant and accessible.

Our sincere thanks go to the following donors for their generous support.

• Susan Cohen, in honor of Ari Welsh on her Beit Din
• Sheryl Cooper
• Chris Estrin
• June McMahon
• Jennifer Ostenheimer, in honor of Ari Welsh
• Felece Steele
• Paula Tucker, in honor of Susan Cohen

As you honor birthdays, anniversaries, special occasions, or the memory of loved ones through yahrzeit, consider placing a donation with ASL Shabbat Coalition.

Donate no later than 12:00 p.m., January 5, 2026, so that we can list honorees names in the January 2026 edition of the ASL Shabbat eNews.

To donate, go to this link.


New! We are happy to share that ASL Shabbat Coalition donations have moved to the Zeffy platform! This change helps us track donations more efficiently, and because Zeffy is completely free for nonprofits, your support goes even further.

Special thanks go to Caption Anywhere for their captioning and video editing services.

The ASL Shabbat Gatherings are made possible through a collaborative effort of three organizations that comprise the ASL Shabbat Coalition (ASC): Hillel at Gallaudet (Janie Golightly, representative), Jewish Deaf Congress (Roxanne Baker, representative), and the Jewish Deaf Resource Center (Susan F. Cohen, representative). Volunteers who support the work of the ASL Shabbat Coalition include Staci Blumenfeld, Chris Estrin, Hillel Goldberg, and Toby Silver.

Hillel@Gallaudet promotes inclusive Jewish educational, religious, social, cultural, and communal activities at Gallaudet University by creating opportunities for diverse expressions of Jewish life among students.

Jewish Deaf Congress (JDC) is an inclusive and accessible Jewish Deaf national organization, network and resource center, rooted in Judaism and Deaf experiences, cultures and values of lifelong Jewish learning to discover, connect and flourish.

The Jewish Deaf Resource Center (JDRC) is a 501(c)3 national non-profit organization that builds communication access bridges through an alliance of Jewish Deaf and Hard of Hearing individuals and the individuals and organizations in the wider Jewish community. We aim to do this through advocacy, sharing communication access solutions, collaborating on educational opportunities, providing guidance on inclusive public policy and practices, forming partnerships, sharing resources, and presenting training sessions.

The Jewish Deaf Resource Center thanks UJA Federation of New York for partnering with JDRC through their operating grant.