Miss-Delectable
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Did You Hear the One About the Deaf Rabbi? (Baristanet)
It's hard enough to be speak your native language when you're profoundly deaf, but 35-year-old Darby Leigh took it the extra step when he learned Hebrew well enough to become a rabbi.
Last week, he signed on as the new assistant rabbi at B'nai Keshet, Montclair's Reconstructionist synagogue. This YouTube video gives a glimpse of what it took.
Before studying to become a rabbi, Leigh, the child of deaf parents, worked in theater. From the B'nai Keshet news release:
After graduating from the University of Rochester, where he received his B.A. in religion, summa cum laude, he toured with the National Theater of the Deaf. In 1997 his performance as the lead in Henrik Ibsen’s Peer Gynt received favorable reviews in The New York Times and Variety.
Wearing dreadlocks for more than ten years, he did not appear the typical rabbinical school aspirant and he explored many avenues before coming to that decision.
He was a consultant for the Oscar-nominated documentary Sound and Fury and for Hands On, an organization that provides sign-language interpreters for Broadway and off-Broadway productions.
Leigh has taught on issues related to deafness for various organizations, including the New York City Fire Department, the American Musical and Dramatic Academy and the New York City Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities.
It's hard enough to be speak your native language when you're profoundly deaf, but 35-year-old Darby Leigh took it the extra step when he learned Hebrew well enough to become a rabbi.
Last week, he signed on as the new assistant rabbi at B'nai Keshet, Montclair's Reconstructionist synagogue. This YouTube video gives a glimpse of what it took.
Before studying to become a rabbi, Leigh, the child of deaf parents, worked in theater. From the B'nai Keshet news release:
After graduating from the University of Rochester, where he received his B.A. in religion, summa cum laude, he toured with the National Theater of the Deaf. In 1997 his performance as the lead in Henrik Ibsen’s Peer Gynt received favorable reviews in The New York Times and Variety.
Wearing dreadlocks for more than ten years, he did not appear the typical rabbinical school aspirant and he explored many avenues before coming to that decision.
He was a consultant for the Oscar-nominated documentary Sound and Fury and for Hands On, an organization that provides sign-language interpreters for Broadway and off-Broadway productions.
Leigh has taught on issues related to deafness for various organizations, including the New York City Fire Department, the American Musical and Dramatic Academy and the New York City Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities.