Temple Sholom to Host "Igniting a Fire For Inclusion for Disabled People" Program Feb. 5 With Matan Koch, Esq.

On Friday, February 5, beginning at 6:30 p.m., Temple Sholom at 122 Kent Road (Route 7) in New Milford, will welcome attorney and Harvard Law School graduate, Matan A. Koch, son of the Temple’s late rabbi emeritus, Norman Koch, to present a free program, “Igniting a Fire For Inclusion”, on ways people with disabilities can be included in all aspects of society and community life.

“By failing to eliminate physical, spiritual and attitudinal barriers for people with disabilities,” states Mr. Koch, one of Temple Sholom’s Scholars in Residence, “our society is closed to individuals with disabilities from participating in all aspects of community life. True participation may involve creating access ramps, installing listening devices and braille prayer books in public places of worship, study, arts and entertainment, and more. This all starts, however, with a collective passion to tear down physical, emotional and spiritual barriers.”

A speaker, educator, and consultant, Mr. Koch, who is physically disabled, works to share ideas and strategies to promote universal inclusion of people with disabilities in all aspects of society. His life-long history of disability advocacy began with his term as president of Yale University’s student disabilities community, and reached its most recent high point with his appointment by President Obama to the National Council on Disability as chair of the Governance Committee and a member of the Executive Committee.

Attorney Koch has served as a member of the New York State Bar Association Committee on Legal Education and Admission to the Bar. He has also served as a public policy intern for United Cerebral Palsy, for which he was an active Congressional lobbyist; vice chair of the New Haven Disability Commission; and president of the Students for Disability Awareness at Yale University. Matan Koch is also recipient of the David Everette Chantler Prize for his work raising awareness of the challenges of disability at Yale University.

An accomplished speaker, in 2015 Mr. Koch spoke during the Mayyim Hayyim Living Waters Community Mikveh and Paula Brody & Family Education Center’s annual fundraiser in Boston, Mass. In May of 2015, he gave sermons, and was keynote speaker, at the annual educator dinner for the Jewish Federation of Greater Rochester in New York. In February 2015, as keynote speaker at the National Federation of Temple Youth Biennial Convention in Atlanta, Georgia, he spoke on the “Charge to Jewish Teens to Practice Active Inclusion”.

As a guest lecturer at Yale University in 2009 and 2011, Mr. Koch spoke on “A Value Based Focus on Employment of People with Disabilities”. In 2009 and 2012, as a guest lecturer at the Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion in Manhattan, he spoke on “Inclusion Considerations for Aspiring Jewish Professionals”.

Temple Sholom, currently led by Rabbi Ari Rosenberg of New Milford, is a small congregation that offers ongoing innovative programs, primarily in education, with a unique, inter-generational approach. On Sundays, the Temple’s “Jewish Journeys” program attracts children of varying ages, their parents, and older adult members of the community. The Temple is also proud of their long-standing tradition of post Bar- and Bat-Mitzvah teens teaching in their after-school Hebrew program. For adults, the Temple offers numerous classes including Torah study and book groups toward the ambition to provide valued intellectual, spiritual, and social connections.

Currently, Temple Sholom offers Torah Study on Saturdays at 9:30 a.m. Beginning in February, nine sessions will be offered through March on Thursday evenings at 7:00 p.m. on “An Introduction to Islam for Jews” which will include multi-media presentations and discussions on contemporary issues. In April and May, as part of their Scholars in Residence program, they will welcome Dr. Peter Cole who will offer “Jewish Poetry Reading Through History” one-day presentations.

Mr. Koch’s February 5 presentation will be part of Temple Sholom’s regularly-scheduled Friday night service at 6:30 p.m., which will be kept brief to provide time for his presentation followed by a question and answer period. The program is free, open to the public, and light refreshments will be served. No reservations are needed.

To learn more about Temple Sholom, and their ongoing programs and special events, visit http://tsholom.org, or phone 860-354-0273.