B'Tzelem Elohim

Rafi talks with his Rabbi and Director of Ramah Day Camp in Nyack, Ami Hersh, about the various inclusion initiatives, including the neurodiverity staff program, that Ramah Nyack offers.

Rafi talks with his Uncle Matt Krass, AKA "Matty Roxx," about their relationship and Matt's work to bring inclusive practices to his musical performances and education.

Rafi talks with Michelle Shapiro Abraham, the Executive Director of JBI Library, on their ongoing work to meet the needs of blind and visually impaired Jews. They discuss the importance of individualized inclusion, the impact of accessibility, and the ongoing work that continues to affect all disabled people.

Rafi talks with Meredith Polsky, the new Executive Director of MATAN Inc on their recent report "Closing the Inclusion Gap". They discuss the steps the Jewish community must take in the coming years on this front and explore Selective Mutism, a field in which Meredith specializes in providing support and care.

Join Rena and Rafi as they kick off Season Four of B'Tzelem Elohim. With a focus on ABA, Rafi and Rena discuss the challenges, opportunities, and benefits that behavior modification and related disciplines may provide to families.Please note: An unforeseen technical error occurred while recording the episode, making Rafi's Audio garbled in a few places. We apologize for the confusion this may lead to in the podcast, but as it is minor, it was decided not to rerecord the episode. This technical error was identified and will be fixed for future episodes.

To conclude Season Three, Rafi talks with Orlee Krass, his aunt, about her work in the field of inclusion. Ranging from NYC special education classes to running a large camp program for Disabled participants, Rafi and Orlee explore the challenges, complexities, and necessities of these initiatives.

Join Rafi as he reads and reflects on five years of blogs. Spanning his early years writing for MATAN's teen blog, to early pieces for his website, to reflections on recent milestones, you'll get to hear how Rafi's rhetorical style and perspectives have evolved! This episode is longer than others, so listeners are encouraged to listen to this in multiple sittings, as each blog can be listened to independently of eachother.A personal note: thank you to all the people who have brought me to this moment, five years! I look forward to the next five! One blog featured focuses on the life experience of Danny Klein Z"L. As I mentioned in the podcast, it is always best to hear from people directly; thus, I urge you to watch this interview conducted with Danny when he was still with us: https://youtu.be/6PmmcifIqew

Rafi talks with Dr. Michael Kay, head of the Leffell School, a premier Jewish Day School based in Westchester County. They discuss the missions of Jewish Day School education, ranging from academic to religious to social-emotional, and how they intersect or adapt to the needs of neurodiverse or disabled students.

After one year of B'Tzelem Elohim, Rafi returns to interview his first guest - his mom, Benay! Focusing on Change Management and its applicability to recent changes in his life, Rafi and Benay explore why change is hard and what you can do to make it easier to manage.

Rafi talks with Mat Wilson, founder of the Disability Torah Project, to discuss the intersection of lived experience with sacred texts.

Rafi talks with Jodi Daniels of Autism Double-Checked about the field of disability inclusion within the travel industry. They discuss the barriers facing Autistic travelers and how Autism Double-Checked is helping providers better meet the needs of its customers.

Rafi talks with his longtime Rabbi, mentor, and recently internship supervisor Craig Scheff. They talk about the evolving role of the Rabbinate and Synagogue community in inclusion work and Rafi's experience interning for his synagogue.

To kick off Season Three, Rafi talks with Marta Nemesh, an early childhood educator, camping professional, and advocate for inclusive education.

Before they head off to college, Rafi and one of his close friends, Zach, talk about their friendship and how they have both taught each other valuable lessons about social interactions, disability and Jewish identity.

Rafi talks with his brother Ben about their sibling dynamic through the prism of disability, in the process exploring the importance of hearing voices from all places in a disabled person's life.

Rafi talks with Sarah Parkes, a professional working with disabled young adults on vocational skills. Sarah and Rafi take a deep dive into vocational skills and what that can look like for disabled people and the communities they are a part of. 

Rafi sits down with Mike Humphrey to discuss Mike's experience growing up within the Sinai School system and its impact on him today.

Join Rafi and Dori Kirshner as they discuss 25 Years of MATAN's incredible work promoting inclusion within the Jewish community.

Rafi sits down with disability advocate and comedian, Pamela Schuller, as they discuss her experience growing up with Tourettes and OCD and her work teaching inclusion to audiences across North America.

Join Rafi and Senior Advisor to the National Ramah Tikvah Network, Howard Blas, as they talk about the various programs offered by Jewish Camps to disabled campers and staff!

In this episode, Rafi talks with Cortney Kuperman about their work together at Camp Ramah in Nyack as part of the disability staff program. Rafi and Cortney emphasize the importance of self-advocacy, flexibility, and disabled young adults transitioning into the workplace.

In this episode, Rafi talks with long time friend and Rabbi, Paula Mack Drill, about inclusion within Synagogues and religious spaces for neurodivergent Jews.

In this episode, Rafi sits down with Dr. Ilana Kustanowitz, the school psychologist at Schechter Bergen. They talk about the benefits of positive psychology and warm communities for people of all abilities, including disabled and neurodiverse people.

Rafi explores the importance of inclusion, with its variety of forms with Michelle Steinhart. They focus on the work of MATAN, the role Hebrew school educators have to play in accessible education, and the different paths that Rafi and her son have gone down as they find the right fit for them.

In his first episode, Rafi talks with his mom, Benay Josselson, about his self-advocacy journey, the work she has done including her neurodiverse employees, and the important work ahead for both society and individuals.