High Expectations -- December 2013

  

High Expectations - Torah Reflections - Dec.2013 

Parsha Shemos 

 

Tomorrow is my birthday. To my surprise, this week's Torah portion is not about Joseph, which is usually the portion I write about. This week's Torah portion is Shemos, the beginning of the book of Exodus. In Shemos, we learn that a new pharaoh, who didn't know Joseph, enslaves the Jews and orders all first-born Jewish boys to be killed. We learn how Moses, a first-born son, survives this horrendous decree by being placed in a basket, floated downstream, discovered by one of Pharaoh's daughters and raised in Pharaoh's house. Since the movie The Ten Commandments retells the story much better than I can, I urge you to see the movie for further details. I do, however, want you to know that Shemos contains my favorite part of the Torah. It is where G-d tells Moses to lead the Jews out of bondage. Here's why I like it. 

 

As you may remember, after 29 years of working for Wells Fargo, I retired to start a disability-focused employment company that specializes in consulting on staffing and placement issues. I quickly realized that there are systemic problems that intrinsically inhibit people with disabilities from working and being productive. Our society holds very low expectations for individuals with disabilities. Our government's defining of disability as the 'inability to work' in order to receive disability benefits is an inherent disincentive. The continual pleading with employers to hire people with disabilities who usually have less work experience than their peers portrays us as needy individuals. The ever-present view that people with disabilities always need something while ignoring the basic need to be needed inevitably leads to poor self-esteem. These currently accepted mores and practices must change! 

 

I worked with the World Institute on Disability this year, developing the CareerACCESS Program. This program will be created by changes in federal policy aimed at significantly increasing the employment rate of people with disabilities by expecting young adults with disabilities ages 18 through 30 to work. CareerACCESS will provide required support and services recognizing that disability benefits are offsets to the high cost of disability rather than subsidies for the inability to work. We recently learned that a Senator has spoken to the Social Security Administration about including appropriations in the 2015 budget for a feasibility study of the CareerACCESS Program. 

 

We want The Union for Reform Judaism – Religious Action Center as an active supporter of the CareerACCESS Program.  This week's Torah portion clearly describes the need and appropriateness of such a program. G-d picked Moses to lead The Jews out of bondage. When Moses tried to argue that his speech disability might inhibit his ability to fulfill the task, G-d rejected Moses' request to quit. G-d expected, in fact, demanded that Moses do the job. Furthermore, G-d gave Moses the tools Moses needed for the job. G-d gave Moses a rod that turned into a snake to show Pharaoh that Moses was indeed representing G-d. G-d also told Moses that his brother Aaron's unimpaired ability to speak could be used as a communication assistant. This combination of having high expectations combined with providing necessary tools is a great way of motivating people. It tells people they are needed, that they are expected to do well and that with the right tools and support, there's always a way to succeed.