Celebrating Rabbi Darby’s New Publication

We are thrilled to announce that Rabbi Darby has co-authored a chapter in A Different Spirit: Creating Meaningful B’nai Mitzvah for Children with Disabilities, written alongside his sister. This important new resource will be released on February 3, 2025, in honor of Jewish Disabilities Awareness and Inclusion Month.

About the Book

Rabbi Darby’s chapter focuses on working with Deaf and hard-of-hearing students to prepare for b’nai mitzvah. The book as a whole provides comprehensive guidance for creating meaningful b’nai mitzvah experiences for differently abled students, offering best practices and practical approaches for inclusive celebration. Rabbi Darby developed this chapter during his recent sabbatical, drawing on his expertise to help synagogues better serve all members of their communities.

Recognition and Impact

Editor Aviva Gutnick shared her enthusiasm for the project, writing: “This is a book to be immensely proud of, and I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to shepherd it through to the end….I want to tell you that every single person who has worked on this book—the designers, the copyeditor, the proofreader, the outside readers—has commented to me how meaningful it is and how happy they are that it exists. Thank you for putting it out there into the world.”

The Poses Family Foundation recognizes the book’s significance and aims to gift it to every congregational rabbi in America. Their goal is to ensure that every synagogue has access to this comprehensive guide for making b’nai mitzvah accessible to every child.

How to Get Your Copy

Pre-orders are now available through Amazon and  booklist.org. This resource promises to be an invaluable addition to any synagogue library and a meaningful tool for creating more inclusive Jewish communities.

We congratulate Rabbi Darby on this important contribution to Jewish literature and accessibility advocacy.