Jewish Responses to Intellectual Disability: An Ethnographic Study of a Jewish institution for peopl

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Jewish Responses to Intellectual Disability An
Ethnographic Study of a Jewish institution for
people with intellectual disabilities in Antwerp

• Carolina Valdebenito, Katholieke Universiteit
  Leuven, Belgium
• Gila Schnitzer, Vrij Universiteit Brussel,
  Belgium

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Outline

• 1. Research Problem
• 2. Key concepts
• Culture
• Mental Health and Mental Disability
• 3. Jewish Cultural traits as related to
  disability
• 4. Theoretical perspective System theory
• 5. Description of fieldwork 
• 6. Jewish responses to Intellectual Disability

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Research Problem

• How is mental disability understood by the
  Jewish community in Antwerp, taking into account
• Jewish parents perception of their own mentally
  disabled children
• Different types and levels of disability,
  (mental/ physical, genetic / non- genetic)
• Different levels of religiosity (from Ultra
  Orthodox to Secular)
• Historical evolution of Jewish habits and beliefs
  from ancient times to the present day

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Culture

• Tylor (1871) defines Culture as that complex
  whole which includes knowledge, belief, art,
  morals, law, customs and any other capabilities
  and habits acquired by man as a member of
  society
• Despite the variety of definition about culture,
  according to Hruschka and Hadley (2008), it can
  be defined , as norms, values, beliefs and
  behaviors that are socially transmitted
• Ethnicity is also used as synonymous of culture
  according to Hruschka and Hadley (2008) . This
  concept involves shared origins, common
  language, religion or perception of self.

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Mental Health and Mental disability

• Following the definition of The World Health
  Organization WHO about mental health it could be
  understood as a state of well-being as one in
  which the individual realizes his or her own
  abilities, can cope with the normal stress of
  life, can work productively and fruitfully, and
  is able to make a contribution to his or her
  community
• The World Health Organization WHO distinguishes
  three separated concepts
• Impairment
• Disability
• Handicap

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Mental Health and Mental disability

• Following Ainsworth and Baker (2004) it is
  possible to say that Mental retardation is a
  syndrome of delayed or disordered brain
  development evident before age 18 years that
  results in difficulty learning information and
  skills needed to adapt quickly and adequately to
  environmental changes. Effective prevention of
  mental retardation is stymied because there are
  so many different causes.

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Jewish Cultural traits as related to disability

• According to Hashiloni-Dolev high fertility rate
  can best be understood as deriving from a complex
  combination of causes, these include
  identification with the collective goal of
  fighting the demographic threat and Arab enemies,
  the threat of losing a child in war or in a
  terrorist attack and Jewish genocide during the
  holocaust, whish led to replace the dead by
  having many children
• According to Hashiloni-Dolev parenthood is an
  important moral commandment and infertility is
  treated as a severe disability in Judaism a woman
  who cannot become a mother epitomizes the essence
  of female suffering

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Jewish Cultural traits as related to disability

• Following Hashiloni-Dolev, the present orthodox
  Jewish community is utilizing contemporary
  genetic knowledge in a worldwide unique fashion,
  as it runs a program called Dor Yeshorim for
  carriers screening tests prior to prearranged
  marriages, which is the common way to marry in
  this community.

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Jewish sacred books and Encyclopedias

• Abrams (2000) explains that liminal persons,
  according to Mishnah and Bavli, (sacred books)
  are half slaves, those blind of one eye, the
  cherest and the lame. For them, shoteb are the
  hermaphrodite and androgyny, women and slaves,
  the lame, blind, sick, aged, uncircumcised and
  impure. For the Jewish people the categorization
  of disability is established by nashim, avadim,
  ktanim. For them, the worst disability is one
  that inhibits intellectual study.
• Then, Jewish people expect that they must
  overcome the different categories of impairment
  in order to improve themselves.

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Jewish sacred books and Encyclopedias

• According to the Jewish Encyclopedia Vol XII
  Talmud-Zweifel. Isidore Singer PhD editor. NY
  and London. Funk and Wagnalls company MDCCCCVI
  Stupid pupil was made monitor until able to
  grasp the art of learning.
• Girls were invariably excluded from the Talmud
  Torah first because teaching them is not
  obligatory and second because they are
  light-minded

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Jewish sacred books and Jewish Encyclopedias

• The Encyclopaedia Judaica (Second Edition, Vol 5
  Pag 508) deaf-mute always classed in the Talmud
  together with the minor and the imbecile as being
  irresponsible and of no independent will, from
  which stem all the restrictions and exemptions
  applying to him, both in law and the performance
  of mitzvot.
• Nevertheless, it was realized that the mental
  capacity of the deaf-mute was superior to that of
  the imbecile, and a passage in the Talmud grades
  the mental capacities of these three in the
  descending order of minor, deaf-mute and imbecile

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Theoretical perspective System theory

• For social sciences, the system theory allows the
  understanding of society as a system in
  inter-dependent and reciprocal relationships with
  other systems that produce stability, equilibrium
  and integration. This theory allows an
  understanding of the equilibrium that result from
  the social transaction between the system and its
  natural and social environment

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Theoretical perspective System theory

• For Luhmann (1998), social systems consist of a
  network of communications which emerge in time
  that is, from event to event. Social system
  therefore are autopoietic system because they are
  operationally closed.
• Closure in this respect does not mean that such
  system are not able to experience contact with
  their environments, but that only mode to get in
  contact is based on their own operations. It is a
  significant difference to former theories of
  social systems.

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Theoretical perspective System theory

• According to Luhmann three functional aspects of
  organizations in modern, functionally
  differentiated society can be differentiated
  which are
• reflexivity,
• rationality
• inclusion/exclusion

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Theoretical perspective System theory

• Following Luhmann the societal organization and
  interactional social

Society
Organization
Interaction
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Theoretical perspective System theory

• Thus, if Jewish culture is understood as a
  partial system, we could argue that disability,
  as a concept, seems to be less developed, even
  though some Jewish encyclopedias mention topics
  related to this phenomenon. From a system theory
  perspective, disability appears to be an
  undifferentiated process, and therefore invisible
  and non-existent.
• But, according to the ethnographic research
  partially described earlier, it is obvious that
  this phenomenon exists in its various forms and
  there is an explanation for it.

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Description fieldwork

• Jewish Institution for mental disabled persons
  located in Antwerp in the Jewish Neighborhood.

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Description of fieldwork

• As Logman says (2004) The ultra orthodox
  community in Antwerp is relatively small,
  compared to the US and Israel and has evolved
  toward a tight, cohesive and geographically
  restricted group. The Jewish community in Antwerp
  is relatively small (20,000 approximately)

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Description of fieldwork

• Sept 2007 starting doctoral program
• October 2007 First contact with Institution
• November 2007 ongoing, conduction of fieldwork

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• 27 day-boarding
• 8 boarding school -21 years
• Boarding school 21 years
• 5 foreigners
• 70 therapists and professionals,(most of them
  part- time and non-Jewish) 6 therapists men non
  Jewish and 1 bus-driver non-Jewish
• Jewish volunteers, 3 men religious leaders or
  rebbes non-rabbis and 1 coordinator of boarding
  school

Institution
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1
3
day- boarding school
6
5
4
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1
Children between 12 and 18 years of age (or
extended to 21), with a mild or moderate mental
handicap and/or specific learning and behavioral
problems and/or a motor handicap. They children
must have school skills equivalent to the first
year for arithmetic and language Fieldwork
Experience 5 weeks observative-
participation Contact and interview with some
parents, with one rebbe and with one of the
coordinator group who introduced me to a mother
of a child with intellectual disability Some
activities developed visit to the park with the
children, help to prepare catering service,
observation of Purin preparation, observation of
math, religion and speech therapies and lessons.
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2
Children from 0 to 6 years with a mild to severe
mental handicap, with or without an associated
physical, sensory, behavioral and/or emotional
problem. Fieldwork Experience 4 weeks
participative-observation Contact with some
parents, contact with a woman who teaches
religion interview with some therapists of this
group. Some activities developed help with
feeding, play with children during spare time,
participation in pool therapy and music therapy,
observation of math, religion and speech
therapies and lessons.
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3
Children between 6 and 10 years of age, with a
mild to moderate mental handicap and/or children
with autism, behavioral problem or a motor
handicap. The selected children must be capable
of pre-school skills. Fieldwork Experience 2
weeks observation. No contact with any parent,
help with feeding, play with children during the
spare time, observation of math, religion and
speech therapies and lessons. Interview with two
therapists of this group.
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Children from 0 to 14 years with a primary motor
handicap and moderate, severe or profound mental
retardation. Fieldwork Experience 3 weeks and
on going- participative-observation. At the
moment I have participated during the music
therapy sessions, helped with feeding, played
with children during the spare time, and
conducted interviews with therapists. They
invited me to participate during the Purin
celebration.
4
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Home for non-working persons institution's home
for non-working persons supervises adult men and
women with a moderate, severe or profound mental
handicap. Part of this facility is recognized
as a "nursing group", while the remaining places
are licensed as an occupational home. The age
groups are composed according to the demand for
support. We have opted for a structural division
between living and working.
Institution

I
II
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Belgian Society/ Flemish
VAGGA. Flemish center for mental health care
Jewish Community in Belgium
Consistoire Centrale Israelite de Belgique
Other Jewish institutions
Centrale 3- Jewish schools Cultural
Center Institute of Jewish Studies
Institution
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Description of fieldwork

• VAGGA Flemish Center for mental health in
  Antwerp. Special section for Jewish people.
• Consistoire Central Israelite de Belgique
• Centrale Central Jewish Welfare Organization
• Interview with the principal
• Interview with social assistance who contacted me
  with VAGGA
• Focus group with non-Jewish housekeepers whom
  work in Jewish houses. One of the housekeepers
  put me in contact with a orthodox woman who used
  to be the principal of a Jewish school and at the
  meantime she introduced me with two mothers of
  disabled children

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Description of fieldwork

• Cultural centre Romy Goldmuntz Participation in
  social activities
• Fancy fair
• Quiz evening
• Sabbath celebration
• Institute of Jewish Studies, University of
  Antwerp.
• Interviews with experts, Jewish and non-Jewish

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Description of fieldwork

• Experts on Mental Disability and /or Jewish
  culture 12 interviews
• Therapists and /or caregivers 13 interviews
• Parents of children with mental disability 13
  interviews
• 1 Focus Group with Housekeepers 15 persons

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Description of fieldwork

• Institution interviews with 2 principals and
  social assistance.
• Contact with other schools, normal and
  transitional

Others schools for learning problems or private
lessons
Normal schools
Institution
state expected
Last Hope
Transitional
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Jewish responses to Intellectual Disability
Physical disability
Disabled persons
Mental disability
Genetic disease
Non-genetic disease
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Jewish responses to Intellectual Disability
Binary codes Sacred/profane
Jewish system
Global society
Disabled persons
High spirituality
Something which can be fixed by technology
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• Thank you