In this talk we will explore how to create space at our seders for the fullness of who we are including all of the neurodiversity and disability in our families and communities, through the writing of contemporary disabled activists and ancient texts of the Talmud. We will use this lens to uncover a new Jewish spirituality of accessibility where no one is left behind.

Elliot Kukla (he/they) is a rabbi, author, artist, and activist. In 2006 he was the first openly transgender person to be ordained as a rabbi. From 2008-2021 he offered spiritual care to the ill, dying, and bereaved at the Bay Area Jewish Healing Center. He is currently on the faculty at Svara: a traditionally radical yeshiva, where he is also the founder and director of the Communal Loss Adaptation Project (CLAP). Elliot’s writing regularly appears in the New York Times. He was named one of the 50 most influential Jews of 2019 by The Forward and in 2022, he was even a New Yorker crossword clue (April 12, 7 across).