Introduction

The Status of Persons with Intellectual Disabilities in the Community and in Halakhah : From Static Definitions to Dynamic Definitions a Study of the Sources and Fundamental Concepts Benjamin Lau Introduction : The Need for a New Conceptualization The present volume , which studies the classic Jewish texts that address the status of persons with intellectual disabilities and their integration into the community , faces a number of challenges . The first challenge is simply the presentation of the changes that have taken place in society , which now aspires ) at least overtly ( to maximum integration of persons with intellectual disabilities in all spheres of life . This trend runs counter to the practice of thousands of years , when the segregation and isolation of such people was almost taken for granted . This challenge is relatively simple , because it involves an organic process of the sort that confronts tradition on all fronts . A more difficult test faced by the contributors is ...  אל הספר