Devarim Institute

Devarim Institute

Devarim Institute, a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization, began operations in 2007. It has primarily been involved in educational research, development and implementations.

In our latest project, we have completed the research and development for the creation of a Hebrew Braille Sefer Torah after a five year effort. No such scroll is found anywhere in the world. The existence of this scroll will allow the Jewish blind and visually impaired to participate in a congregational service, something up to this point they have not had the option to do. This potentially affects over 400,000 people in the United States alone, althought the scrolls can be used worldwide.

Blind and visually impaired Jews are geographically widely dispersed. It would be unlikely that a large enough blind population would exist in one area to justify the purchase of their own scroll. The company created a program that centralizes scroll storage and allows those blind and visually impaired to borrow a scroll when they would like, regardless of location.

Rabbi Leonard Sarko, the president of the firm, became visually impaired about six years ago. His background and experience as a rabbi and in research and education, allowed this project to be successful.