Rabbi Richard F. Address, D. Min.
Here is one of “those” questions. How do you find meaning in the aftermath of sorrow? How do you find reason when there is none? 5770 is ending. I, for one, will not be sorry to see it go: too much sadness, too much illness, too much death.
August 2010 found me flying back to Dallas to participate in the funeral of my friend, who was my brother, Rabbi “Jake” Jackofsky. He died on the 23rd of a horrible debilitating brain disease. He was 69. We knew “how” Jake died, but, still the question kept coming back: “why”?
Donald M. Friedman, MD
At first thought, one might wonder what humor and laughter have to do with illness; it doesn’t seem like a very likely mix. But on closer examination, humor and laughter have a large role to play in the ability to cope with an illness and the capacity to maintain a sense of wellness in an ever more challenging world and pressurized lifestyle. In fact, the role of humor has been recognized for a long time in the world’s literature. Continue reading →
Ilena J. Blicker, MD
Once again I am floored by how close the High Holy Days are. It shouldn’t come as a surprise to me as I have been working to line up Torah and Haftarah readers and many other congregants to actively participate in High Holy Day services. For our congregation of less than 250 families, we usually have at least 100 participating in leading parts of the service along with our Rabbi and Cantor. But there is something to realizing that Selichot is within 8 days and I am not ready emotionally.
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Donald M. Friedman, MD
There is a saying about listening that eloquently summarizes the nature of the process. The source of the words is unknown, but the message is universal – “God gave us two ears, but only one mouth. Some people say that’s because God wanted us to spend twice as much time listening as talking. Others claim it’s because God knew listening was twice as hard as talking.” And so it goes that listening is an important skill, but it can be so hard to do it well and so challenging to make it meaningful.
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Rabbi Richard F. Address, D. Min.
As you read this, I hope you take note of the new format for jewishsacredaging.com.
The time has come for us to amp-up the vision of the site and what we can do, and so this month represents the first roll out of the revised web site. We hope to make it more inter-active and add additional guest contributors. This transition also reflects the growing interest in many of the issues we look at. This is especially true for the challenges associated with care-giving.
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Ilena J. Blicker, MD
I am part of the generation born during WW II, who now look in the mirror and are startled by the realization that even we are aging. The youngest of us has already reached that unheard of age of 65 and with Medicare card in hand are trying to make sense of how did we become our parents generation.
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Can faith and community be powerful aids to those caring for an aging loved one? In honoring our “father and mother,” how do we honor ourselves? Can a deeper understanding of spirituality and aging result in better care?
In this webinar I conducted for SilverPlanet.com, I focus on the spiritual aspects involved in the “art” of caregiving.
At dinner the other night, a friend asked if I had a list of all the things an adult child should discuss with their aging parent. As we delved deeper into the question, it turned out that my friend’s mother on many occasions had alluded to a “file” that contained all her necessary paperwork but had never gone beyond that introduction. My friend wanted to know how to learn more about what her mom really had in the file and what she should ensure is completed. Continue reading →
