Author Archives: Rabbi Richard Address

About Rabbi Richard Address

Rabbi Richard F. Address is the senior rabbi at Congregation M'kor Shalom in Cherry Hill, NJ. He was called to the congregation after 33 years with the Union for Reform Judaism, where he most recently served as the specialist and congregation consultant for the North American Reform movement in the program areas of Caring Community and Family Concerns. His work has been based on the belief that a congregation, to be a true “caring community”, must be founded on a theology of sacred relationships. A major part of Address’s work has been in the development and implementation of the project on Sacred Aging. This project has been responsible for creating awareness and resources for congregations on the implication of the emerging longevity revolution with growing emphasis on the aging of the baby boom generation. This aging revolution has begun to impact all aspects of Jewish communal and congregational life. Rabbi Address was ordained at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR) inCincinnati (1972) and served congregations in California before joining the staff of the Union for Reform Judaism (formerly the Union of American Hebrew Congregations) in 1978. He directed the Union’s Pennsylvania Council from 1978 through 2000. In 1997 he founded the Department of Jewish Family Concerns and went full time in New York in January of 2001. Rabbi Address received a Certificate in Pastoral Counseling from the Post Graduate Center for Mental Health in 1998 and his Doctor of Ministry from HUC-JIR in 1999. He also received his honorary Doctorate from HUC-JIR in 1997.

The Community of Care

Just off the red-eye from Seattle, Washington. A beautiful city with wonderful people. I was in Seattle for some of my Union for Reform Judaism work on our project on aging and baby  boomers and spent Sunday with the Jewish … Continue reading

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Happy New Year?

As I wrote this, I am looking out of my study window at a gray sky. It is in the 30 degree range and drizzle is falling. Yet, there is a ray of hope that new life is at hand. … Continue reading

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Whistle a happy tune…

Remember The King and I? It was Anna’s song in which she gave us the psycho-spiritual insight that whenever we feel afraid the best thing to do is just whistle a happy tune. This was Broadway’s therapeutic analyses that preceded … Continue reading

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If you’re happy and you know it…

A recent article in the Los Angeles Times (Jan. 31, 2011: E-3) was concerned with the elusive quality of happiness. We are at the age when this concept may be up for serious re-evaluation. Dr Valerie Ulene, the author of … Continue reading

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Happy New Year, Happy ‘Age of the Boomer’!

Start spreading the news….! Actually, the census has already done that. As of January 1, 2011 (that is like NOW), one Baby Boomer in the USA will turn 65 every 8 seconds! How is that for a way to welcome … Continue reading

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Into the light of the future

The Torah cycle that we read this month deals a lot with Joseph and his sojourn in Egypt; his rise from prisoner to minister and his eventual reunion with his family. Indeed, one of the most powerful lines in the … Continue reading

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Important New York Times article about long-term care planning

A hat-tip to Rabbi Jennifer Gertman for pointing out this New York Times article, “Ignore Long-Term Care Planning at Your Peril,” by Ron Lieber. The costs of long-term care can be frightening, and insurance bought early on can be a … Continue reading

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Changing Times: Mental Health Awareness in the Jewish Community

Editor’s Note: This article by Rabbi Address was originally published on NAMI.org, the website of the National Alliance on Mental Illness. A highlight of a recent conference on Judaism and mental health featured several members of the host synagogue telling … Continue reading

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To “Life” and to the New Year!

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 … Continue reading

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Transition and Change

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 … Continue reading

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