Articles by Rabbi Simcha Raphael

About Rabbi Simcha Raphael

SIMCHA RAPHAEL, Ph.D., is the Founding Director of the DA’AT INSTITUTE. He has worked as a death awareness educator, bereavement counselor and hospice chaplain for over twenty-five years. Ordained as a Rabbinic Pastor by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, he received a doctorate in Psychology from the California Institute of Integral Studies, and has written extensively on the topics of death, bereavement and the afterlife.

April 14, 2020 0

Guest Blog Post: Yizkor – Remembering Our Ancestors in Pandemic Times

Reb Simcha Raphael links the observance of Yizkor in a time of public health lockdown with an effort to make a more solid spiritual connection. [Read more...]

Passover Table 2, by April Killingsworth, from Flickr.com under Creative Commons 2.0 license.

April 7, 2020 0

Passover, the Wilderness Journey and Our Fears of Death

JewishSacredAging.com contributor Reb Simcha Raphael looks for ways the teachings of Passover can help us deal with these enigmatic and often frightening times. [Read more...]

October 7, 2019 0

Parshat Ha’azinu: Death of Moses in Torah and Midrash

Reb Simcha Raphael discusses the parsha Ha'azinu, Moses' death, and the promised land. [Read more...]

October 2, 2019 0

Be Culturally Radical: Live As If You Are Dying

Reb Simcha Raphael provides some reflections on Yizkor. [Read more...]

"Remember," by Michael Pollak, via Flickr.com under Creative Commons 2.0 license.

March 15, 2018 0

V’higadeta L’vincha: Passover As A Time for Remembering and Memorializing Loved Ones

Rabbi Simcha Raphael writes about the story-telling surrounding Passover and how to make it meaningful. [Read more...]

Cenotaph of Jacob at the Tomb of the Patriarchs. By A ntv - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link

January 14, 2017 0

D’var Torah on Parshat Vayehi

With Parshat Vayehi, the Book of Genesis reaches its grand finale. With Jacob and his extended family gathered in the land of Egypt, first, the illustrious Patriarch himself, [Read more...]