Bikur Cholim 2023 Conference Scheduled

We are so proud to announce the 2023 National Bikur Cholim conference that begins on March 13 and ends on June 5. Like the conferences in 2021 and 2022 this one will be held virtually on Monday nights. The conferences in 2021 and 2022 grappled with how to provide bikur cholim in the face of the tremendous challenges from the pandemic and were attended by over 400 people. Register here.

This year’s program will be on The Path to Healing in the Face of Bereavement and our keynote speaker is Dr. Pauline Boss who has written and studied loss and bereavement for decades. She created ambiguous loss as an area of study and her recent book The Myth of Closure: Ambiguous Loss in a Time of Pandemic and Change is a New York Times bestseller. https://www.ambiguousloss.com

We have a set of stellar speakers for the remainder of the program who will deal with how to dwell in loss, and find meaning and growth. They will address how do we deal with the losses of lives, relationships, opportunities, and other losses. What are our own expectations for healing?  How can we be most present and supportive of those who are bereaved?  And what should our expectations be on the path to healing?

Date	Session Overview
March 13	Dr. Pauline Boss, Professor, University of Minnesota “False expectations: Ambiguous Loss and the Myth of Closure and Finding the Compassionate Path to Healing”
March 27	Rabbi Richard Address, Founder & Director, Jewish Sacred Aging Rabbi Edythe Mencher “A Discussion of a New Theology of Loss”
April 3	Rabbi Nadya Gross and Zoe Francesca Goldblatt “The Path of the Death Doula and How that Guides Providing Comfort to the Bereaved”
April 24	Rabbi Judy Beiner Rabbi Shira Stern Rabbi Miriam Herscher “Companioning the Bereaved:  Lessons from Bereavement Groups”
May 15	Rabbi Melanie Levav, Shomer Collective “Meaning Making & Loss: Can We Really Turn Mourning Into Dancing?” (Psalm 30)
May 30	Rabbinic Pastor Chaya Lerner “Bereavement in the Face of Disaster, Lessons from Surfside One Year Later”
June 5	Rabbi Norman Blumenthal, Ohel “The Long Journey to Recovery:  Covid and Bereavement”

We hope you can join us.  The registration fees are modest and we provide scholarships as needed.
Here is information on the program:

Conference Program, Online
Select Mondays March 13 – June 5, 2022
8:00pm – 9:30pm EDT   •   5:00pm – 6:30pm PDT

For volunteers, social workers, chaplains and professionals who work
in the field of bikur cholim (visiting the sick) and the general public
$72 for the full conference program for 7 sessions;
$36 for 3 sessions;
$18 for a single session
— scholarships widely available —
All sessions will be recorded

Sponsored by Neshama: Association of Jewish Chaplains, Network of Jewish Human Service Agencies, Jewish Association for Death Education (JADE), Kavod v’Nichum, and Shomer Collective

Questions?
Program Questions: Contact David Balto at david.balto@dcantitrustlaw.com or 202-577-5424
Sponsorship and Registration Questions: Contact david.balto@dcantitrustlaw.com

For more information, such as upcoming sessions, please notice that we have a new website jewish-healing-center.org which has comprehensive resources on the Jewish perspective on healing and bikur cholim.

We hope you can attend.