Seekers of Meaning 4/1/2022: Rabbi Cheryl Weiner reflects on chaplaincy and her spiritual journey

Rabbi Cheryl Weiner, PhD, BCC

RABBI CHERYL WEINER, PhD, BCC is a staff chaplain and community rabbi for Mishkan Miami, the spiritual connection for the Greater Miami Jewish Federation.  She is Director of the Sacred Jewish Conversation Initiative, which includes programs related to Wise Aging, End of Life Decision Making, Legacy and Ethical Wills, and Funeral Choices.  She is also the Director of the Refuat Hanefesh Fellows Program and Alumni Network, a volunteer training program for Bikkur Cholim, visiting the sick.  

Rabbi Weiner also serves as a chaplain for accentCare, formerly Seasons Hospice, Broward and works there as their Jewish liaison, a bereavement and trauma specialist and workshop leader. Recently, she has completed a Certificate in Gerontology and Palliative Care from Yeshiva University School of Social Work and is a certified facilitator for What Matters, a program in caring conversations about end of life from the Marlene Myerson JCC, NYC, and Wise Aging, a program of the Institute for Jewish Spirituality under the direction of Rabbi Rachel Cowan. 

As an ordained rabbi from the Academy for Jewish Religion, CA, she developed a curriculum and congregational program entitled Menschlekeit Matters, which is a model for congregational renewal focused on Jewish values. She has served as an Educational Director for life long learning for synagogues in the Reconstructionist and Reform movements and has taught across the denominational spectrum. In addition, she has developed programs for congregations, JCC’s, University of Miami, Nova Southeastern University, and the Academy for Jewish Religion, CA as well as for Limmud,  Kavod V’Nichum,  and the Florence Melton Adult Learning Program, Miami. She also has developed healing services and high holy day programs for congregations and is a specialist in creative rituals for transitions and transformations.

In a former career path, Rabbi Weiner was an award-winning educational computer publisher and game designer with CCC/Paramount, Activision, Jim Henson Interactive, and McGraw Hill Interactive. She also was an interactive training developer for Fortune 500 companies, including Business Week, McGraw Hill Publishing Co, Federal Express, American Airlines, Apple and IBM.

Rabbi Weiner has a BA from Barnard College, NYC, in American Studies, an MA from Northeastern University, Boston, and a PhD from the University of Oregon, Eugene, in Curriculum and Instruction as well as a Masters in Religious Studies from the Academy for Jewish Religion, CA. She serves on the Board of Directors for the Jewish Publications Society and has been on the Executive Board of the Rabbinic Association of Greater Miami and Neshama, the Association for Jewish Chaplains. She currently is on the Committees for Clinical Pastoral Education for Jackson Memorial Hospital, Miami and Baptist Health Care System, Miami.

Rabbi Cheryl Weiner lives in Hollywood, FL and can be reached at cweinermh@aol.com.