newsletter 2017 03jewishchaplain.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/march2017.pdf · 2018-09-05 ·...

N E S H A M A : A S S O C I A T I O N O F J E W I S H C H A P L A I N S

NAJC Newsletter Adar 5777/March 2017 1

NAJC 50 Eisenhower Drive Paramus NJ 07652 844-330-NAJC [email protected]

A Quarterly Newsletter of Neshama: Association Of Jewish Chaplains Vol. 29 No. 3 ~ Adar 5777/March 2017

Rabbi Moe Kaprow, BCCPresident

Rabbi Dr. Sandra Katz, BCCPresident-elect

Rabbi Michael Schorin, BCCVice President

Rabbi Bryan Kinzbrunner, BCCTreasurer

Rabbi Dr. Joe Ozarowski, BCCSecretary

Rabbi Dr. Geoffrey Haber, BCC

Certification

Rabbanit Alissa Thomas-Newborn, BCCConference

Rabbi Dr. Mark Goldfarb,Newsletter Editor

Rabbi Dr. Rafael Goldstein, BCC

Executive Director

Cecille Allman Asekoff, Executive V.P. Emerita

On The Inside:........How Was Your Year?! 2

Focusing On Those Who ............Have Forgotten! 4..........Holy Souls Connect! 8

Talking With His Dying ........................Mother! 10

.......May Our Face Shine! 11Finding Spiritual Aha!

....................Moments! 12..Wanted! New Members! 14

21st Century Chaplaincy !15........NAJC Case Studies ! 16.........Study Tour to Israel! 17

Chess As Spiritual ................Intervention! 18..............Another Kaddish! 21

.........With Our Members ! 23New חברים .!.………………!23

...........Upcoming Events! 24..............Board Members! 24

Here’s What’s Going On In The NAJC!Rabbi Moe Kaprow, BCC

Dear Chevre,

What a wonderful experience our conference was in Cincinnati. Over 100 members, students, and friends gathered to hear outstanding speakers and engage

in beneficial workshops. Thanks to all who worked so very hard to make our conference a success.

Over the past months, we recognized that our dues structure requires review. How we assess and collect dues, the lifeblood of our organization,

has not been studied in many years. To that end, our Treasurer, Rabbi Bryan Kinzbrunner has established a committee that will report back to the board prior to our June Board meeting where the budget is adopted. Please note that we are not necessarily looking at a dues increase, rather at a method to insure that we all pay our fair share. Regardless of the outcome, NAJC is committed to insure that no one is turned away for financial reasons. We have always and will continue to assist those wanting to join with us and insure that they can do so.

Another innovation is a new program known as Rashei Pina, the cornerstones of NAJC. Members who elect to join this group pay a greater dues amount in return for which they receive discounts on NAJC activities including conferences or other educational programs.

Message From The President

Continued on page 2

קול קוראDoing G!d’s Work With

Our Own Hands!


2 NAJC Newsletter Adar 5777/March 2017

Anyone wishing more information about this effort is encouraged to speak with Rabbi Rafael Goldstein, our Executive Director.

NAJC has begun a new outreach to Jewish military chaplains who have met established criteria. These individuals are eligible to join as Credentialed Professional Jewish Military Chaplains with full membership privileges. I am privileged to be on the program of the JWB Jewish Chaplains Council later this month to present this program to our military colleagues.

Finally, we continue to work closely with our cognate groups advocating for chaplaincy and presenting a unified voice for our profession. To that end, our leadership will be attending our cognates’ conferences over the next few months including the National Association of Catholic Chaplains conference where they are honoring Cecille for her many years of service to chaplaincy.

Best wishes for a meaningful and happy Pesach!

Rabbi Moe [email protected]

Here’s What’s Going On In The NAJC, continued

How Was Your Year?Rabbi Dr. Rafael Goldstein, D.Min., BCCNAJC Executive Director

I met with my accountant yesterday to do my 2016 taxes. He asked me. “how was your year?” Interesting question for me, since when I last met with him I had a different job, was married, had a different car, different insurance, different clothes, different credit cards, different friends, different furniture. Jewish people usually do our annual accounting of how life has changed during the Days of Awe. But last year I was at one congregation; this year I will be at a different one. It was a year like no other in my life before, filled with transitions, sadness, joy, adjustment, and lots

of growth. My growing edges were challenged in ways I didn’t expect when I last sat at his desk. With patients, I would sometimes commiserate when they would say “People plan; G!d laughs”.

Sometimes they would quote John Lennon who said “Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans.” This was a year when life happened and I had to stop making other plans. I don’t believe G!d is laughing at the plans I had, except maybe with me, as I look back and see how much better off I am now! It’s not how I would have preferred to get here, but I am so grateful to be here. I was sitting at the accountant’s desk and thanking G!d for the blessings of changed plans.

NAJC has also transitioned significantly this year. The Conference was a tremendous success based on Cecille Asekoff’s organization, planning, wisdom - and blessings - which ensured sure that we could build on previous years’ successes. Our growing edges as an organization are being challenged, but there were blessings all around the conference, such as the leadership of Cheryl Weiner and the Conference Committee, and the NAJC Board, which was incredible in terms of support and leadership.

Continued on page 3

mailto:[email protected]?subject=




I am grateful for the volunteer spirit of the people who lent their wisdom to Certification Panels, the people who gave their time and expertise to lead workshops and intensives, and the people who came and enthusiastically participated in conference programs. This year’s conference included the Presidents and Executive Directors of all of the other professional spiritual care organizations. It was an honor to have them all join us and share perspectives on the future of chaplaincy with us.

I am grateful to the members who read the weekly updates I send out, who respond to requests for assistance or information, and who have learned how to sign up for programs with just a few clicks of a mouse. And I am grateful for Sara Spiegel, whose work has helped transform us in so many ways! I am excited about the website and Bob Tabak’s thoughtful leadership to help us make the website into THE place to go for Jewish Chaplaincy/Spiritual materials.

We are developing new programs and services for members on a regular basis. Just look at the Weekly Updates to learn more, or suggest/request more. We are only limited by our own imaginations!

Life takes us to unexpected places. I didn’t expect that a meeting with my accountant would lead me to a gratitude list. I hope this edition of the NAJC Newsletter will be part of your gratitude list as well, and I thank Mark Goldfarb for his hard work to make it happen! So, I am going to turn it back to you now. How was your year since you last spoke with your account? I hope it was filled with challenges and growth, and that you, too, can find the blessings hidden within both. May your gratitude list grow, and may G!d laugh with you at the ways in which your plans changed.

Rabbi Dr. H. Rafael [email protected]

How Was Your Year, continued

Happy Pesach!May you find, in this Pesach, the blessings of

freedom, family, life, and love. From your friends & colleagues at NAIC:

חג פסח שמח!

Maurice Kaprow

Sandra Katz

Michael Schorin

Bryan Kinzbrunner

Joseph Ozarowski

Alissa Thomas-Newborn

Geoffrey Haber

Rena Arshinoff

Miriam Berkowitz

Joel Chazin

Judi Ehrlich

David Fine

Mark Goldfarb

Margo Heda

Benjamin Lanckton

Neal Loevinger

Ruth Smith

Jason Weiner

Michael Wolff





Shavuot: Reviving Interest In a Forgotten Day By Focusing On Those Who Have ForgottenRabbi Cary Kozberg, BCC

Coming fifty days after the beginning of Passover and marking the appearance of the first fruits in the Land of Israel, Shavuot is one of five festivals whose observance is commanded in the Torah. Shifting from an agricultural focus to a more historical/spiritual emphasis, the ancient rabbinic Sages came to also understand Shavuot as the day when G-d gave the Torah at Sinai and thus gave it the additional name זמן מתן תורתינו - the time of the giving of the Torah. Indeed, for this reason alone it would appear that Shavuot should be considered the most important of all Jewish holidays. After all, without the Torah, there would be no Judaism; without Judaism, there would be no holidays - or any other observances

and rituals for that matter. And yet, of all the five festivals mentioned in the Torah, Shavuot is arguably the most neglected among Jews in this country - certainly among the non-Orthodox.

Why has this day commemorating the most seminal event in Jewish history been so forgotten? Why this neglect? There are several possible reasons:

1) Observed for either one or two days, Shavuot doesn’t share the seven- or eight-day observance period of its sister holidays, Passover and Sukkot. It’s here and gone practically before you know it.

2) In this country, Shavuot occurs toward the end of the school year and the beginning of summer: students are preparing to finish their studies and/or graduate, and folks are planning and preparing for vacation trips. Despite the 49 days between Passover and Shavuot deemed to be a period of spiritual enhancement and growth, it apparently is not the case that this period evokes the same spiritual solemnity among most American Jews as does the Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur season.

3) There are precious few ritual observances and religious objects that are specific to the observance of Shavuot. The שופר, apples and honey and new year’s cards are associated with the High Holiday season. Sukkot has the סכה and the לולב and אתרוג. Passover is observed throughout its seven or eight days by participating in a סדר, eating מצה, and refraining from eating חמץ. However, besides the tradition of eating dairy foods on the holiday (reminding us that the Torah nourishes our souls the way milk nourishes our bodies), the ritual object most associated with Shavuot is the Torah itself. While of prime importance in Jewish life, to be sure, the Torah is still an item that is associated with more “day-to-day” (routine?) Jewish living, and therefore does not necessarily evoke the same sense of anticipation that a once-a-year experience of hearing the שופר, spending time in a סכה, or attending a סדר might evoke.

That the day commemorating the giving of the Torah - THE formative event in the history the Jewish people - should be so neglected and forgotten by so many of us is at best puzzling and at worst a shame. However, in the spirit of “better to light one candle than to curse the darkness,” rather than add to the teeth-gnashing and handwringing, might our religious leaders try something a bit more creative, and a bit “out of the box?” Might we try to revive the significance of Shavuot in our collective Jewish memory,

Continued on page 5



by associating it with helping those among us whose memories are failing? Might we better remember this holiday by helping our fellow Jews with dementia - those who can no longer remember so well—to stay connected to Yiddishkeit and the Torah by celebrating the holiday with them?

One might legitimately ask: Shavuot and Jews with dementia - can one think of a connection so incongruous and far-fetched? And yet, describing the experience of our people when G-d spoke at Sinai, our Tradition offers this:

“The voice of the Lord is powerful קל יי בכח; The voice of the Lord is stately קל יי בהדר… (Psalm 29:4) which, as Rabbi Hama bar Hanina explained, means that the voice of the Lord is powerful (בכח) for those who were young, and full of majesty (בהדר) for the aged. [Songs of Songs Rabbah, V, 16 (Soncino edition, p. 253)]

Rabbi Tanhuma said: ...Just see how the Voice went forth - coming to each Israelite with a force proportioned to his individual strength - to the old according to their strength, and to the young according to theirs… [Exodus Rabbah V, 9 (Soncino edition, p.87)]

During my 25+ years as a chaplain helping Jews with dementia stay connected to their Jewish heritage, I have relied on these two teachings as my “proof-texts” in advocating spiritual care for Jews with dementia that is substantive and ongoing. Affirming that EVERYONE - every Jew who ever lived and who ever would live - heard “the Voice” on that first Shavuot, these texts also affirm that EVERYONE - no matter their age or level of cognitive ability--responded to “the Voice” according to their strength. Even those with cognitive deficits could still hear “the Voice,” because when a person hears “the Voice,” it’s not just the Mind that hears…it’s also the Soul.

Indeed, many professionals who have worked with people coping with dementia will tell you: dementia may ravage the Mind, but it most certainly does not ravage the Spirit. On the contrary, it is often the case that as a person’s cognitive abilities and “filter” weaken, his/her spirit may become more vibrant, more alive-- more spontaneous. To be sure, the term “spirit” here is not synonymous with “religion,” nor does it necessarily refer to any articulation of religious beliefs. “Spirit” here refers to that which animates a person—what gives him/her joy, what helps him/her feel the capacity for loving and being loved. It refers to what nourishes the Soul.

That spiritual nourishment occurs when we help them maintain 1) relationships with loved ones and friends, and 2) a sustained connection to their culture/faith community. Both strengthen their sense of personal identity and worth, which is felt on a level that is not cognitive or intellectual. In other words, such efforts help people with dementia continue “to hear the Voice,” according to their individual strength. And, though the positive affect from such experiences may be sustained only for a brief time, nevertheless what occurs during those brief times is often an expression of a deeply felt spiritual vigor and enthusiasm, making the experience itself genuine and necessary for the total well-being of the person.

Moreover, while the commandment to honor the elderly “מפני שיבה תקום והדרת מפני זקן you shall rise before the aged and show deference to the aged…” (Leviticus 19:32) is often cited, the commandment that follows it “וכי יגור אתך גר בארצכם לא תונו אתו when a stranger resides among you, you shall not wrong him” (Leviticus 19:33) is also apropos in this context.

Rabbinic teaching assumes that because the Torah is from G-d, it is perfect: nothing in it - no letter, no word, no verse - is there accidentally, or was placed there haphazardly. From this assumption, therefore,

Focusing On Those Who Have Forgotten, continued

Continued on page 6



we learn a subtle but very poignant lesson from the juxtaposition of the commandment to honor the elderly (Leviticus 19:32) and the commandment prohibiting mistreatment of the stranger (Leviticus 19:33): that we must take care not to treat the elderly of our community - many of them lifelong members of the community - as if they themselves were strangers.

Unfortunately, too often we do just that - especially if they have dementia. Even when we are diligent in addressing their physical and medical needs, there is often an accompanying ignorance - even a palpable discomfort and fear - when it comes to communicating with these individuals and being in their presence. Furthermore, our discomfort and fear often increases as their dementia progresses. In turn, we may well find ourselves finding all kinds of excuses to spend less time with them. Consequently, having little to no contact with people from the community itself (regardless of whether they’re being cared for at home or in a facility) they may very well be marginalized, disenfranchised and treated like a stranger by the very community to which they have always belonged - a clear “disconnect” from what the Torah teaches.

Moreover, this marginalization and disenfranchisement are exacerbated by the widespread assumption that people with deep cognitive impairment do not have spiritual needs, nor do they have a capacity to express their spirituality. As one man once said to me: “My father doesn’t know what day it is. How could he possibly care about Shabbat?” And yet that same “father” would routinely greet me on Friday afternoons before our Shabbat program with the words, “Rabbi, it’s time to talk to the Boss!”

That both of these commandments are found in Leviticus 19 - known as the “Holiness Code” --is perhaps no accident. Their juxtaposition is a powerful call to the Jewish community to remember how sacred this obligation to its senior members truly is: 1) to help them continue to feel that they are a cherished part of the community, and 2) to make sure that, even as their physical and medical needs are addressed, their emotional and spiritual needs will not be ignored or marginalized. Indeed, the sanctity of such efforts on behalf of those with dementia is brought into clearer focus in light of this teaching:

Be careful with an old man who has forgotten his knowledge through no fault of his own, for it was said: Both the whole tablets (the second set of the Ten Commandments) and the fragments of the tablets (which Moses shattered) were placed in the Ark. [Berakhot 8b]

On Shavuot the tablets that Moses would shatter first appeared whole. On Shavuot, the souls within those who eventually would forget also heard the Voice Who spoke what was on the Tablets, and they heard it, according to their individual strengths. Thus, what more appropriate time than on Shavuot to reach out to with Jews with dementia through programs such as these:

- Religious schools participating in holiday services with Jewish dementia residents in long-term care facilities.

- Confirmation classes of those religious schools spending time with these residents: asking them how they feel about the Torah and being Jewish, or reminiscing with them about memories of observing the holiday they might have.

- Synagogues devoting a portion of Shavuot holiday programming to educating congregants about dementia itself—the different diseases that cause it, how it affects a person and his/her family…and how to support those affected by it.

- Youth groups, men’s /women’s groups, and JCC senior programs bringing holiday greetings in person to every Jew in their respective communities who is struggling with dementia, whether being cared for at home or in a care facility.


Continued on page 7



Note: by engaging Jews with dementia in these ways, a person will be simultaneously: 1) celebrating the holiday 2) engaging in Torah study 3) showing deference to the elderly 4) not wronging them by treating them as strangers 5) restoring to them what they may have been lost by keeping them connected to their spiritual roots (cf. Deut. 22:13). In other words, one would not be “doing a mitzvah” - one would be doing five mitzvot—all at the same time!

On that first Shavuot, we all stood at Sinai as one community, hearing the Voice of G-d according to our individual abilities, but also pledging to do the Divine will in unison. In modern times that unity, like the first tablets, has been shattered; it sometimes seems that we have become, in the words of Rabbi AJ Heschel ז״ל, “messengers who have forgotten their message,” often forgetting the anniversary of our having received the message itself.

May this upcoming Shavuot - and those that follow - see a renewed effort on our part to remember the message by better remembering its anniversary. May we do this by helping those who struggle with forgetting to also remember. May we bring this holiday that has been marginalized back to its rightful place in contemporary Jewish life by bringing back those who we have been marginalized to their rightful place in our community.

On Shavuot, may we continue to hear the Voice according to our strength, precisely because we are helping others to hear the Voice according to their strength.

Rabbi Cary [email protected]


What Is NAJC?

Neshama: Association of Jewish Chaplains was founded in 1990 at a conference in Atlantic City. Today there are some 300 professional members of the NAJC and an additional 300 members including lay people, congregational rabbis, students, military, and Israeli members. NAJC members serve in a variety of settings including geriatric venues, hospitals, hospices, Jewish community chaplaincy, prisons, mental health settings, and the military, as well as in pastoral care training and education.

For Current, Up To Date Information About NAJC, Events,And Resources For Chaplains

Check out the NAJC web page: www.najc.org



http://www.najc.org

http://www.najc.org



Holy Souls ConnectRabbi Dr. Leslie Schotz, D.Min.

Dear God/dess,

You are beyond gender.

You are spirit.

God is the Name:

The unknowable Name.

We create words.

We create worlds through our speech.

Our lips are so powerful

To create or destroy.

Choose life.

We start dying as we are born.

Eternal life in death.

Life is a dichotomy.

Living is a contradiction.

We are dying every day.

Many think they fear death.

It is life they are afraid of.

The opposite of fear

is love.

Tears are the holy water of healing the heart and the soul

When a tender gaze or hug awaits.

Energy nurturing energy

is the gift of spirit;

the balancing of body, mind, and soul.

We think in our brains

Connected to bodies

Made up mainly of water

And bones and skin and organs.

What gives us the will to live?

Hate and injustice are ingrained in the fabric

of human existence.

Religion and politics are inextricably linked.

It is a mind game.

Suffering makes you stronger

If you can just get through……

Pray for me, father, mother, sister, brother

And I will pray for you.

For Us.

Holy souls connect.

Rabbi Dr. Leslie [email protected]

Rabbi Dr. Leslie Schotz, is a student member of NAJC. She is in her third unit of CPE at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center





2018 National Conference

14-17 JAN ‘18

Sun Mon Tues Wed ThurPre-Conf. Programs Opening Dinner

Speaker Discussion

Groups Honoree Dinner

Speaker Discussion

Groups

KeynoteSpeaker

Certification Panels

Field Trips

Intensives Board

MeetingNew

Schedule

January 14-17, 2018Rosen Plaza Hotel

Orlando, FL

Neshama: Associat ion of Jewish Chaplains



A Son Finds a New Way to Talk About Death with His Dying MotherChaplain Paula VanGelder

There are many excellent memoirs by people who are confronting their own death or the death of someone they love. A “novel” approach to this genre is offered in The End of Your Life Book Club, by Will Schwalbe (Knopf, 2012).The book club in question consists of two members – the author and his mother, Mary Anne Shwalbe, who succumbs to pancreatic cancer at the end of the narrative. Both mother and son have interesting resumes. The author has enjoyed a creative career as writer, publisher and website developer. His mother, who died at age 75, enjoyed several careers, including serving as director of admissions at Harvard and Radcliffe. She also helped

found and direct the Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children. Her work on behalf of refugees brought her to 27 countries, often during war. She was an electoral observer in the Balkans and was shot at in Afghanistan.

Mother and son shared a love of books. At the author’s suggestion, they conducted their informal “book club” over the two years that Mary Anne underwent treatment for her illness. While the patient was hooked up for her infusions, both of them read and “talked about the books, and we talked about our lives.”

Many of the conversations that the author describes are insightful and useful, I think, for anyone dealing with illness and death. Many scenes capture small, memorable details. Near the beginning of Mary Anne’s treatment at Memorial Sloan-Kettering, a young employee stops by to ask if Mary Anne might want to participate in a “survey we are doing about the spiritual health and support systems of people undergoing treatment for cancer that has spread…Stage Four cancers…” After the young woman gives the necessary forms to the patient and leaves, Mary Anne remarks: “Well, that was something of a surprise….that I have Stage Four cancer. I had no idea.”

Reading provides a way for mother and son to talk about the lives, challenges and deaths of the books’ characters, rather than discuss Mary Anne’s dying process, although eventually they do come around to that. “There were days when she wanted to talk about her death, and days when she didn’t. It could even switch minute to minute…One minute we’d be talking about aspects of her funeral, then suddenly she’d be onto the television film of [a book] and then, barely pausing to take a breath, she’d be right back at the funeral…”

We learn that Mary Anne had a strong Christian faith, and she (not so) subtly left books and passages around for her non-believing son to read and absorb. Mary Anne comes across as a very strong woman, unafraid, and wanting to remain in control as much as possible until her last moment. She and her husband had both signed Do Not Resuscitate orders and Living Wills, making it easier for her son to discuss all aspects of her death with her when she opened the door to such conversations. Mary Anne shared her wishes for her funeral service. She furnished details for her obituary and wrote letters for each of her grandchildren, to be opened when they were older. At one point, she told her son how he should respond to the condolence notes they would receive after her death. She also laid out guidelines for those who wished to visit her during her final days. “I’m trying to make it clear to people that if they’re going to cry all the time, then they can’t come over. I’m getting ready, but I’m still here.”

Even experienced chaplains may find value in this very readable memoir. We can never be reminded too many times about the importance of words and presence. Early in the book, the author shares some of what he learned from Susan Halpern’s The Etiquette of Illness (2004): “Ask: ‘Do you want to talk about how you’re feeling?’…You don’t have to talk all the time. Sometimes just being there is enough.”

Paula Van [email protected]

Paula VanGelder is a Jewish Chaplain at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.





May Our Face Shine On And Be Lifted Up to OthersDr. Jason Mann, M.D., Mph.

One of the best ways of explaining something complex is by telling a story. One day when I was still practicing oncology a young women came to see me and asked me to take over the care of her mother who was in the hospital dying of cancer. I asked her what she hoped I could do that the physician I was replacing had not done. She told me that the other physician did not understand or care about her mother. I always viewed these types of requests as very challenging because for the most part I found that my colleagues really did try to understand their patients and really did care about them.The next day I visited this elderly women for the first time in her hospital room. I

tried compassionately to engage her in conversation but she either dismissed each one of my questions rather abruptly or answered me with one or two words. I finally abandoned the effort to create a dialogue with her and just sat at her bedside facing her for about ten minutes, pretty much in silence.

This became my routine when visiting this women each day in the hospital. Each day I would try to engage her in conversation and I would inevitably be met with resistance, and end up sitting with her in silence for about ten minutes to fifteen minutes. After a ten-day hospital stay she died in her sleep. The next day her daughter came to see me in the office and shocked me by telling me that her mother had told her before she died how much she appreciated the conversations I had with her and how much my attention to her needs had meant to her.

So what can be learned from this? What seems most compelling to me is that we all have the capacity to comfort others by just sitting with them even, in silence. The simple presence of a caring human heart sends a powerful message of healing to those who are suffering even if no meaningful words are exchanged. Often as chaplains we worry about what was said and what was not said during a visit. I think the power of the visit is really about the power of presence, and the words we use are just a vehicle that expresses our willingness and interest in being present during our visits.

I think this idea of the power of human presence is elegantly expressed in the words of the Priestly blessing. Here is an English translation of the prayer:

May God bless and keep youMay God make His face shine upon you and be gracious unto youMay God lift up His face unto you and give you peace What is most remarkable about this prayer is that the second and third lines of this prayer speak

about God’s face. Why the mention of God’s face? Here are some thoughts about why the prayer speaks of God’s face.

There are many Rabbinic teachings about the process of Tikkun Olam (repairing or healing the world). These teachings suggest that humanity functions by partnering with God to bring about the healing and repair of the world. The Rabbis also speak of humanity as God’s embodied presence in the world. Our tradition also teaches that we are made in God’s image, B’zelem Elohim. When we think about things this way, we can understand that the Priestly Blessing can be seen as a personal instruction.

Continued on page 12



We can bring God’s presence and blessings to the world by embodying the words of this blessing. The prayer instructs and informs us that If we want to bring blessings to others we can do this by shining our faces on them. It also teaches us that if we want to reach out and comfort others we need to lift up a compassionate face to those who need a blessing and offer them peace.

This deeper appreciation of the idea of how we all are God’s face has really helped me understand what was going on in that hospital room in the moments of silence as I sat face to face with my patient who was dying. Though she did not engage in conversation and did not seem to want to talk or be with me she was finding comfort by my presence. What she needed most during those last days of her life was a face to sit at the other end of the room and shine on her. She needed a face that did not turn away from her abruptness or from the reality that she was dying. She needed a face that was lifted up to bless her and be with her.

This is the energy and intention we bring to others in our work as chaplains.We are God’s metaphorical face. We all are able to bring healing to the world by shining and lifting

our faces to others who need us. This opportunity to serve others, sometimes just by sitting in silence, is one of the great gifts of our work as chaplains.

Dr. Jason [email protected]

Jason Mann MD, MPH is a Senior Rabbinic Student in the Aleph Alliance Rabbinic Ordination Program and will be receiving his Rabbinic Ordination in January 2018. He has also just completed his three year training as a Spiritual Director.

Finding Spiritual ‘Aha’ MomentsChaplain Susan J Katz

Sometimes we have only a short amount of time to sit with a care recipient, and sometimes there will only be a single opportunity available to meet with them. How do we find the shortest route to uncover the distress they are experiencing and begin the process of healing?Two case stories of patients I’ve worked with can help will show one method I’ve used for doing this.In the first example situation the client was in a writing program of mine called “Write From The Heart™”. The program is designed for mental health consumers, those who have lived experience with mental illness. This person read aloud their

composition, a review of a healing experience they’d had; writing about such personal growth moments was the identified goal for this writing group.

He read his story aloud about how he used to be fearful of taking the bus, but now he is not. He described in great detail about how he gets onto the bus and successfully gets off the bus. It all sounded good. It was all well written and we gave him this feedback.

Except he had skipped the part about how he had coped while on the bus. We are with him getting on and getting off, so he did cope. But our objective was to find the moment of insight that led to growth. What I call, “The ‘Aha’ Moment”.

May Our Face Shine, continued






I asked him a simple question: can you tell us what you did on the bus to cope? He was silent for a moment, then grinned. “Thank you!” he said. Then he told us about how he distracts himself by looking out of the window or looking down at his feet if the bus is crowded, and that is how he copes.

He wrote this piece of insight into the gap in his written narrative. Articulating this insight also created awareness for him to a conscious awareness of a new skill: he had had an ‘Aha Moment.’ Speaking and writing an insight for an audience or with a witness is powerful, and is also part of how our spiritual care can be effective.

The second example is of a man who became so despondent about discharge from hospital that staff could not get him to go home. He had made agreements and pacts with several staff already but broke down emotionally when it came time to get dressed to leave. I went to see him. A giant of a man with a chest length beard--picture a Harley biker in a set of hospital gowns--and my job, as a rather diminutive woman Chaplain, was to encourage him to leave!

I identified myself as a Chaplain, and then asked him simple questions, e.g. how is your day going? He skipped them and launched into a defiant talk about how no one cared about him. As the narrative continued, I found myself doing what I do with my writers: I listened until there was a break in continuity in the story. It occurred between the part about no one caring about him, and then him caring full time for his disabled wife. I believed that Something had to be sustaining him. As a listener or reader, I wanted to know what that was.

I asked him to unpack that missing detail: had he ever had an experience where he felt held and sustained by some Unnamable or Natural Source? And then this great big, dauntingly large man suddenly broke down and sobbed. Because he was overwhelmed with the memory of such a time. And as he described that experience to me, I started to blush, because as he was speaking, telling me his ‘Aha Moment’, he was also pulling on his dungarees and shirt and getting ready to go home! He latched his suitcase, looked at me with moist eyes and shook my hand, and then we called in the nurses to finish his discharge.

Was I God then? Sometimes writing editors are given that reputation! Actually, it was a combination of being pastorally present along with my natural editor’s ear. I had been trained to listen or look for the ‘stops’ in a narrative. Stops are places in a narrative where the story suddenly and inexplicably shifts into a new direction. Editors look for stops because they ruin the continuity of a story and make for poor reading. A good editor will go back to his writer and ask them to unpack what was happening at the moment that the story shifted. They know that this is often the location of the richest material, the goldmine of the story.

I share this with you because we are trained to be present, be listeners. But what do we listen for, and how? Listening for a ‘stop’ where the story suddenly switches and asking ‘tell me more’ may allow for an ‘Aha Moment’ when spiritual care time is short and precious.

L’Shalom uVracha,

Chaplain Susan J. [email protected]

Finding Spiritual ‘Aha’ Moments, continued





WANTED

New NAJC Members!

REWARD!For Every New Member You Bring To NAJC

EARN $25 IN NAJC MEMBERSHIP DUES CREDIT!(Dues credit will be applied to your annual dues obligation up to the total amount of

your annual dues, not to exceed $600, upon the successful completion of the application process by the new member.)

Help Us Grow NAJC! Neshama: Association of Jewish Chaplains (NAJC) is the only organization responding to the needs of Jewish Spiritual Care providers. Members of NAJC number nearly 700 and serve in a variety of settings including geriatric venues, hospitals, hospices, Jewish community chaplaincy, prisons, mental health

settings, and the military, as well as in pastoral care training and education.

We Need Your Help To Grow! You are aware of the many benefits of being a member of NAJC:

❖ Board Certification ❖ Annual Conference & Continuing Education ❖ Bedside Spiritual Care Resources ❖ Research Opportunities

❖ Online Spiritual Care Resources ❖ Listserv ❖ Job Postings and Resume Review Service

❖ Listings of Advancements in Spiritual Care ❖ & More! Spread the word! Encourage your friends and colleagues who are not yet

members to join NAJC!



Where are we going as a profession, and how are we getting there?

What value do chaplains add to health care?

Open to everyone, but will focus on leadership issues.

4th Thursday of each month12 Noon

Meeting via Zoom

To register for 21st Century Chaplaincy:email [email protected]

21stCenturyChaplaincy

withRabbi Lowell S. Kronick, MHL, BCC

Associate Director for Chaplaincy

Education/National Chaplain Training Center/Chaplain at US

Department of VANAJC Past Chair of Certification Commission



Neshama: Association of Jewish Chaplains Announces:

Chaplaincy Case Studies withRabbi Zahara Davidowitz-Farkas

1st Thursdays of each monthMeeting via Zoom

To register for case studies, send an email to:[email protected]

Rabbi Zahara Davidowitz-Farkas has been involved in both providing spiritual care and educating others in its provision for over 25 years. Zahara is a leader and innovator in the fields of pastoral care education from a Jewish context, as well as disaster spiritual care provision, preparedness and education in a Multi-faith setting. She has been instrumental in setting standards and best practices in both disaster spiritual care and Jewish pastoral care training and has written extensively on these topics.

Rabbi Davidowitz-Farkas is a founding member of NAJC and received her status as a clinical pastoral education Supervisor through the College of Pastoral Supervision and Psychotherapy. As a supervisor, Zahara played a central role in the creation, development, and implementation of professional spiritual care in Israel.

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]



TOLL FREE1-888-811-2812

FEBRUARY17 – 26, 2018

from$2,249land only

find more about the tripat www.daattravel.comby searching for “Agingin Israel” or go H E R E

AGING IN ISRAEL:AN EXPLORATION

A Study Tour to Israel for Professionals and Lay Leaders Led By Rabbi Dayle Friedman

Learn about challenges of aging in Israel’s multi-faith, multicultural societyExplore innovative models of services, care, social

engagement and researchTour key sites of antiquity and modern Israel, led by

a dynamic tour educator.Cost includes 7 nights’ accommodation at select

hotels + late check-out on final day, all site fees, breakfasts and 4 dinners

TRIPINCLUDES

Rabbi Dayle Friedman, MSW, MA, BCC, is a spiritual guide, social innovator, chaplain, and scholar. She has pioneered the development of a fresh, Jewish spiritual vision for aging, healing and pastoral care. Her most recent book is Jewish Wisdom for Growing Older: Finding Your Grit and Grace Beyond Midlife (Jewish Lights, 2015). Through Growing Older (www.growingolder.net), her Philadelphia-based, national practice, Rabbi Dayle offers spiritual direction for the journey beyond midlife, and spiritual care for people facing dementia.

Co-sponsored by Neshama: Association of Jewish Chaplains



The Game of Chess: A Spiritual InterventionRabbi Steven J. Rubenstein

I always thought that the game of chess was a product of the middle ages with its knights and its bishops, symbols of the Crusades and Medieval society ruled by Kings and Queens with the Church by its side. How wrong I was when I began to research the history of this ancient game. What I discovered is that chess originated in India prior to the time of the Temples in Jerusalem. Chess was passed onto the western world of Europe through the hands of the Persians and the Arabs. The king at that time was a representation of the “Shah,” and the Arabic word (as well as in Hebrew) for the word “dead” is מת, giving way to the word “checkmate,” signaling the end of the game when “the king is dead.”

All of the action takes place on a board that is divided into sixty-four squares - eight by eight in dimension. When divided into four equal parts, each part represents the cosmos, the four elements or the four seasons. In Jewish kabbalah, four represents the directions of the wind, the four children at the seder table, and the four corners of the world from which the Jewish world will be reunited, according to the words liturgy.

Eight is a number of wholeness or completion, marked by the circumcision of a male on the eighth day after his birth. In regard to the Holy Temple, the priest wore eight different items as part of his official garb. He used a variety of eight spices in his practice of pleasing God. Eight poles were used to carry the משכן and the vessels when the Israelites were transporting God’s dwelling place throughout their journey in the wilderness. Eight musical instruments, including the choir, accompanied the Levites when they sang the psalms.

The eighth Hebrew letter of the אלף-בית is the letter “ח” which, we are told by the mystics, forms the gateway to infinity. It is through this gate that we all shall pass when we enter into the inner chamber of God’s house, or for those who wish to use a different metaphor, a deeper state of awareness. According to one source that I read, “Chess, like those big ideas, is a kind of universal template, a prism through which the world can be under-stood.”

I recognize the role of chess in my own life. I learned to play the game from my grandfather (ז״ל), who would sit with me for hours on the porch or beneath a tall oak tree in front of the house as he shared with me stories of his past. What I recall most is the moments of silence and the appreciation for taking time to study the board. I recall receiving a pinch in the thigh when I moved too quickly, my grandfather’s way of reprimanding me for my impatience by not studying the chessboard long enough before making a move. Although I don’t miss the pinches on the thigh, I have longed to play one more round of chess with my grandfather and relive the wisdom that was imparted to me with each win and loss. Perhaps this is why I enjoy playing chess with my friend “Vladimir” each week.

What has prompted me to write this article was an essay written by Nathan Lopes Cardozo, which appeared in Mosaic, an online magazine, entitled “Why Playing Chess is Like Studying Talmud.” I must admit from the start that I was never really good at fathoming the arguments of the sages recorded in the Talmud, nor comprehending fully the movements of the chess pieces on the board. I still move too quickly at times, often finding myself on the defending end of a relentless attack by my opponent. It is times like these that I am forced to slow down and examine my personal space on the




board, which is a metaphor for life, and what it is I wish to accomplish with my next few moves. Do I defend my “family” or do I find a way to launch an attack to preserve what I have left?

Understanding the fundamentals of both the Talmud and the game of chess is one thing. Mastering them is another. Yet, I will never shy away from playing chess for an hour with Vladimir at the Skilled Nursing Facility where I work, because he considers that time with me to be his moment of spiritual reflection and contemplation. Little does he know how much it reminds me of my time with my own grandfather. Even though very few words pass between us (his English is probably better than my Russian) much of the relating between us takes places on the battle field on the squares that separate our pieces as they jockey for position.

Based upon the way in which he plays, I am sure that during his years in Russia, Vladamir has read at least one or two books on the strategies of playing chess. However, there is one book that neither he nor I have read, about the theoretical basis of the game from a Jewish perspective, written by Victor A. Keats, “Chess in Jewish History and Hebrew Literature.”

As early as the 2nd century, poet and liturgical writer Abraham ibn Ezra wrote an ode to the game of chess entitled “The Song of Chess” in which he describes the various players and how they moved across the field of battle. It is one of the earliest works to describe how the various pieces move across the board.

There are two things of importance to note. The first is that the bishop in his poem is identified as an elephant, or as it is known in Hebrew, פיל which is a play on the Arab words for this piece, “al fil.” The second one involves the rook, which is identified in Abraham’s poem as רוח which is similar in pronunciation, but has a totally different meaning - “wind” or “spirit.”

There is a certain spirit that accompanies the game of chess. One could easily identify the chessboard as a self-contained world in which the pieces move according to various rules. Even though a person might know all of the laws associated with the game, does not make him or her an expert. We, too, move about our world with a sense of respect for the rules that govern our behavior. However, life would be boring if we were to let routine set our ways. Learning to play chess involves a sense of going beyond the routine and having a sense of creativity, pushing the boundaries while putting one’s opponent into a position to be uneasy about his own circumstances.

Some people have compared this process to the פילפול of the sages of the Talmud, debate over the minutia of the law, when they become involved in discourse regarding various laws and religious questions. As Nathan Cazutto writes, “It’s mental torture. But it’s the height of beauty as well. It is poetry to the game, as melody is to music. Like one gentle brushstroke of Rembrandt on a colorful canvas, making everything look radically different; or like the genius musician playing her Stradivarius, re-creating the whole of Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 5. It transports the chess player to heaven.” I have noticed this expression on Vladimir’s face, especially when he has a piece of mine trapped.

In other words, there is a heightened sense of precarious joy living in the world of tension when your king – or another significant piece -- is under attack and you are planning your own strategy of capturing the opposing person’s king. Many times, the simple movement of a pawn as opposed to the other more prominent pieces such as the knight, the bishop, and the rook, can have a tremendous impact on the outcome of the game. Other times, the movement of a piece can become quite catastrophic to one’s forces or family.

Game Of Chess..., Continued




I have watched Vladimir play, and I am enamored with the enthusiasm with which he anticipates playing chess. We have a standing date most weeks, after lunch each Wednesday. His wife brings the chessboard to the dining room, tucked behind her chair. Often, Vladimir hardly eats his meal as he is so eager for our meeting at the lounge area outside of the dining room. For that one hour or so that we play, no one is allowed to interrupt our match, not even the doctor who was once told to come back later. This describes how much playing chess is a religious or spiritual experience for Vladimir. Even his wife who helps him set up the board initially, knows not to interrupt his concentration while engaged in battle with the Rabbi.

What I have learned in life, as well as in playing chess with Vladimir, is that chess is much more than a game. It teaches a person about several values of life. Perhaps the most important one is that every move on the board has a purpose. Knowing what our purpose in life is gives us the strength to move on with confidence, knowing our role in relationship to others. It allows us to make difficult decisions such as when to forge ahead or to sacrifice a piece of oneself for the betterment of one’s overall position.

Another important lesson that has taken me time to learn is that sometimes we need to sacrifice our material possessions for a greater position. As much as we would like to hold onto everything we have in life, sometimes we need to make choices regarding what we can take with us. On occasion, moving ahead with fewer things gives us the advantage to be more agile in adapting to life’s changing conditions. If you lose something of significance, you can mourn the loss, but getting bogged down in your emotions can paralyze your ability to move forward.

A harder lesson to learn is coming to the realization that we all make mistakes from time to time. This does not mean we should give up and run away. Rather, we should continue to play with the pieces we have left. Along with this message is the one that instructs us to be flexible. Adapting to the changes on the board as well as in life is what enables us to turn a possible disadvantage into a blessing.

We must always consider what is happening on the whole board, and not just what is taking place on just a few squares in front of us. Looking at the bigger picture enables us to think more broadly, and respond in similar fashion. Is this not what a spiritual practice is supposed to embrace?

Just as we sing our prayers in the synagogue as a way to forge a relationship with God through music, playing chess is also a song worth singing, each time in a different key, a different pace, some-times in harmony, and sometimes discordant, but always a spiritual journey that comes to an end when one king ends up “mated” or, on rare occasions when both parties declare the game to be a stalemate, in which neither king is a victor. On second thought, perhaps “stalemate” is not so rare an occurrence when we consider all the aspects of our life. We come to the end of our days and we declare that our life does have meaning. God and I are at an impasse, which isn’t such a bad place to be when negotiating for something better and risking for something less.

Such is life! Such is the blessing of playing chess with Vladimir from one week to the next. Such are my own thoughts about playing chess with my grandfather who taught me many lessons about life over a board with sixty-four squares and black and white pieces moving freely about the world, limited by their own abilities. What comes to mind as I reflect on my time with Vladimir and his spiritual reflection is a piece that I often read at funerals that reminds us of the significance of our movements in time.





Another KaddishRabbi Tsurah August, Chaplain, Jewish Family & Children’s Service of Philadelphia

יתגדל ויתקדש

Returning our loved ones into the earth is one of the hardest acts of love we experience – and one of the most sacred acts we have the opportunity to do.As a hospice rabbi, I have been honored to support many families at this tremulous time. I know, as the casket is lowered that this moment will be relived many times in the mourners’ minds. Each time I search for the words, the gestures, the nuances that will help the bereaved family and friends experience the holiness as well as the grief

of this moment. In 2008 I had recently arrived in Philadelphia to take on the role of Hospice Rabbi with the Jewish

Hospice Network of Jewish Family and Children’s Service of Philadelphia. One of my first clients was a man suffering through the final stages of a neurological disease. His wife, a Holocaust Survivor, provided the most exquisite care for him. During the many months I visited with them she and I became quite close. Through her I learned of his brilliant mind, his generous heart, his deep love and commitment to his family, his employees and his friends.

When his end came, I had the honor of co-officiating with their family rabbi. He and I crafted a service that was truly moving, dignified, loving, holy. We returned him to the earth with the traditional


Alvin Fine, the poet writes, “Birth is a beginning and death a destination; but life is a journey. A going, a growing from stage to stage…” Each stage of that journey leads us to a place of sacredness. Thanks to Vladimir and our weekly sessions, I have rediscovered the journey of sacredness as it plays itself out on the chessboard. I am indeed grateful for our sacred space and our religious endeavors.

In an episode of Star Trek, the original series, Scotty and Captain Kirk create a pass code to help identify one another in case of an emergency. The episode is entitled “Whom God Destroys.” Scotty says to Kirk, "queen to queen's level 3" and the captain’s response is "queen to king's level 1” in their three dimensional board. This is what prevents the world from destruction -- at least for one more week. Need I say more!

At Vladimir’s funeral, I spoke about the significance of playing to the point where neither player is willing to give in to the other. We call it a “stalemate.” In the world of the sages, when the sages are unable to declare an answer, they declare the argument as תיקו. I await my time to rejoin my partner, Vladimir, who precedes me into the world beyond this one when we can resume our play. Until then, may his memory be a blessing!

Rabbi Steven J. [email protected]






ancient prayers of our Jewish people – and with the song שלום עליכם מלאכי השרת, for the Messengers of God were surely present and accompanying him and his family.

I have stayed in touch with his wife, she is a special friend whose commitment to tolerance never stops – she continues to share her personal accounts of the Holocaust with children and adults in her presentations and in the book she wrote.

So it was with a painful jolt that I read her sorrowful email to me on Monday morning, February 27th, reminding me that her husband is buried at Mount Carmel in Philadelphia. I felt an overwhelming pull to get there as soon as possible and to chant קדיש and אל מלא רחמים. I kept reliving the moment when we so lovingly returned her husband to the earth, to rest next to his parents, grandparents and extended family. I had to get there!

Since I had not been back since the unveiling I couldn’t remember the exact location. So I turned on my GPS, my guide as I navigate the twists and turns of Philadelphia neighborhoods as I make my visits to patients throughout the area. No luck! My GPS kept insisting I go to Mt Carmel in Moorestown, NJ – or Mt Carmel, Illinois! I tried dozens of times – to no avail. Finally, I contacted the staff at the Jewish Federation’s Jewish Community Engagement program. Immediate success!

On Wednesday I drove up to the cemetery gates – greeted by the Federation staff who had a table of information – and more importantly – gloves and tools for volunteers to help with the repair. And there, bringing bursts of color and life to the grey and desecrated cemetery, were high school students from Jewish day schools, tools and lists of family members in hand, determinedly cleaning up and finding the graves of loved ones who had contacted the Federation from all of the country.

I easily sighted the graves I was seeking, but first wandered among the venerable monuments of so many others, some desecrated by hate, some heaved by weather and time, some still standing, all representing the love and respect of the families who buried them there.

As I walked among the graves I felt as if they, the dead, knew we were there to witness both the hate that toppled their tombstones, and the love of the strangers who were there to avow their presence – and affirm that love triumphs over hate.

Chanting Kaddish at the graves of my deceased patient, his parents, grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles, I experienced a new depth of sanctity, connection and gratitude for our ancient prayers and traditions that continue – and will continue – to soothe and uplift our hearts, bringing us closer to God, our people and all humanity.

At the rally on Thursday, the themes of unity, mutual respect and support rang through all the speeches, songs, signs – and shone from the rainbow of colors on the faces of the over 5000 Philadelphians gathered there. I don’t agree with the psalmist who wrote – “the dead cannot praise Thee.” I know the praises of our brothers and sisters, long buried at Mt Carmel and other resting places, sang through the voices of all who came to honor the Creator of such a wonder of diversity of humanity.

I do agree with the psalmist who wrote: “You turned my Mourning into Dancing…”

Rabbi Tsurah [email protected]

Rabbi Tsurah August is a Chaplain with Jewish Family & Children’s Service of Philadelphia and Founder of A Loving Good-bye, a support service for families facing end-of-life challenges

Another Kaddish, continued





With Our Membersמזל טוב

Eitan and Miriam Allen on the birth of their son.

Cary Kozberg on the birth of a grandson.

כל הכבוד Jodie Futornick on receiving her D.D. from JTS

for over 25 years in the Rabbinate.Rabbi Leonard Lewy, M.A., BCC, on being

honored for 5 years of service at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital and Advocate Children's Hospital, Park Ridge, IL.

Yaacov Rone on being recognized by the Rabbinical Assembly for 50 years of service to the Jewish Community

המקום ינחם Rabbi Rena Arshinoff, on the death of her father

in law, Morton Arshinoff.Rabbi Dr. Eliot Baskin, on the death of his father

Marvin Baskin.Phyllis Dvora Corn, on the death of her mother

Sandra Kranz.Margo Heda, on the death of her mother Edythe

Betty Heda.The family of Rabbi Chaim Richter, founding

member of NAJCRabbi Marion Shulevitz on the death of her sister,

Eleanor Botney.Rabbi Mychal Springer on the death of her

mother Tova Springer.

ישר כוחRabbi Jason Weiner on his installation as

president of the Board of Rabbis of Southern California. Jason is the first chaplain-rabbi to serve as president of the Board of Rabbis in its 80-year history.

Karen Kaplan on the publication of her second book, a gentle science fiction book reflective of spiritual values, entitled: “Curiosity Seekers.”

Rabbi Kate Briggs PhD, BCC , received a grant from Greater Glasgow and Clyde Medical Research Endowment Fund to study "Staff, patients and/or relatives perceptions of the role of chaplains, chaplaincy, spirituality and advocacy in critical care."

Simcha Silverman who received his MBA from Bellevue University

ברוכים הבאים!We Welcome These New חברים:

Professional Members:Arlene Berger" Elizabeth Bolton

Rockville, MD" " Ottawa, OntarioHillel Fox" Joshua Horwitz

Woodmere, NY" " Los Angeles, CAAlisa Danon Kaplan" Ruth Kletnick

Teaneck, NJ" " Deerfield, NHMelanie Levav" Lisa Levine

New York, NY" " Silver Spring, MDCathy Nemiroff" Dale Schrteiber

Saint Paul, MN" " St. Louis, MOAbbi Sharofsky" Sari Shernofsky

New York, NY" " Calgary, AlbertaStacey Sokol" Dvorah Telushkin

White Plains, NY" " New York, NYGeneral Members:

Chanan Balk" Sharon BernsteinCincinnati, OH" " Berkeley, CA

Mark DanielsNew York

Israeli Members:Aliza Pilichowski

Mitzpe Yericho, IsraelStudent Members:

Nefesh Chaya Beechler" Arielle FriedtanzerStone Mountain, GA" " New York, NY

Orev Katz " Yocheved LindenbaumToronto, Ontario" " Teaneck, NJ

Share your life’s events by helping others! Donate to NAJC through any of these funds: The General Fund, Endowment Fund Israel Initiative, Chaplains Emergency Fund, Rabbi Howard Kummer Memorial Fund for

Pastoral Education, Rabbi Pesach Krauss Keter Shem Tov Award Fund. Donations may be made in honor of or in memory of a friend or loved one. Contact the office for more information. 973-929-3168



The 2017-18 Officers, Board & Committees

Rabbi Moe Kaprow, BCCWinter Springs, FLPresident

Rabbi Dr. Sandra Katz, BCCRochester, NYPresident-elect

Rabbi Michael Schorin, BCCSarasota, FLVice President

Rabbi Bryan Kinzbrunner, BCCHighland Park, NJTreasurer

Rabbi Dr. Joe Ozarowski, BCCToronto, Ont., CanadaSecretary

Rabbi Dr. Geoffrey Haber, BCCPittsfield, MACertification

Rabbanit Alissa Thomas-Newborn, BCC

Los Angeles, CAConference

Rabbi Dr. Rafael Goldstein, BCCParamus, NJExecutive Director

Cecille Allman AsekoffWhippany, NJExecutive V. President Emerita

Rabbi Rena Arshinoff, BCCToronto, Ont. Canada

Rabbi Miriam BerkowitzJerusalem, Israel

Rabbi Joel ChazinBeachwood, OH

Rabbi Judi Ehrlich, BCCNewton, MA

Rabbi David FineModi'in, Israel

Rabbi Dr. Mark GoldfarbSeal Beach, CANewsletter Editor

Chaplain Margo Heda, BCCFair Lawn, NJ

Rabbi Ben Lanckton, BCCBrookline, MA

Rabbi Neal Loevinger, BCCPoughkeepsie, NY

Rabbi Ruth Smith, BCCBaltimore, MD

Rabbi Jason Weiner, BCCLos Angeles, CA

Rabbi Michael WolffMontreal, Quebec

Newsletter Deadline:June 8, 2017

Submit all materials in electronic format (Pages, Word Doc or RTF)

to the editor:Rabbi Dr. Mark B. Goldfarb

[email protected]

NAJC is a professional organization and does not recommend or endorse any

products.

Articles published in the NAJC Newsletter express the views and

opinions of their respective authors and do not necessarily represent the

views and opinions of NAJC.

Please Note These

Upcoming Events:

NAJC Annual Conferences:

January 14-17, 2018:" Orlando, FL

mailto:[email protected]?subject=NAJC%20Newsletter

mailto:[email protected]?subject=NAJC%20Newsletter

newsletter 2017 03jewishchaplain.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/march2017.pdf · 2018-09-05 ·...

Documents