NeshamaCast

About our guest: 

Rabbi Shira Stern was ordained by Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York in 1983 and earned her Doctor of Ministry from HUC-JIR in 2003.  She was the rabbi and educator of the Monroe Township Jewish Center for 13 years. 
She has also served as a hospital and hospice chaplain, Director of the Joint Chaplaincy Program of Greater Middlesex County and the Director of the Jewish Institute for Pastoral Care in New York City.

Rabbi Stern founded the Center for Pastoral Care and Counseling in Marlboro, NJ, from which she recently retired as director. In her work there she worked with children and adults in focusing on problem solving and personal growth. 

Rabbi Stern was trained by the Red Cross to serve on the SAIR team - Spiritual Air Incident Response Team in 2001 and worked for four months at the Liberty State Park Family Assistance Center in the aftermath of 9/11. She is currently the lead chaplain for Disaster Spiritual Care for American Red Cross in New Jersey.

Rabbi Stern writes on issues of Women in Judaism, biblical commentary and chaplaincy-related topics and has taught two Jewish feminist courses at Rutgers University. She is a Board Certified Jewish Chaplain and is a Past-President of Neshama: Association of Jewish Chaplains. She has been widely featured in the print and television media on a variety of topics.

Rabbi Stern is married to Rabbi Donald Weber.

See also: 

"Rabbi helps Pittsburgh community pick up the pieces" 

"Rabbi and Red Cross Volunteer Delivers Message of Hope to TempleShalom in Naples"

"Welcome to the Jewish Berkshires, Rabbi Shira Stern"

"Hatikvah on Mount Scopus", July, 1967, Isaac Stern, Leonard Bernstein and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra

About our host:
 

Rabbi Edward Bernstein, PBCC, is the producer and host of NeshamaCast. He serves as Chaplain at Boca Raton Regional Hospital of Baptist Health South Florida. He is a member of the Board of Neshama: Association of Jewish Chaplains. Prior to his chaplain career, he served as a pulpit rabbi in congregations in New Rochelle, NY; Beachwood, OH; and Boynton Beach, FL. He is also the host and producer of My Teacher Podcast: A Celebration of the People Who Shape Our Lives.

About our host:

Rabbi Scott Klein, Ed.D., is the host of NeshamaCast. He serves as a U.S. Army Chaplain with the rank of Captain, assigned to the U.S. Army Special Operations Command, and as the Garrison Rabbi at Fort Bragg, NC. A champion of communication, education, and leadership, Rabbi Klein holds a doctorate in educational leadership and received rabbinical ordination from the Academy for Jewish Religion in Yonkers, NY.

Rabbi Edward Bernstein, BCC, is the creator of NeshamaCast and hosted its first three seasons. He continues as a contributor and consultant to the program. He serves as Chaplain at Boca Raton Regional Hospital of Baptist Health South Florida. He is a member of the Board of Neshama: Association of Jewish Chaplains. Prior to his chaplain career, he served as a pulpit rabbi in congregations in New Rochelle, NY; Beachwood, OH; and Boynton Beach, FL. He is also the host and producer of My Teacher Podcast: A Celebration of the People Who Shape Our Lives.

NeshamaCast contributor Chaplain David Balto is a volunteer chaplain at Washington Hospital Center in Washington, D.C. and Western Correctional Insitution, Maryland’s maximum security prison. He coordinated the annual National Jewish Healing Conference.

Support NeshamaCast and NAJC with a tax deductible donation to NAJC. For sponsorship opportunities as either an individual or institution, please write to Rabbi Ed Bernstein at [email protected]

Thank you to Steve Lubetkin and Lubetkin Media Companies for producing this episode.

Transcripts for this episode and other episodes of NeshamaCast are available at NeshamaCast.simplecast.com and are typically posted one week after an episode first airs.

Theme Music is “A Niggun For Ki Anu Amecha,” written and performed by Reb-Cantor Lisa Levine.

Please help others find the show by rating and reviewing the show on Apple Podcasts or other podcast providers.

Opinions expressed on NeshamaCast reflect those of the participants and do not necessarily reflect official positions of NAJC.

We welcome comments and suggestions for future programming at [email protected]. And be sure to follow NAJC on Facebook to learn more about Jewish spiritual care happening in our communities.

Rabbi Valerie Stessin is the Director of Kashouvot: The Center for Spiritual Care in Israel. A native of France, Valerie earned a BA from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, majoring in Special Education and Jewish Philosophy and received a teaching degree from the Kerem Institute. Valerie studied at the Schechter Institute, earned two M.A. degrees and had the honor to be the first woman ordained by the Masorti movement in Israel, in 1993. She has been involved in Spiritual Care in Israel since its beginnings and is dedicated to advancing this area.

Since 2008, Valerie studied Clinical Pastoral Education (C.P.E.) in the best programs in Israel and in the United States:   Schechter Institute for Jewish Studies with Rabbi Zahara Davidowiz-Farkas,  Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, New Jersey with Rev. John DeVelder,  Jewish Theological Seminary in New York with Rabbi Mychal Springer and Hebrew SeniorLife in Boston with Rev. Mary Martha Thiel. Valerie was certified as a chaplain by NAJC – Neshama Association of Jewish Chaplains and the Israeli Association for Spiritual Care. In 2020, she was certified as an educator in Spiritual Care after she studied at the Educator’s Course with Dr. Rabbi Alan Abrams at the Schwartz Center for Health and Spirituality.

During this period, Valerie worked as a chaplain at various hospitals and geriatric centers: Hadassah Mount Scopus Hospital in the hematology day care and the rehabilitation departments, Hadassah Ein Karem in the Bone Marrow transplant department, the French Hospital in Palliative care, Hod Yerushalayim nursing home, Yehud and Ness Ziona day-care for the elderly and more.

Valerie taught Spiritual Care in C.P.E. professional training programs and various courses for health-care and geriatric staff.

She served on the board of the Association for Spiritual Care in Israel and of Tmicha, the organization for palliative care in Israel and is a member of the N.A.J.C, the National Association of Jewish Chaplains. Valerie speaks Hebrew, French, English and some Russian.

About our host:

Rabbi Scott Klein, Ed.D., is the host of NeshamaCast. He serves as a U.S. Army Chaplain with the rank of Captain, assigned to the U.S. Army Special Operations Command, and as the Garrison Rabbi at Fort Bragg, NC. A champion of communication, education, and leadership, Rabbi Klein holds a doctorate in educational leadership and received rabbinical ordination from the Academy for Jewish Religion in Yonkers, NY.

Rabbi Edward Bernstein, BCC, is the creator of NeshamaCast and hosted its first three seasons. He continues as a contributor and consultant to the program. He serves as Chaplain at Boca Raton Regional Hospital of Baptist Health South Florida. He is a member of the Board of Neshama: Association of Jewish Chaplains. Prior to his chaplain career, he served as a pulpit rabbi in congregations in New Rochelle, NY; Beachwood, OH; and Boynton Beach, FL. He is also the host and producer of My Teacher Podcast: A Celebration of the People Who Shape Our Lives.

NeshamaCast contributor Chaplain David Balto is a volunteer chaplain at Washington Hospital Center in Washington, D.C. and Western Correctional Insitution, Maryland’s maximum security prison. He coordinated the annual National Jewish Healing Conference.

Support NeshamaCast and NAJC with a tax deductible donation to NAJC. For sponsorship opportunities as either an individual or institution, please write to Rabbi Ed Bernstein at [email protected]

Thank you to Steve Lubetkin and Lubetkin Media Companies for producing this episode.

Transcripts for this episode and other episodes of NeshamaCast are available at NeshamaCast.simplecast.com and are typically posted one week after an episode first airs.

Theme Music is “A Niggun For Ki Anu Amecha,” written and performed by Reb-Cantor Lisa Levine.

Please help others find the show by rating and reviewing the show on Apple Podcasts or other podcast providers.

Opinions expressed on NeshamaCast reflect those of the participants and do not necessarily reflect official positions of NAJC.

We welcome comments and suggestions for future programming at [email protected]. And be sure to follow NAJC on Facebook to learn more about Jewish spiritual care happening in our communities.

About our guest:

Rabbi Dr. Joseph S. Ozarowski, BCC

Rabbi Joe has enjoyed a fulfilling career as a pulpit rabbi, educator, prolific author and board-certified chaplain for more than 40 years. He has worked full-time at JCFS Chicago since 2005 and presently serves as Rabbinic Counselor and Jewish Chaplaincy Services Chaplain.

Rabbi Ozararowski serves as President of Neshama: The Association of Jewish Chaplains. A native of St. Louis, Missouri, Rabbi Joe completed his undergraduate (honors) work at Loyola University Chicago, was ordained with Semicha at Skokie’s Hebrew Theological College, and received a Doctorate from Lancaster Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania.

Rabbi Joe’s first book, To Walk in God’s Ways: Jewish Pastoral Perspectives on Illness and Bereavement is considered a standard in the field of Judaism and Pastoral Care.

About our host:
 

Rabbi Edward Bernstein, PBCC, is the producer and host of NeshamaCast. He serves as Chaplain at Boca Raton Regional Hospital of Baptist Health South Florida. He is a member of the Board of Neshama: Association of Jewish Chaplains. Prior to his chaplain career, he served as a pulpit rabbi in congregations in New Rochelle, NY; Beachwood, OH; and Boynton Beach, FL. He is also the host and producer of My Teacher Podcast: A Celebration of the People Who Shape Our Lives.

About our host:

Rabbi Scott Klein, Ed.D., is the host of NeshamaCast. He serves as a U.S. Army Chaplain with the rank of Captain, assigned to the U.S. Army Special Operations Command, and as the Garrison Rabbi at Fort Bragg, NC. A champion of communication, education, and leadership, Rabbi Klein holds a doctorate in educational leadership and received rabbinical ordination from the Academy for Jewish Religion in Yonkers, NY.

Rabbi Edward Bernstein, BCC, is the creator of NeshamaCast and hosted its first three seasons. He continues as a contributor and consultant to the program. He serves as Chaplain at Boca Raton Regional Hospital of Baptist Health South Florida. He is a member of the Board of Neshama: Association of Jewish Chaplains. Prior to his chaplain career, he served as a pulpit rabbi in congregations in New Rochelle, NY; Beachwood, OH; and Boynton Beach, FL. He is also the host and producer of My Teacher Podcast: A Celebration of the People Who Shape Our Lives.

NeshamaCast contributor Chaplain David Balto is a volunteer chaplain at Washington Hospital Center in Washington, D.C. and Western Correctional Insitution, Maryland’s maximum security prison. He coordinated the annual National Jewish Healing Conference.

Support NeshamaCast and NAJC with a tax deductible donation to NAJC. For sponsorship opportunities as either an individual or institution, please write to Rabbi Ed Bernstein at [email protected]

Thank you to Steve Lubetkin and Lubetkin Media Companies for producing this episode.

Transcripts for this episode and other episodes of NeshamaCast are available at NeshamaCast.simplecast.com and are typically posted one week after an episode first airs.

Theme Music is “A Niggun For Ki Anu Amecha,” written and performed by Reb-Cantor Lisa Levine.

Please help others find the show by rating and reviewing the show on Apple Podcasts or other podcast providers.

Opinions expressed on NeshamaCast reflect those of the participants and do not necessarily reflect official positions of NAJC.

We welcome comments and suggestions for future programming at [email protected]. And be sure to follow NAJC on Facebook to learn more about Jewish spiritual care happening in our communities.

In NeshamaCast, we will hear from a variety of Jewish chaplains in the field to share their stories describing Jewish spiritual care and why it matters. Our guests will offer their perspectives from the field on the impact Jewish chaplains have on the people we serve and related topics such as major trends in Jewish spiritual care, Jewish medical ethics, disaster chaplaincy, interfaith relations, the aging of our society, addiction and recovery and more. Please join us on our journey to bring healing to our world.

About our host:

Rabbi Scott Klein, Ed.D., is the host of NeshamaCast. He serves as a U.S. Army Chaplain with the rank of Captain, assigned to the U.S. Army Special Operations Command, and as the Garrison Rabbi at Fort Bragg, NC. A champion of communication, education, and leadership, Rabbi Klein holds a doctorate in educational leadership and received rabbinical ordination from the Academy for Jewish Religion in Yonkers, NY.

Rabbi Edward Bernstein, BCC, is the creator of NeshamaCast and hosted its first three seasons. He continues as a contributor and consultant to the program. He serves as Chaplain at Boca Raton Regional Hospital of Baptist Health South Florida. He is a member of the Board of Neshama: Association of Jewish Chaplains. Prior to his chaplain career, he served as a pulpit rabbi in congregations in New Rochelle, NY; Beachwood, OH; and Boynton Beach, FL. He is also the host and producer of My Teacher Podcast: A Celebration of the People Who Shape Our Lives.

NeshamaCast contributor Chaplain David Balto is a volunteer chaplain at Washington Hospital Center in Washington, D.C. and Western Correctional Insitution, Maryland’s maximum security prison. He coordinated the annual National Jewish Healing Conference.

Support NeshamaCast and NAJC with a tax deductible donation to NAJC. For sponsorship opportunities as either an individual or institution, please write to Rabbi Ed Bernstein at [email protected]

Thank you to Steve Lubetkin and Lubetkin Media Companies for producing this episode.

Transcripts for this episode and other episodes of NeshamaCast are available at NeshamaCast.simplecast.com and are typically posted one week after an episode first airs.

Theme Music is “A Niggun For Ki Anu Amecha,” written and performed by Reb-Cantor Lisa Levine.

Please help others find the show by rating and reviewing the show on Apple Podcasts or other podcast providers.

Opinions expressed on NeshamaCast reflect those of the participants and do not necessarily reflect official positions of NAJC.

We welcome comments and suggestions for future programming at [email protected]. And be sure to follow NAJC on Facebook to learn more about Jewish spiritual care happening in our communities.