Rabbis and clergy are being called upon to intervene in complex life crises, especially those involving aging, serious illness, end-of-life care, and bereavement.

In this podcast, Rabbi Address speaks with Gary L. Stein, JD, MSW, Professor and Vice Chair, Social Work Hospice & Palliative Care Network, Wurzweiler School of Social Work at Yeshiva University, about the school’s new Rabbinic Certificate Program in Gerontology and Palliative Care. Joining Prof. Stein in the conversation are several participants in the program.

Download a flyer explaining the new Yeshiva University Online Rabbinic Certificate Program in Gerontology and Palliative Care. The online course begins this fall (October 27). Yeshiva Rabbinic Certificate Program Flyer (PDF Download)

The program provides an opportunity for Jewish clergy to obtain training on the special needs of older adults, people with serious illness, and their families.  This is an important effort to bring the knowledge base of gerontology, palliative social work, bereavement, and basic counseling skills to rabbis, cantors, and student clergy who will be called on to serve the diverse needs of aging congregations.

About the Guests

Gary L. Stein, JD, MSW, is Professor at the Wurzweiler School of Social Work – Yeshiva University, where has taught social policy, health care practice, palliative care, health care ethics, law and social policy, and LGBT practice in the master’s and doctoral programs since 2006.  His interests include palliative and end-of-life care, bioethics, health care policy and practice, social policy, disability, elder care, and LGBT issues.  Prof. Stein has been Vice Chair of the Social Work Hospice and Palliative Care Network since 2006.  Most recently, he was awarded a fellowship with the Health and Aging Policy Fellows Program/Congressional Fellowship Program for 2016-2017; his projects were with the American Bar Association Commission on Law and Aging, and the Coalition to Transform Advanced Care (C-TAC).  Prof. Stein was awarded a Fulbright Specialist Program Award in 2010, through which he was guest faculty at the Lancaster University, U.K. International Observatory for End of Life Care.  He was a consultant on disability and health care planning for the RAND Corporation.  Prof. Stein was formerly the Executive Director of New Jersey Health Decisions, where he was responsible for developing projects to improve end-of-life care, promote more informed medical decision-making, and foster citizen involvement in healthcare and bioethics issues.  Prof. Stein is a recipient of the Social Work Hospice and Palliative Care Network’s 2017 Career Achievement Award, the Project on Death in America’s Social Work Leadership Development Award (2001), and the Rose Dobrof Award (2011) for his publication on LGBT older adults.  In 2018, he was appointed to the New York State Palliative Care Education and Training Council. Prof. Stein appeared on the Seekers of Meaning Podcast in August 2018. You can hear that conversation here.

Rabbi Shmuel Burnstein currently maintains a small synagogue in Elizabeth NJ, serving the needs of the congregation. His responsibilities include directing services, counseling, organizing events, giving classes, maintaining the building, and community service in the broader sense. He also supervises the Kosher Law Adherence of a nursing home and two caterers,

On the 9/6/2019 episode of the Seekers of Meaning Podcast, the guest is Linda Hershman, a licensed marriage and family therapist, and author of the forthcoming book, Gray Divorce: A Guide for Professionals Working with Later-Life Breakups.

About the Guest

Linda Hershman is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and owner of the Couples and Family Wellness Center, located in suburban Philadelphia. She is an American Association of Marriage and Family Therapists nationally-approved supervisor, providing licensure supervision for post-graduate students.

Linda has special interest and expertise working with divorcing and divorce-questioning couples over age 50. She is certified in Discernment Counseling, a brief protocol to help couples decide whether to stay the course, move toward separation and divorce, or commit to intensive marriage counseling. More information at http://stayorgocounseling.com/.

Recently, Linda presented, “Gray Divorce: Splitting Up in Later-Life” at the International Family Therapy Association World Congress in Aberdeen, Scotland. She will be giving this presentation at the AAMFT national conference in Austin, Texas, and will appear on the AAMFT podcast as a pioneer in gray divorce. Her upcoming book, Gray Divorce: A Guide for Professionals Working with Later-Life Breakups, will be published in 2020.

In this episode of the Seekers of Meaning Podcast, Rabbis David Levin and Simcha Raphael discuss the Philadelphia Death Café, where participants discuss a wide range of topics related to death and dying.

About the Guests

Rabbi David Levin is a reform rabbi ordained from the Hebrew Union College- Jewish Institute of Religion (NY). David is the founder of the Jewish Relationships Initiative, formed to provide outreach focusing on the unaffiliated Jewish population of Greater Philadelphia.  We seek to create relationships through meaningful connection to Jewish wisdom, ritual, and community.  We do this through lifecycle events, study, and learning, conversation, and connection to others. David also devotes his time to special projects including Jewish Sacred Aging, teaching and free speech issues on the college campus. David worked with the Union for Reform Judaism in the Congregational Network as a Rabbinical Director serving the East Coast congregations. He also had the honor of working at Main Line Reform Temple in Wynnewood, PA. David Levin is a Fellow with Rabbis Without Borders, an interdenominational rabbinic group affiliated with CLAL. David Levin proudly claims to be one of Rabbi Louis Frishman’s (z”l) “Temple Kids”, from Temple Beth El in Spring Valley, NY. David attended the University of Chicago earning an AB in Economics. He went on to the New York University Graduate School of Business where he earned an MBA in Finance. Before becoming a rabbi, David enjoyed a career centered in banking and real estate finance, and he also worked in the family garment business.

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.

Rabbi Laura Geller returns to the Seekers of Meaning Podcast to discuss her forthcoming book, co-authored with her late husband, Richard Siegel, Getting Good at Getting Older.

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About the Guest

Rabbi Laura Geller, Rabbi Emerita

Rabbi Laura Geller came to Temple Emanuel of Beverly Hills in 1994. She was the first Reform woman rabbi to be selected as the Senior Rabbi of a major metropolitan congregation. Rabbi Geller has been recognized with numerous awards and honors, including being named one of Newsweek’s 50 Most Influential Rabbis in America for two years in a row, and receiving the California State Legislature’s Woman of the Year Award. In 2015 she was named one of the 33 most inspiring rabbis by Forward Magazine. Featured in the PBS Documentary called Jewish Americans, she is the author of many articles in journals and books, is a frequent contributor to the Huffington Post, and served on the Editorial Board of The Torah: A Woman’s Commentary, in which she has two published essays. Most recently, she has spearheaded a groundbreaking new project called Next Stage: Temple Emanuel’s Boomer and Beyond Initiative. 

Prior to being chosen as Senior Rabbi in 1994, she served as the Executive Director of the American Jewish Congress, Pacific Southwest Region. Among her accomplishments at AJCongress was the creation of the AJCongress Feminist Center, which became a model for other Jewish feminist projects around the county. She came to AJCongress in 1990 after 14 years as the Director of Hillel at the University of Southern California.

Rabbi Geller is a Fellow of the Corporation of Brown University from where she graduated in 1971. Rabbi Geller was ordained by the Hebrew Union College in 1976, and is the third woman in the Reform Movement to become a rabbi.  She is married to Richard A. Siegel, and she is the mother of Joshua and Elana Goldstein, grandmother of Avery Peter Goldstein, and the stepmother of Andy and Ruth Siegel.

On June 24th and 25th Rabbi Geller celebrated 22 years at Temple Emanuel and transitioned to Rabbi Emerita. Still part of the Emanuel family, she continues her work with the Next Stage Intiative, and the community building program ChaiVillageLA.

The guest this week on the Seekers of Meaning Podcast is Rabbi Paul Steinberg, author of Spiritual Growth: A Contemporary Jewish Approach. 

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About the Guest

Paul Steinberg is a rabbi and nationally recognized transformative educator. Rabbi Steinberg previously served as a principal of a Jewish day school in Dallas, Texas, the Senior Educator at Valley Beth Shalom in Encino, California, and the Community Rabbi of Beit T’Shuvah in Los Angeles. While in these positions, he simultaneously served on local and national boards, as well as taught Jewish philosophy in the Graduate School of Education at American Jewish University. Rabbi Steinberg himself holds two Bachelor’s degrees, three post-graduate degrees, and is currently completing his doctorate in education at the Jewish Theological Seminary. He has published many articles on Jewish thought and education, as well as six books including Study Guide to Jewish Ethics (JPS, 2003); Recovery, the 12 Steps and Jewish Spirituality: Reclaiming Hope, Courage and Wholeness (Jewish Lights, 2014) and the three-volume series Celebrating the Jewish Year (JPS, 2009) which earned the National Jewish Book Award.  His most recent book, Spiritual Growth: A Contemporary Jewish Approach (TerraNova, 2019) represents an accessible approach to dealing with the challenges of the day through Jewish spiritual ideals and practice.

Rabbi Steinberg is a native of Tucson, Arizona and is the father of three daughters: Rina, Nili, and Liora.

On this week’s episode of the Seekers of Meaning Podcast, Merle Steinberg, a former Jewish educator, discusses her travel business, “Merle’s Travel Biz,” and her expertise in organizing tours of Israel.

About the Guest

In over 25 years as a Jewish Educator, Merle has planned more than 40 Israel itineraries, and has personally gone on over 30 trips to the Promised Land. Merle will expertly plan your next individual or group trip. Israel is her specialty, but anywhere is possible. Merle’s Travel Biz expertise and services are provided at NO additional cost. More information at https://merlestravelbiz.com/

Dr. E.M. Kaye, executive director of The Great Memory Challenge, is the guest on this week’s Seekers of Meaning Podcast.

About the Guest

E.M. Kaye, PhD is a baby boomer, a grandmother, a teacher, a life-long learner, and a passionate advocate for brain wellness and the prevention of Alzheimer’s.

At age seventy she became the oldest person to ever compete in the USA Memory Championship and earn the title of mental athlete. She undertook this personal challenge to show that age is not a barrier to better brain performance or to the achievement of new challenges.

Please visit her website www.TheGreatMemoryChallenge.com

 

In this episode of the Seekers of Meaning Podcast, the guest is Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz, co-author of Pirkei Avot: A Social Justice Commentary.

About the Guest

Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz is the President & Dean of the Valley Beit Midrash (Jewish pluralistic adult learning & leadership), the Founder & President of Uri L’Tzedek (Jewish Social Justice), the Founder and CEO of The Shamayim V’Aretz Institute (Jewish animal advocacy), the Founder and President of YATOM, (Jewish foster and adoption network), and the author of seventeen books on Jewish ethics. Newsweek named Rav Shmuly one of the top 50 rabbis in America and the Forward named him one of the 50 most influential Jews.

 

The guests on this week’s Seekers of Meaning Podcast are Lynda Everman and Dr. Don Wendorf, senior editors of the Dementia-Friendly Worship: A Multifaith Handbook for Chaplains, Clergy, and Faith Communities.

About the Guests

Lynda Everman has spent most of her adult life as a caregiver: for her mom who was paralyzed by a stroke, her dad with vascular dementia, and her husband with Alzheimer’s Disease. These experiences inspired her advocacy for increased Alzheimer’s funding for care and a cure.

She and fellow advocate Kathy Siggins conducted a multi-year national campaign for a semipostal (awareness and fundraising) stamp for Alzheimer’s research. As a result of their efforts, the first ever Alzheimer’s Disease Research Semipostal Stamp was released by the US Postal Service in November 2017. As of February 2019, this stamp has raised over $840,000 for NIH funded research.

Lynda is a founding member of three national networks under the umbrella of UsAgainstAlzheimer’s and served as founder and convener of Clergy Against Alzheimer’s. She is an editor and contributor to Seasons of Caring: Meditations for Alzheimer’s and Dementia Caregivers. She and her husband, Dr. Don Wendorf, have served as editors for The Leader’s Guide for Seasons of Caring and Treasure for Alzheimer’s, both written by Dr. Richard Morgan.  They served as Senior Editors for Dementia-friendly Worship: A Multi-faith Handbook for Chaplains, Clergy and Faith Communities and co-authored Stolen Memories: An Alzheimer’s Stole Ministry and Tallit Initiative  (Wipf and Stock Publishers, Fall 2019). Lynda is on the Board of Beating Alzheimer’s By Embracing Science (B.A.B.E.S.) and has been recognized by Maria Shriver as a Woman of  Influence in the Women’s Alzheimer’s Movement and included on her “Big Wall of Empowerment.”

Lynda is a dedicated and outspoken advocate for those living with Alzheimer’s and their care partners and, in September 2018, was honored with the inaugural UsAgainstAlzheimer’s Advocate of the Year Award.

Don Wendorf, Psy.D. is a retired psychologist and marriage & family therapist, who practiced over 40 years, specializing in marriage therapy. He retired in 2013 to be the full-time caregiver for his increasingly stroke-disabled wife, Susan, after taking care of her while working for 15 years. She passed away in March 2014. He also helped take care of his mother-in-law (cancer), father (Parkinson’s) and mother (Alzheimer’s). Don currently serves on the Board of Cognitive Dynamics Foundation.

Don has been a professional musician since his high school days, playing in a variety of jazz and bluegrass bands as well as writing songs. He combined all these interests and experiences in two books, one on marriage (Love Lyrics: a Musical Marital Manual) and one on the emotional struggles in caregiving (Caregiver Carols: a Musical, Emotional Memoir), both written primarily in song lyrics to be more accessible and memorable and to ease the pain a bit.

Don and his wife, Lynda, met when he contributed to her book, Seasons of Caring: Meditations for Alzheimer’s and Dementia Caregivers, and together they have edited several additional books for caregivers. They are advocates for increased funding for research on Alzheimer’s and related dementias and regularly speak to conferences, churches and advocacy groups on topics relating to dementia and caregiving.

 

This week’s Seekers of Meaning Podcast features a conversation with Edmund Case, author of Radical Inclusion: Engaging Interfaith Families for a Thriving Jewish Future, which is published by the Center for Radically Inclusive Judaism, an advocacy non-profit he founded in 2018.

About the Guest

Edmund Case is a graduate of Yale and Harvard Law School. After practicing law for 22 years, he earned Master’s Degrees in Jewish Communal Service and in Management at the Heller-Hornstein Program at Brandeis University. He is a past president of a Reform synagogue, and served on a Reform movement regional outreach committee and on Combined Jewish Philanthropies’ Task Force on Services to the Intermarried. He founded InterfaithFamily as an independent non-profit in October 2001and retired from it in 2015. He is the author of Radical Inclusion: Engaging Interfaith Families for a Thriving Jewish Future, which is published by the Center for Radically Inclusive Judaism, an advocacy non-profit he founded in 2018. He is co-editor of The Guide to Jewish Interfaith Family Life: An InterfaithFamily.com Handbook (Jewish Lights) and author of Interfaith Families Making Jewish Choices (Jewish Lights, Lifelights series) and continues to write on intermarriage issues at www.CFRIJ.com.