Jewish Community Programs

Compassion Meditation

What is compassion meditation, and how can it be so impactful so quickly? In this form of meditation, one offers simple phrases of good will to oneself and to others. Even short periods of compassion meditation has been found to reduce stress and increase positive emotions.

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Rise of Professional Jewish Community Chaplaincy

Jewish chaplaincy is rooted in sacred texts; it builds on older traditions of bikur cholim, the Talmudic commandment to visit the sick. Jewish chaplains haven’t been around for long, however. The first Jewish chaplains can be traced to the American Civil War but greatly expanded in World War II, when about three hundred rabbis served in the U.S. military. After the war, chaplaincy programs started to appear around the country.

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Creating a Community of Caring

Addiction and addiction recovery are realities in our community; they always have been and likely will be into the near future.  Until recently many people in the Jewish community denied that addiction was a Jewish issue.  Now there is a much greater recognition of how addiction challenges our own.  However, many Jewish families still express deep feelings of isolation when confronting addiction in themselves or their loved ones.

There are so many ways, large and small, that each of us can support Jewish families struggling with active addiction or in recovery, to bring them out of isolation and into the loving support our community offers.  Here are some ideas:

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Coping With Sudden Loss

Not a day goes by when we are not inundated with stories of shootings, accidents, senseless acts of violence or natural disasters. When these events happen, we might feel shock or sadness, yet we strive to protect ourselves by keeping the tragedies at arm’s length. But how do we handle an unexpected or sudden loss in our own lives? 

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Talking to Your Child About Body Safety

Warm temperatures and bright sunshine remind us that summer has arrived. With summer comes fun and relaxation and, often, more unstructured time. It’s important for parents to remind children about how to keep their bodies safe and ways of avoiding unhealthy interactions. Having these kinds of conversations help foster strong, open relationships with children that can last a lifetime.

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The Outgoing Sibling

Helping the World See My Sister the Way I See Her

By Renee Birnberg Silberman

My sister is the most emotionally intelligent person I know. Our mother liked to tell me Estella was so smart, but I brushed her statements aside for most of my young and young adult life. After all, she had been tested as having lower than average intelligence, and the doctors told my parents (over half a century ago) that the best place for her to grow up was in a nun-run facility in Wisconsin.

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