Newsletter of Bay Area Jewish Healing Center

We have free copies of our Advanced Directives publication available, in cooperation with the Institute on Aging. If you would like to receive a free copy of Five Wishes, please email us your snail mail address at jewishhealing@ioaging.org.

SPIRITUAL SUPPORT GROUPS

Grief is an normal response to loss and sometimes it helps to be with others. These groups will provide a supportive context with both general and specifically Jewish resources for the mourning process. Ideal participants are those who have lost loved ones in the past year. These will be closed (rather than drop-in) groups, requiring pre-registration with one of the co-facilitators.

Date/Time: Meets every Tuesday from 7pm - 9pm
Beginning April 29, 2008 for 10 weeks
Location: Congregation Sha'ar Zahav, 290 Dolores Street (@16th), San Francisco, CA 94103
Cost: $100, with scholarships available

Date/Time: Meets every Tuesday from 6pm - 8pm
Beginning June 17, 2008 for 8 weeks
Location: Bay Area Jewish Healing Center, 3330 Geary Blvd., 3rd Floor West, San Francisco, CA 94118
Cost: $100, with scholarships available

To register or for more information about our support groups, please contact Bay Area Jewish Healing Center at jewishhealing@ioaging.org or call (415) 750-4197.

INDIVIDUAL SPIRITUAL CARE

Our rabbis provide individual spiritual counseling, spiritual direction and chaplaincy services, regardless of synagogue affiliation or the ability to pay.

Contact: jewishhealing@ioaging.org or call (415) 750-4197

AZKARAH MEMORIAL SERVICE OF HEALING

Wednesday, May 14th at Congregation Sha’ar Zahav, 290 Dolores Street (at 16th Street)

at 6pm with an informal discussion about the losses in our lives, followed by the service at 7pm. You are invited to attend either or both parts of the program.

The evening is designed to offer comfort and support to people who have suffered personal losses. The Azkarah gives us an opportunity to honor our loved ones and acknowledge our losses, as we also affirm life in the context of community.

The service is free and open to the public; friends and family members are welcome.

If you are unable to attend, please call Bay Area Jewish Healing Center at (415) 750-4197 or jewishhealing@ioaging.org to add the name of a loved one to those read at the service.

RSVP’s are appreciated but not required.

The Azkarah services are co-sponsored throughout the year by Congregation Sherith Israel, Congregation Sha’ar Zahav, Congregation Emanu-El, and the Northern California Board of Rabbis.

This service is provided, in part, by the gracious tzedakah of Sinai Memorial Chapel and The Bernard Osher Jewish Philanthropies Foundation.

INTERNATIONAL JEWISH HEALING RETREATS (IJHR)

Three non-profit organizations - Life's Door-Tishkofet (LDT), The JBFCS National Center for Jewish Healing (NCJH) and The National Association of Jewish Chaplains (NAJC) - have come together to sponsor an International Jewish Healing Retreat which takes place this summer in Israel, for individuals and their loved ones facing a life-threatening illness. The retreat will provide a supportive healing environment, a respite from the stresses of a life beset by a serious illness, and support for spiritual growth and renewal in the context of caring relationship.

For more information, please click on the links below:

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

Kol Haneshama: Jewish End of Life Care, in collaboration with the Zen Hospice Project
We are currently seeking hospice volunteers for our Kol Haneshama Spring training. For more information and to apply for our next training, please contact Rabbi Jon Sommer at jsommer@ioaging.org or (415) 750-4198.

Next Training: August, 2008
Location: San Francisco
Cost: $200, with scholarships available

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION

Lead Services for Shabbat and Holy Days as a Volunteer
Caring individuals are needed to volunteer with Jewish seniors and the disabled through the Bay Area Jewish Healing Center.

The Bay Area Jewish Healing Center (BAJHC) has a few available positions in Marin, San Francisco, and on the Peninsula for service leaders. Senior and disabled Jewish adults in our community are in desperate need of caring and concerned individuals to lead Shabbat and holiday services at residential facilities.

You need not be a Rabbi or Cantor, just a compassionate person who would like to help others maintain their connection to Judaism. The BAJHC trains volunteers in all aspects of service leadership.

To receive an application, or for more information on this program, please contact Rabbi Jon Sommer at jsommer@ioaging.org or 415.750.4198.

CLICK HERE FOR VOLUNTEER APPLICATION

TORAH REFLECTIONS
(Now on our website! CLICK HERE)

These bi-weekly reflections, written by Jewish colleagues nationwide, address the weekly Torah portion or Jewish holidays throughout the year. Torah Reflections are a useful tool to facilitate exploration of Jewish text and thought for all ages. Thought-provoking and relevant, these Reflections aim to support, teach and imbue one with hope.

We are now offering Torah Reflections to individuals free of charge. Please e-mail us at jewishhealing@ioaging.org, indicating the e-mail address where you would like to receive the Reflections. If you are from an institution and would like to share the Reflections with a larger audience, please contact us to make arrangements.

This newsletter is made possible, in part , by the generous tzedaka of the David L. Klein Jr. Foundation, The Alexander M. and June L. Maisin Foundation, Mount Zion Health Fund, and The Bernard Osher Jewish Philanthropies Foundation of the Jewish Community Endowment Fund.