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.

AZKARAH MEMORIAL SERVICE OF HEALING

Date: Thursday, November 18, 2010
Location: Congregation Beth Am, 26790 Arastradero Road, Los Altos Hills 94022

** 7pm - an informal discussion about the losses in our lives
** 8pm - service

You are invited to attend either or both parts of the program, which is free and open to the public. Friends and family members are welcom.

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.

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

RSVP’s are appreciated but not required.

This Azkarah Service is part of “Grief and Growing: NextSteps for Mourners”, a program alliance between Bay Area Jewish Healing Center and Sinai Memorial Chapel. The Azkarah services are co-sponsored throughout the year by Congregation Beth Am, Congregation Sherith Israel, Congregation Sha’ar Zahav, Congregation Emanu-El, and the Northern California Board of Rabbis. BAJHC and NCBOR are beneficiaries of the Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco, the Peninsula, Marin and Sonoma counties. This service is provided, in part, by the Bernard Osher Jewish Philanthropies Foundation. We thank them for their vision in the face of loss.

BEREAVEMENT SPIRITUAL SUPPORT GROUP
for those who have lost a spouse or partner

Date: Meets Wednesdays from 2:30pm to 4:00pm
September 22nd to November 10th
Location: at Congregation Beth Am, 26790 Arastradero Road, Los Altos Hills, CA 94011

While grief is a normal response to loss, we know from practical experience and from the teachings of our tradition, that being with an understanding community can help bring comfort and healing to the mourner. This group will provide a supportive context with both general and specifically Jewish resources for the mourning process. The group is especially suited for participants who have lost loved ones in the past year or so.

Pre-registration is required; we are not be able to accommodate drop-ins.

To register, or for more information, please contact Bay Area Jewish Healing Center, at jewishhealing@ioaging.org or call Pamela Brown at (415) 750-3436.

This bereavement group is offered by Grief and Growing: NextSteps for Mourners, a program alliance of Bay Area Jewish Healing Center and Sinai Memorial Chapel.

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

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 Winter training. For more information and to apply for our next training, please contact Pamela Brown at (415) 750-3436 or pbrown@ioaging.org.

Next Training: TBA
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 Alexander M. and June L. Maisin Foundation, and The Bernard Osher Jewish Philanthropies Foundation of the Jewish Community Endowment Fund.