What is a Jewish Chaplain?
A Jewish Chaplain is a specifically trained spiritual leader who provides Jewish spiritual care and support to individuals, families, and communities dealing with illness, grief, and loss. They are able to offer resources, counseling, and support groups. They may work in hospitals, hospices, or other settings to provide spiritual guidance and comfort.
Thanks to a generous grant from the Mount Zion Health Fund, the Northern California Board of Rabbis was able to provide a Jewish Chaplain to unaffiliated patients in San Francisco hospitals from the fall of 2024 until summer 2026. Chaplain Jonathan Furst was able to visit in person and connect with both the patient and family members when appropriate. When it was not possible to get to the facility, our Chaplain provided telehealth visits via phone or video.
When we are notified of unaffiliated patients in hospitals outside of San Francisco that are in need of support, we do our best to find a volunteer Rabbi or Chaplain that can visit; however, we cannot guarantee this service.
San Francisco Jewish Chaplaincy Program
Our Chaplain served unaffiliated Jewish hospital patients in San Francisco who needed acute spiritual and pastoral care.
The Northern California Board of Rabbis’ Jewish Chaplaincy Program filled a need for Jewish hospital patients who were unaffiliated with a synagogue, and who needed spiritual care. This program was supervised by Rabbi Jill Zimmerman, Executive Director, with support from Rabbi Chaya Gusfield, Palliative Care Interfaith Chaplain and Spiritual Director, and Rabbi Eric Weiss, Executive Director Emeritus of the Bay Area Jewish Healing Center. Their years of experience provide excellent professional guidance for this program.
As of the end of May 2026, our Jewish Chaplaincy Program will conclude. If you (or a patient) is a member of a synagogue, please call your clergy office. If you are not a member, we will be referring all request for pastoral care and chaplaincy services to one of our rabbis who has offered to assist when he has availability. We will be happy to pass your request on to him and he will get back to you. Our main office number is: 408-550-6565. Please note that we have limited office hours. You may leave a message and we will return your call.
You may also want to review some of the resources below to see if they can be of any assistance to you, especially our Community Resources.
We appreciate Mount Zion Health Fund for providing us with our anchor grant that allowed us to create this program. We also acknowledge the support of the Jewish Federation Bay Area.
Our Program Supported These Hospitals:
- California Pacific Medical Center Davies Campus
- California Pacific Medical Center Mission Bernal Campus
- California Pacific Medical Center Van Ness Campus
- Kaiser Permanente San Francisco Medical Center
- San Francisco VA Medical Center
- University of California San Francisco Health Saint Francis Hospital
- University of California San Francisco Health Saint Mary’s Hospital
- University of California San Francisco Helen Diller Medical Center at Parnassus Heights
- University of California San Francisco Medical Center at Mission Bay
- University of California San Francisco Medical Center at Mount Zion
- Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center
Torah ReflectionsTM
These are short commentaries and reflection prompts based on the Hebrew scriptural reading cycle and themes from the Jewish holidays. They are written by people immersed in the worlds of illness and healing.
Healing Prayers
These prayers are shared for those that are looking for guidance during times of illness and grief.
Community Resources
These resources are shared for those who are in need of support and are looking for community resources that might be able to assist them or their loved ones.
For Patients & Their Loved Ones
This area was specifically created to support patients and their loved ones during their illness and/or grief.
