Jewish Healing Resources

Jewish Healing Resources

The Northern California Board of Rabbis does not necessarily endorse any of these sites listed, we merely share them as a resource to the community.

Bereavement Support:

• Center for Living with Dying
• Contra Costa Crisis Center
• Dancing at the Pity Party – a graphic novel for teens and young adults
• Hospice by the Bay
• Joan Monheit, LCSW, Grief Counseling
• KARA
• Mission Hospice and Home Care
• Pathways Hospice
• Shiva Circle: A digital platform that fosters a community of support to enable mourners to sit shiva.
• Sinai Mourner Care Program: The Sinai Mourner Care Program provides assessment, support, basic grief aftercare, and linkage to appropriate healing opportunities for Sinai Memorial Chapel clients.
• Sitting Shiva – an illustrated children’s book
• Sutter VNA

Caregiver Resources:

• National Alliance of Caregiving: National Alliance for Caregiving serves both family and professional caregivers. The “family care resource/ AXA” has an excellent annotated list of resources for caregivers.
• National Family Caregivers Association: The National Family Caregivers Association educates, supports, empowers and speaks up for the more those who care for loved ones with a chronic illness or disability or the frailties of old age.

Funeral Resources & End of Life Training:

• Gamliel Institute; Provides assistance, training, and resources about Jewish death and bereavement practice for chevra kadisha groups and bereavement committees in synagogues and communities throughout the U.S. and Canada. Offers a comprehensive articulated certification program to deal with all the issues surrounding the end of life from a Jewish perspective.
• Kavod v’Nichum: Kavod v’Nichum encourages and assists the organization of bereavement committees and Chevrot Kadisha in synagogues and communities so that they can perform Jewish funeral, burial, and mourning mitzvot; protect and shield bereaved families from exploitation; and provide information, education and technical assistance.
• King’s University College: King’s University College offers courses in Death and Bereavement. Certificate program in Grief and Bereavement Studies are available by distance (e-mail) education.In addition to nineteen international conferences on Death, Dying and Bereavement, Kings University hosts annual meetings of the International Work Group on Death, Dying and Bereavement as well as that of the Association for Death Education and Counseling. Audiotapes and videotapes from these conferences are available.
• Shomer Collective: Provides resources to allow for proactive planning and robust support systems for end-of-life moments.
• Sinai Memorial Chapel: Jewish funeral home serving the San Francisco Bay Area. Also offers grief counseling services through NextSteps and grief information and referral.

Healing Partners:

• Rhoda Goldman Plaza: Assisted living facility for older adults. RGP offers health services with an emphasis on prevention. Has a wellness centers on every floor, a dedicated memory care center and specialized exercise programs.
• San Francisco Campus for Jewish Living: A key partner for the Kol Haneshama End-of-Life Volunteer Program. This is a nonprofit, licensed skilled nursing center specializing in care, services, and programs for older adults. Admission is not limited by religious or cultural affiliation.
• Sequoia Living: Formerly the Northern California Presbyterian Homes and Services, Sequoia Living provides stimulating, joyful living environments and services to enrich the lives of older adults from all economic backgrounds. Through their diverse network, they also provide services to seniors through their Community Services Outreach programs that bring volunteers into their 14 communities.
• Shalom Bayit: Bay Area women working to end domestic violence
• The Zen Hospice Project: Provides a final home for people who are not able to die in their own homes, trains and supports people as they serve those needing care, and offers grief support services. They have education workshops, trainings, and consulting services which teach people how to manage the challenges of aging, dying, and caregiving.

Hospice Agencies:

• Heartland Hospice
• Hospice by the Bay
• Mission Hospice and Home Care
• Pathways Hospice
• Sutter VNA
• Zen Hospice Project

Hospital Chaplaincy Services:

• Jewish End-of-Life Doulas
• Kaiser Permanente (East Bay)
• Marin General
• San Francisco Hospitals Jewish Chaplaincy Program
• Seton Medical Center
• Stanford Hospital
• UCSF

Jewish Healing Textual Resources:

• Azamra: Torah for our Time: Has a large selection of book and on line material on spiritual healing, and support resources with some material on health for kids.
• Clal: The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership; If you go to the Jewish tools section and then to the healing/archive you will find 10 ritual/meditations related to loss and illness. They are accessible and creative, yet mainstream types of materials.
• Jewish Lights Publishing: Jewish Lights Publishing publishes books that reflect the Jewish wisdom tradition for people of all faiths, all backgrounds. Find a broad array of books on Jewish healing, spirituality and pastoral care. Also available through Jewish Lights is Lifelights — inspirational, informational booklets about challenges to our emotional and spiritual lives and how to deal with them.
• The Kalsman Institute on Judaism and Health: The Kalsman Institute on Judaism and Health helps with the pastoral training of Reform klei kodesh, deals broadly with issues of illness and wellness, and sponsors a variety of conferences and other services. The “expressions” section offers kavanot and other material.
• Ritualwell: Presented by Ma’yan and Kolot: The Center for Jewish Women’s and Gender Study, focuses on women’s life cycle and other issues. While it is not oriented to physical illness, there is a healing section with rituals related to healing from abuse and mastectomy, as well as some other generic material. There is also material for various stages in women’s biological life cycle.

Medical Ethics and Palliative Care Resources:

• Georgetown University: The university houses the Kampelman Collection of Jewish Ethics, which has one of the most complete libraries of books on Biomedical ethics.

Mental Illness:

• National Alliance on Mental Illness: NAMI provides information, education, support, and advocacy for professionals and those whose lives have been touched by mental illness.

Spiritual Retreat Centers:

• AriYael Jewish Healing Center: Provides support for individuals and families responding to illness, loss, and all life transitions. They provide a wide array of healing programs, support groups and classes to the East Bay Jewish community.
• Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center: Has information about its Jewish spiritual retreats and programs that may complement the work of healing centers. It also has a useful section of links.
• Mourning Collective: Provides supportive experiences to help you transform grief.