R’fuah/Healing by Allen Sherman
I have always prided myself in not letting a few aches and pains slow me down. I spend as much time as possible with kids. My own two need me (almost as much as I need them), as do the kids I coach at little league (almost I much as I need them), and there’s […]
R’fuah/Healing by Courtney Rosenthal
My days are surrounded by sounds. The rhythmic beeping of machines, the puff-and-blow of ventilators, and the urgent ringing of alarms. I am a trauma nurse, and I have the privilege of helping people fight for their lives. I live in the liminal space between death and recovery. My days are surrounded by sounds: squeaking […]
R’fuah/Healing by Michael Norman
The scene: Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, 1966-67. I was senior pediatric resident on the cancer unit, run by a well known but aggressive and abrasive oncologist whose chemotherapy saved some children, but at a terrible cost. Maran was 9 or 10, and her body was failing all treatment with terrible side effects. Her parents, supportive […]
R’fuah/Healing by Raizel Kahn
My triplet boys weren’t due until late September, but in early May 2007, I went into labor. I was only 20 weeks pregnant, and the prognosis was grim. Viability is 24 weeks, and even if we made it a few weeks past then, chances of long term complications were high. I laid in the hospital […]
Elul Continues with R’fuah (Healing) by Rabbi Dusty Klass
If Elul begins with ahavah – love, it continues with r’fuah – healing. When we allow ourselves to build relationships grounded in love, be it pure unadulterated love, complicated nuanced love, or commanded and authentic love, we open ourselves up to the possibility of healing. We are all in need of healing, and we all […]
A Message from Rabbi Knight: How can we help the victims of Hurricane Harvey?
Dear Friends, If you are like me, you have read or watched the news about the unprecedented disaster developing in Texas. I have been in regular contact with colleagues, friends, and Jewish leaders in Houston and the areas affected by Hurricane Harvey. A few rabbis have lost their homes from flooding. We know of one […]
Stripes, Not Squares by Cantor Mary Rebecca Thomas
When I was a child, I often thought about infinity. I remember spending time imagining the vastness of the universe, of time and space, and my place within it as both infinitesimal, while still being at the center of my very own story. It was not until I grew older that my sense of life […]
Ahavah/Love by Howard Olshansky
We don’t often think of it in this way, but the Hebrew word Ahava has its roots in the concept of giving…giving at an intense level. And indeed, that is what love is really about. At our best, we show love by giving of ourselves at a level in which we put another first. The […]
Ahavah/Love by Sue Worrel
I love my husband. And my children. I love my job, and M&M’s, and blue hydrangeas. And shoes – I really love shoes. Love. Such a casual, every-day word. We banter it about easily enough, often overlooking the gravitas, the exceptionality, the rarity of the word. Many of us approach the High Holy Days the […]
