Episodes
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Learn more about Jewish burial customs as members of the Queens Chevra Kadisha - an organization of Jewish men and women who prepare the bodies of deceased Jews for burial according to Jewish tradition - prepare a body for burial in a local funeral home. Then visit Ed Bixby’s green burial cemetery and nature preserve and learn more about the growing trend of green funerals and how they cross over with Jewish traditions.
Produced and Edited by Lisa M. Gray
Produced by Jon Kalish
Additional Production by Kevin Huffman and Randy Scott Carroll
Music by Brett Higgins’ Atlas Revolt and Sandcatchers. Courtesy of Chant Records.
Ed Bixby, Director (President), is the owner and operator of Steelmantown Green Burial Preserve in Steelmantown, NJ, as well as Purissima Natural Burial Ground in Half Moon Bay, CA. Director of the Green Burial Council.
Additional Information and Resources:
Jewish Death & Mourning 101, Myjewishlearning.com
Jewish Mourning FAQ, Myjewishlearning.com
Video: Why Do Jews Put Stones on Graves?, Myjewishlearning.com
How to Make a Shiva Call, Myjewishlearning.com
How Jewish Burials are Actually Green Burials Too, Reformjudaism.org
Green Burial Council
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How do you speak to a loved one who is nearing death? What do you say when a terminally ill patient or family member asks “Why?” How do you plan for your own version of “A Good End?” Rabbis, chaplains, a bereavement counselor, a social worker, and a teenager share their stories and they lessons they’ve learned.
Produced and Edited by Lisa M. Gray
Produced by Jon Kalish
Additional Production by Kevin Huffman and Ang Santos
Music by Brett Higgins’ Atlas Revolt and Midwood. Courtesy of Chant Records
Rabbi Richard Address, Founder and Director of Jewish Sacred Aging.
Charla Burton, Creative Arts Therapy Clinical Training Program Coordinator, MJHS Hospice & Palliative CareJulie Lerner, Psychologist/Bereavement Coordinator at MJHS Hospice and Palliative Care, Jacob Perlow Hospice.
Rabbi Ronit Tsadok, Associate Rabbi/Director of Community Learning, ikar
Rabbi Jason Weiner, Senior Rabbi and Director of the Spiritual Care Department, Cedars-Sinai.
Dr. Jessica Nutik Zitter, MD, MPH, is a national advocate for transforming the way people die in America.
Sasha Zitter
Lois Perelson Gross, Instructor & Facilitator, What Matters: Caring Conversations About the End of LifeAdditional Information and Resources:
Why Jews Need to Talk About Death, Myjewishlearning.com
The Surprising Connection Between Childbirth & Death, Kveller.com
End of Life Care in the Bible: What We Can Learn from Jacob, Moses & Sarah’s Final Moments, Myjewishlearning.com
Jewish Sacred Aging
What Matters: Caring Conversations About End of Life
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Missing episodes?
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What does Judaism have to say about the right to die? A majority of traditional and contemporary Jewish sources prohibit assisted suicide as well as passive euthanasia - i.e. withholding care. Learn how rabbis, hospital chaplains, and doctors help patients accept the realities of their illnesses and find peace in their final days.
Produced and Edited by Lisa M. Gray
Produced by Jon Kalish
Additional Production by Kevin Huffman and Ang Santos
Music by Brett Higgins’ Atlas Revolt and Midwood. Courtesy of Chant Records.
Rabbi Charles Rudansky, Director of Pastoral Care, MJHS Hospice and Palliative Care
Rabbi Jason Weiner, Senior Rabbi and Director of the Spiritual Care Department, Cedars-Sinai.
Dr. Jessica Nutik Zitter, MD, MPH, is a national advocate for transforming the way people die in America.
Additional Information and Resources:
Does Judaism Believe in the Right to Die?, Myjewishlearning.com
Jewish Perspectives on End of Life Care, Myjewishlearning.com
When I Realized My Dad Didn’t Want to Get Better, Kveller.com
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Many people believe that hospice is about helping someone die. Hospice care providers will tell you that it is actually about helping someone live. Music therapy provides hospice patients and their families with social, spiritual, and emotional support and has been proven to help decrease pain perception. Listen to music therapist, Meredith Ferrel’s home visit with Albert, a hospice patient with lymphoma, and to the music they create together.
Produced and Edited by Lisa M. Gray
Produced by Jon Kalish
Additional Production by Kevin Huffman and Ang Santos
Music by Eyal Talmudi Quintet, Jessica Lurie, John Lee, and Koby Israelite. Courtesy of Chant Records.
Albert Young
Toby Weiss, Director of Cultural Sensitivity and Jewish Programming for MJHS Hospice and Palliative Care
Charla Burton, MMT, LCAT, MT-BC Music Therapist, Creative Arts Therapy Program MJHS Hospice and Palliative Care
Meredith Ferrel, MA, LCAT, MT-BC Music Therapist, Creative Arts Therapy Program MJHS Hospice and Palliative Care
Additional Information and Resources:
Bringing Joy and Therapy to Hospice Patients Through Jewish Music , JTA.com
9 Tips for Visiting Someone in Hospice, Kveller.com
The Surprising Thing That Helped My Mom Live Longer Than Anyone Thought She Would, Kveller.com
Judaism, Hospice & Palliative Care: Questions & Answers, MyJewishlearning.com
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The Jewish values of prolonging life, but not prolonging suffering come face to face with modern technologies such as artificial nutrition, hydration, and intubation. In this episode, a rabbi, doctor, social worker, and biomedical ethicist discuss the ways they help patients and families navigate the difficult issues that arise toward the end of life.
Produced and Edited by Lisa M. Gray
Produced by Jon Kalish
Additional Production by Kevin Huffman and Karen Michel
Music by Eyal Talmudi Quintet, Jessica Lurie, Brett Higgins’ Atlas Revolt, John Lee, Sandcatchers, and The Modulators. Courtesy of Chant Records
Rabbi Jason Weiner, Senior Rabbi and Director of the Spiritual Care Department, Cedars-Sinai.
Ira Bedzow, Ph.D., Director of the Biomedical Ethics and Humanities Program at New York Medical College. Senior Scholar, The Aspen Center for Social Values
Adam Schoenfarber, Social Worker Manager with MJHS Hospice and Palliative Care.
Dr. Jessica Nutik Zitter, MD, MPH, is a national advocate for transforming the way people die in America.
Additional Information and Resources:
Jewish Perspectives on End of Life Care, Myjewishlearning.com
Must-Know Words & Phrases Related to End of Life Care, MyJeiwshlearning.com
Judaism, Hospice & Palliative Care: Questions & Answers, MyJewishlearning.com
My Feelings About Organ Donation Were Complicated, Until This Happened, Kveller.com
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No one wants to think about their own death - or the death of a loved one, but these experiences can be meaningful and even life-affirming. Rabbi Joy Levitt shares the experience of discussing end-of-life care planning with her 90-year-old mother and the surprising and touching discoveries she made along the way. Learn how initiatives like Jewish Sacred Aging and What Matters are equipping baby boomers and members of the sandwich generation with the courage, vocabulary, and knowledge needed to have these important conversations with their loved ones
Produced and Edited by Lisa M. Gray
Produced by Jon Kalish
Additional Production by Kevin Huffman and Ang Santos
Music by Brett Higgins’ Atlas Revolt, Midwood, and Sandcatchers. Courtesy of Chant RecordsIra Bedzow, Ph.D., Director of the Biomedical Ethics and Humanities Program at New York Medical College. Senior Scholar, The Aspen Center for Social Values
Rabbi Richard Address, Founder and Director of Jewish Sacred Aging.
Lois Perelson-Gross
Sally Kaplan, Program Director, What Matters: Caring Conversations About End of Life, Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan
Rabbi Joy Levitt, Executive Director, Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan
Additional Information and Resources:Why Jews Need to Talk About Death, MyJewishLearning.com
How to Talk to Your Loved Ones About Your End of Life Wishes, MyJewishLearning.com
Jewish Perspectives on End of Life Care, MyJewishLearning.com
If I’m Ever in a Coma, Please Thread My Eyebrows, Kveller.com
Jewish Sacred Aging
What Matters: Caring Conversations About End of Life
UJA-Federation of New York
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Getting adults to talk about death is difficult. So, what if we started sooner? Some schools are beginning to include Death Education as part of their curriculum. Sasha Zitter relates her experience with Death Ed alongside her high school peers. Learn how initiatives like Death Over Dinner and Death Over Dinner Jewish Edition are getting Baby Boomers, Gen X-ers, and Millenials to discuss death in carefully crafted, intimate group settings.
Produced and Edited by Lisa M. Gray
Produced by Jon Kalish
Additional Production by Kevin Huffman and Ang Santos
Music by Eyal Talmudi Quintet, Jessica Lurie, Brett Higgins’ Atlas Revolt, and John Lee. Courtesy of Chant Records.Rabbi Ronit Tsadok, Associate Rabbi/Director of Community Learning, Ikar
Rochelle Friedlich, Participant, Death Over Dinner: Jewish Edition
Sarah Robinson, Participant, Death Over Dinner: Jewish Edition
Sasha Zitter
Dr. Jessica Nutik Zitter, MD, MPH, is a national advocate for transforming the way people die in America.
Additional Information and Resources:
Talking About Death Over Dinner With Strangers, MyJewishLearning.com
Why Jews Need to Talk About Death, MyJewishLearning.com
How to Talk to Your Loved Ones About Your End of Life Wishes, MyJewishLearning.com
Jewish Perspectives on End of Life Care, MyJewishLearning.com
"First, Sex Ed. Then Death Ed." By Jessica Nutik Zitter. New York Times. February 18, 2017.
"Doctor Takes Death Education to High School Classrooms," NPR. February 25, 2017. -
A new Jewish conversation around death and dying in the 21st century.
