Exit Strategy
What’s one thing we’re all good at? How about not talking — or even thinking — about end-of-life issues.
Episodes
Living through or witnessing devastation and loss — such as that caused by fires in Los Angeles, or war in Israel — generates levels of stress, trauma and grief. Embracing and practicing hope and resilience is critical for our emotional and physical health, says Dr. Eva Selhub — a prominent expert and writer on human […]
The post Facing Challenge, the Power of Resilience appeared first on Plaza Jewish Community Chapel.
End-of-life conversations and practices are increasingly emergent in the Jewish community, as communal entities bring attention to the value and beauty of deeply rooted Jewish thought and tradition surrounding death. Kavod v’Nichum (Hebrew for “Honor and Comfort”) is creating and empowering Chevra Kadisha — sacred communities that care for the deceased and comfort the living. […]
In his new and widely acclaimed book — “For Such a Time as This: On Being Jewish Today” — Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove of Park Avenue Synagogue in NYC uses Jewish history and storytelling to frame the challenges facing the Jewish community post-Oct 7 … the individual and collective grief and sense of isolation … and […]
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A year after October 7, we are individually and collectively seeking a marker to frame our grief and our trauma, but is that even possible? “The difficulty of commemorating October 7 is that we’re still in the middle of it … you can’t look back with a sense of completion,” says Rabbi Donald Goor, Rabbi […]
The post October 7: Marking a Year, and Embracing Hope appeared first on Plaza Jewish Community Chapel.
Monuments are the types of memorials — headstones, footstones, markers and more — we place at a loved one’s final resting place, and honor a life. So what are our choices? How creative can we be with design? When should we start to think about a monument, and what about maintaining it over time? Adam […]
The post From Headstones to Footstones: Marking and Honoring a Life appeared first on Plaza Jewish Community Chapel.
Can universal principles of spirituality join with classic psychotherapy and other modes of western medicine to help us navigate our journeys and their challenges? Anna Yusim, MD, a Stanford and Yale educated and board certified psychiatrist and executive coach, has moved the holistic approach forward in practice and in myriad writings, including her recent book, […]
The post Embracing Spirituality on the Road of Life appeared firs...
Jewish not-for-profit funeral chapels are making impact not only as service providers, but also as educators, conveners and community builders in an evolving Jewish landscape. Plaza Jewish Community Chapel in New York City and Sinai Memorial Chapel in San Francisco are leaders of this unique and impactful model — here discussed by Stephanie Garry, Exit […]
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Tony Award winning actor Miriam Silverman lost her mother, Anita, during a pre-Broadway run of the hit play The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window just last year. Her father’s insistence that she stay committed to the play — along with her love for her craft — propelled her forward in a role, on a stage, […]
The post Grieving, an Actor Finds Anchor on the Stage appeared first on Plaza Jewish Community Chapel.
A current off-Broadway production, October 7: In Their Own Words, dramatizes the verbatim testimonies of Israelis from that and following days, revealing raw expressions and interpretations of trauma and grief … and also resilience. Director Geoffrey Cantor joins Exit Strategy Host Stephanie Garry to discuss this groundbreaking, original play … and how live theatre provides […]
Come Memorial Day, we will honor US military personnel who died while serving … and be mindful of our veterans and those among them we’ve lost. Edward Yarmus — a licensed funeral director at Plaza Jewish Community Chapel — is a US Air Force veteran himself. He speaks with Exit Strategy Host Stephanie Garry about […]
The post Honoring Those Who Served, at End of Life appeared first on Plaza Jewish Community Chapel.
She spends her professional life elevating conversations about death and loss — including as host of this podcast series. But when her own mother — Eileen — died in February, Stephanie Garry was thrust into the journey of mourning and grief herself, gaining new and greater perspective through the lens of her own family. In this special […]
The post And Now, My Own Loss and Grief appeared first on Plaza Jewish Community Chapel.
In January, New England and national radio and podcast personality Jordan Rich went public with his recent diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease — modeling for us how uncertainty and grief surrounding a medical diagnosis can evolve into a purposeful, expansive and uplifting resilience. Jordan speaks about his journey with Exit Strategy Host Stephanie Garry as we […]
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On the 23rd anniversary of Plaza Jewish Community Chapel’s 2001 opening, Exit Strategy host Stephanie Garry welcomes Rachel Schnoll, CEO of the Jewish Communal Fund — one of Plaza’s founding funders, whose support allowed Plaza to open its doors to serve the Jewish community and to elevate end-of-life conversations and issues. In this wide-ranging talk, […]
The post Building and Leaving a Legacy of Jewish Giving appeared first on P...
New York’s first Reform Chevra Kaddisha (“holy society”) is introducing sacred end-of-life practices to a wider Jewish community, and elevating the mitzvah of caring for our dead. The Reform Chevra Kaddisha was established in 2023, and here its founders discuss its groundbreaking nature and its place and meaning within progressive Jewish communities and families. Speakers: […]
On October 7, Hayim Yeshurun Katsman, 32, was among the over 1,200 people tragically lost in the terrorist massacre in southern Israel. In the days, weeks and months since, Hayim’s mother — Hannah Wacholder Katsman — has journeyed through grief and mourning at once private and public. In this special episode, Exit Strategy Host Stephanie […]
The post An Israeli Mother, Her Son … and a Personal and Collective Loss appeared first on ...
As we begin 2024, Rabbi Gordon Tucker — Vice Chancellor for Religious Life and Engagement at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America — joins us for a wide-ranging conversation about the state and evolving place of end-of-life issues in our communal dialogue, and the imperative to advance it. Rabbi Tucker speaks with Exit Strategy Host […]
The post End-of-Life Conversations: A View from the Top appeared first on Plaza Jewish Comm...
After her 15-year-old son Joshua was tragically struck by a car and died in 2002, Nancy Rothstein discovered a deep inner strength that led her to an affirming view of her life and Joshua’s ever-inspiring and growing presence in it. Nancy is the author of Rising in the Mourning: Ways to Celebrate Life (2022), in […]
The post After a Son’s Death, Finding Meaning in Life appeared first on Plaza Jewish Community Chapel.
A loved one develops dementia, and she is there, but she isn’t. Or he is abducted, and may come back, or he might not. And so we experience “ambiguous loss,” a grey, unresolved state that presents unique challenges to our mental and emotional well being … and that must be recognized and respected. In this […]
The post Ambiguous Loss: What We Need to Know appeared first on Plaza Jewish Community Chapel.
We must all consider advanced age — for ourselves or our loved ones — and have conversations and make decisions leading to the best possible outcomes in later years. Hildy Sheinbaum, of H. Sheinbaum & Associates, is a registered nurse and geriatric nurse care manager who advises individuals and families on issues of care for […]
The post Advancing Age: What Should We be Thinking About? appeared first on Plaza Jewish Community Chape...
An estimated one in four women will suffer loss of a child during pregnancy or infancy, opening a well of grief and sorrow that touches parents, families and their wider circles. As Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month is now marked, Exit Strategy Host Stephanie Garry speaks with Perry-Lynn Moffitt — author of the influential […]
The post The Silent Sorrow of Pregnancy and Infant Loss appeared first on Plaza Jewish Community C...
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