JBFCS: Rita J. Kaplan Jewish Connections Programs

Rita J. Kaplan Jewish Connections Programs of the Jewish Board of Family and Children's Services

We encourage the use of the materials on these pages, please contact us for more information about the programs or for proper attribution of cited materials.

Materials marked with the hamsa are geared towards professionals.

Bereavement: Suggestions from Bereaved Parents: Ten 'Commandments' for the Community; "Is not my own sorrow enough for me...?" The Five Disciples Seek to Console Rabbi Johanan ben Zakkai

Caregiving: A Prayer for Parenting
An original prayer for Jewish parents to say, in celebrating the joys and navigating the challenges of parenthood.; Caring For Parents When Roles Reverse: Coping Through Knowledge
Curriculum outline of group workshop for adult children who are ensuring care or providing care for their elderly parent(s)

Community: Hope, Despair, and Self-Care
Excerpt from a curriculum for Jewish Psycho-educational and Psycho-social settings; Jewish Family Life Education Workshops
Examples of course listings with descriptions; Jews Supporting Jews: Some Sources for Reflection or Discussion
Jewish sources for reflection or discussion pertaining to Jews helping other Jews.; Synagogue-based Adult Education Programs
Examples of programs with descriptions; To My Dear Mishkon Camper
A touching letter from a volunteer camp counselor to a special-needs child she cares for.

Economic Downturn: Hanukkah in a Time of Economic Decline
Thoughts and texts for clergy helping members of the community.; Gratitude/Thanksgiving in Times of Economic Crisis
Some Thoughts and Texts for Clergy Helping Members of the Community; Coping with Unemployment Stress
Brief overview of some helpful self-questioning themes; Fullness and Vulnerability: A Gathering in the Sukkah During Rough Economic Times
Outline of a Potential 45-60 Minute Program.; Prayer for Parnassah/Livelihood
This prayer appears in different forms in traditional prayer books, often at, or after, the conclusion of weekday morning prayer services.; Prayer for Sustenance (Parnassah)
This Tekhinah, or "Women's Prayer," is translated from the Yiddish and included in Techinah: Prayers and Religious Duties for the Daughters of Israel, a collection edited by Rabbi Simon Glazer (Hebrew Publication Company, 1930, pages 106-8). It highlights many issues common to any economic crisis situation - an awareness of dependence, the need for mutual support, psychospiritual challenges, the impact on family relationships, and more.; Some Jewish Sources about Sustenance/Parnassah
Quotes and guiding questions from a variety of Jewish sources about sustenance.; Tekhineh for When One's Husband is Away Seeking to Earn a Living
A Tekhineh, or "Women's Prayer," with themes about the need for protection and guidance; the fear of humiliation, dependence and mistreatment; the fear of judgment; the desire to strengthen the spirits of children; the identification with others who are downtrodden and oppressed.; Traditional Daily Prayers for Parnassah/Sustenance/Livelihood
In our daily prayers, concerns about livelihood/sustenance appear in a number of places and ways, including in the Amidah, the grace after meals, weekday morning services, the Ashrei, and the Shabbat before the New Moon.

Health and Wellness: Some Jewish Quotes From Over the Centuries Related to Bodily Health; 10 Healing Activities in Nature, with Lines from Psalms/Tehillim as Kavvanot
Suggested activities, paired with a line from the Book of Psalms that one can say before, during or after, as a way of dedicating the experience to healing, growth, or insight.

Holidays and Healing: Blessing for Tu B'Shevat, on the Birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.; Cycle of Jewish Time and Healing
Keynote talk by Rabbi Amy Eilberg at The National Center for Jewish Healing 2003 Conference; Hanukkah: Lights in the Darkness
2008 Hanukkah resources for healing.; Lessons from Hanukah as the End of Life Nears
A thoughtful perspective from Rabbi Stephanie Dickstein, LMSW.; Passover: Out of the Narrow Straits
Resources and reflections on freedom and healing.; Tisha b’Av: The Communal and Personal Experience of Loss and the Journey Towards Tshuva
Reflections on Tisha B'av.; Towards Hope and Healing, A Havdallah for September 11, 2004
Instructions for a Havdallah ritual incorporating the profound feelings and prayers evoked by September 11th

About Jewish Connections Programs: For Your Information & Inspiration
Vol.3 Issue 1. A Special Issue on the Programs of Jewish Connections: The Jewish Health, Healing and Recovery Network

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Phone: (212) 399-2685 · Fax: (212) 399-2475 ·