Jewish Chaplains Research Articles

A Letter to My Friend and Chaplain Colleague Imam Sohaib Sultan, Zichrono Livracha (of Blessed Memory).

I am a Jewish chaplain and I felt moved to write this letter to my esteemed colleague Imam Sohaib Sultan, of blessed memory. Sohaib and I each experienced our first unit of Clinical Pastoral Education together as part of the same cohort in the summer of 2008. Sohaib died tragically in 2021. Here, I reflect on how we might respond to the current Israel-Hamas War.

American Jewish Chaplains: Adopting an American Form

This article represents the first field-wide treatment of American Jewish chaplains. As fewer Jews, like members of all religious backgrounds in the USA, are religiously affiliated and regularly join or participate in local congregations, Jews and other Americans will likely find ways to address their spiritual–religious needs outside of congregational life, in settings such as hospitals, military, universities, elder care, and other settings where “life happens.” Chaplains are religious professionals who work in these settings. While many people have done the work of chaplains—caring for others, attending to the dying, helping people engage with their spiritual–existential struggles—the evolution of those who consider themselves Jewish chaplains and their wrestling with the term chaplain, itself Christian, is at the center of the analyses offered here. We begin with a brief historical overview and then describe their work today. Our analysis is based on a series of historical and sociological inquiries carried out in 2021–2022. In the face of largely Protestant norms and expectations that shaped chaplaincy, American Jews—who made up the first non-Christian clergy to become chaplains in state and private settings—have engaged with and shifted the concept of chaplaincy and the training required to be eligible for these positions. The case of Jewish chaplains illuminates ways of navigating the seams of Jewishness in American life.

A Religious History of the American GI in World War II by G. Kurt Piehler

Reviewed by: A Religious History of the American GI in World War II by G. Kurt Piehler John Hannah A Religious History of the American GI in World War II. By G. Kurt Piehler. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2021. xv + 393 pp. A military chaplain must be able to listen carefully to members of his uniformed congregation regardless of their particular faith, their level of piety, or even lack thereof. G. Kurt Piehler models that skill very ably as he chronicles hundreds of oral histories from World War II. This book will enlighten anyone interested in what real GIs and real chaplains were thinking as they served their nation around the world. GI stands for "Government Issue" and is any soldier, marine, sailor, or airman. Piehler conveniently organizes his collection of quotations and anecdotes. He begins with President Roosevelt's effort to mobilize the nation for war by reference to religion. Next is the unprecedented [End Page 228] raising of twenty thousand volunteer chaplains from civilian clergy of America and the building of multi-faith chapels. He then covers all circumstances and conditions that chaplains and GIs faced: basic training, foreign deployment, ethical challenges, fear, wounds, dying, imprisonment, and dealing with former enemies following surrender. One chapter discusses race relations and another chapter concerns uniformed women. Segregation and patriarchy were the order of the day. President Truman's order to integrate the services would not come until 1948. Piehler believes that the GIs of World War II provided the prelude to the religious revival of the 1950s. He also believes that the pluralism and tolerance exercised by the chaplains then formed a foundation for American civil religion. On many occasions a chaplain substituted for an absent chaplain of a different faith, reinforcing acceptance of pluralism and tolerance. The Navy chaplaincy developed the widely accepted motto: "Cooperation without compromise." Serious piety was not universal and unanimous. Nor was facile pluralism. Piehler adduces quotations disputing any illusion of unanimity. Atheists and agnostics were not afraid to dissent. The practice of pluralism and tolerance was not perfect. Tensions between some elements arose. For example, some Roman Catholics were afraid that Protestant chaplains were proselytizing their flock. Likewise, many Protestants believed that Roman Catholic chaplains were favored, especially in the army where the chief of chaplains was Roman Catholic. Orthodox Jews were suspicious of Reform Jewish chaplains who seemed to predominate in the military rabbinate. Fundamentalist church bodies felt that the accession system was rigged against them due to education requirements. The general Protestant services were not satisfying to all. Latter Day Saints (Mormons) frequently held separate services. Although not mentioned by Piehler, Lutheran and Episcopalian chaplains often held supplementary eucharistic services for their respective coreligionists. Only a few Lutherans are quoted by Piehler. No specifically Lutheran archive appears in the lengthy bibliography, although it includes the official account of Army chaplains, "Report of the Army Chaplain in the European Theater" compiled by a team led [End Page 229] by Lutheran chaplain, Arthur Carl Piepkorn. Had Piehler included more quotations from Lutheran chaplains, they would likely have differed little from the range of attitudes among other chaplains. However, Lutheran chaplains typically served dual roles. In addition to serving as unit chaplains for all GIs and presiding at general Protestant services, they conducted Lutheran eucharistic celebrations for Lutheran GIs, embracing pluralism while upholding the integrity of Lutheran pastoral practice. Piehler notes that General Marshall, President Roosevelt's Army Chief of Staff, and other high officials held Roman Catholic chaplains in higher respect than their Protestant counterparts (306–08). Further research would find that Lutheran chaplains of the era were regarded with respect equal to Roman Catholics. Many, like Piepkorn, Storaasli, Scharlemann, Reiss, and Dreith, were promoted and assigned to the staffs of very senior commanders. All in all, this book is an excellent treatment of the character and religiosity of the Americans who served in World War II (the "greatest generation"). Like Ernie Pyle's cartoons from the front, Piehler paints a portrait of GIs who were displaced and under duress. We remember them for their valor. John Hannah U.S. Army Chaplain (Retired) The Bronx, New York Copyright © 2023 Johns Hopkins University Press...

“If all of the sky were paper”: the Jewish chaplains at Bergen Belsen concentration camp. Part 2

“If all of the sky were paper”: the Jewish chaplains at Bergen Belsen concentration camp. Part 2

5. L’Aumônerie générale des israélites de France, la préservation des rites funéraires et l’entretien des cimetières des Juifs morts dans les camps d’internement français, 1940-1944

The Law of October 4, 1940 regarding “foreign nationals of the Jewish race” authorized the imminent internment of foreign Jews in France. The internment camps were quickly filled up. In February 1941, 40,000 Jews were confined to the internment camps in the Free Zone. Jewish chaplains, who had just been demobilized from the French military, were the first people authorized to enter the camps to assist the prisoners. The first chaplains joined in June 1940, even before the official establishment of the Aumônerie générale des israélites de France (Jewish Chaplaincy). Throughout the war, chaplains assumed numerous and varied roles covering spiritual aid, material assistance, rescue, and resistance. However, the Vichy government only authorized them to act in a religious capacity. The official responsibilities of the Jewish Chaplaincy consisted of providing spiritual support to the prisoners, organizing religious services, and overseeing religious rites within the camps. The difficult sanitary conditions, overcrowded barracks, and spread of disease led to the deaths of 3,000 Jews in the internment camps in France. The elderly population, especially in the Gurs camp, was particularly vulnerable. In this camp alone, 1,000 deaths were recorded. Respect for funeral rites became a concern for the Jewish Chaplaincy throughout the war. Chaplains worked hard to protect this basic right despite the many obstacles standing in their way.As part of a larger study of the efforts of the Jewish Chaplaincy in southern France during World War II, this article focuses specifically on the role of chaplains with respect to the burial rites of Jews who died in French internment camps between 1940-1944. Their efforts went beyond performing funeral rites, as they also worked to establish cemeteries and provide grave markers in accordance with Judaism. Moreover, when the camps closed, the chaplains became concerned about the fate of the abandoned cemeteries and helped maintain these burial sites.By relying on archival documents, especially the abundant correspondence of the chaplains (with each other, with Catholic and Protestant religious leaders, with family members of the deceased, and with the Vichy authorities), this article demonstrates how important burials and the preservation of customs were to the chaplains throughout the war.

“If all of the sky were paper”: the Jewish chaplains at Bergen Belsen concentration camp. Part 1*

“If all of the sky were paper”: the Jewish chaplains at Bergen Belsen concentration camp. Part 1*

Dorothea Bohnekamp. De Weimar à Vichy: Les Juifs d’Allemagne en république, 1918–1940/44.

De Weimar à Vichy: Les Juifs d’Allemagne en république, 1918–1940/44 addresses a deceptively simple topic: the exile, in the 1930s, of tens of thousands of German Jews to France, and the very different experiences of French and German Jewry in these interwar republics. In both countries, Jewish citizens hoped the power of patriotic sacrifice in the First World War would lead to acceptance, and indeed these Jews fought (and died) in rather larger numbers than the general population. But, as Dorothea Bohnekamp deftly demonstrates, their postwar experience could not have been more different. In France, the story Bohnekamp tells is, briefly, an inspiring one. The victory in 1918, however compromised, was seen as the product of the Republic’s strength, and the patriotism of France’s Jews was a measure of that strength. To summarize this moment, she invokes the famous story of Rabbi Abraham Bloch, a Jewish chaplain who was killed in action, allegedly while praying for—indeed, holding a crucifix over—a wounded Catholic soldier. So powerful was this image that it touched even violent reactionaries such as Maurice Barrès. For France’s Jews, still stinging from the betrayal that was the Dreyfus Affair, the sense of redemption was profound. Even the narrowest corridors of the extreme Right had Jewish adherents and maintained respect for Jewish sacrifice during World War I, and this continued until their full Nazification after 1940.

A preliminary study examining chaplains' support for veterans at the end of life.

This descriptive study examines the involvement of professional chaplains in addressing loss of dignity, inconsequential life or not having a legacy, fear of burdensomeness, and fear of pain in veterans at the end of life. A convenience sample of Jewish chaplains responded to an online survey gauging their involvement in these areas. Results are presented descriptively. Most respondents stated either rarely (≤1 x month) or sometimes (≥1 x month) encountering veterans with end-of-life issues. Respondents reported varying degrees of involvement in supporting veterans at the end of life with respect to the aforementioned areas. As research into the end-of-life care needs of veterans continues to develop, recognising chaplains as a source of both spiritual and psychosocial support can serve as an opportunity for better meeting the needs of this population.

One Nation, Three Faiths: World War I and the Shaping of “Protestant-Catholic-Jewish” America

During World War I, American political, military, and religious leaders sought to foster the view that protestants, Catholics, and Jews were equal stakeholders in society. Crucial in shaping the embrace of this “tri-faith” ideal were leading members of all three traditions, who used their connections to the federal government to ensure that many facets of national life reflected this new conception of the nation's religious character. The military chaplaincy put these ideals into practice, and interfaith activity became commonplace in the army. Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish chaplains worked closely together, and provided pastoral care or offered religious rites to wounded and dying soldiers from different faith traditions. This article examines how the wartime break from political and social normality, the desire to project a particular image of the nation abroad, and Americans' firsthand encounter with religion in Europe all contributed to idealizations of the inclusive nature of American civil religion during World War I. Yet, as this essay demonstrates, the transitional nature of wartime culture and the strong role of the federal government in fostering these values prevented this outlook from firmly taking root. The experience did, however, provide a critical precedent for subsequent idealizations of a protestant-Catholic-Jewish nation.

Politics, faith, and the making of American Judaism

Politics, Faith, and the Making of American Judaism. By Peter Adams. (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2014. Pp. x, 207, notes, index. Paper, $70.00.)Varying degrees of crisis and response move Peter Adams's study of American Jewish political and religious development over the second half of the nineteenth century. While international emergencies bookend the work-ranging from the 1840 Damascus blood libel to turn-of-the-century persecution of eastern European Jews-episodic discrimination in America also receives much attention. Here Adams focuses on anti-Jewish expressions during the Civil War and in subsequent decades characterized as state-sanctioned limitations on their freedom imposed by military commanders or discreet-and not so discreet-discrimination in employment and public accommodations (p. 5). Some instances are familiar, such as depictions of Jewish merchants as wartime profiteers or Ulysses S. Grant's order expelling Jews from his military district. Others are less known like an early congressional law barring Jewish chaplains from army camps or hospitals. Postwar incidents include Jewish discrimination in employment and commercial insurance, exclusion from certain schools or social clubs, or refusal of Jewish patrons at the Grand Union and Manhattan Beach hotels. Ultimately, Adams argues, events at home and abroad taught American Jews an important and difficult lesson. The United States could be a welcoming haven for Jewish immigrants, but it could also pose social and political challenges all its own.Against this backdrop, Adams surveys a generation of American Jewish elites promoting security and acceptance in the United States. Isaac Leeser, Isaac Mayer Wise, Simon Wolf, Benjamin Franklin Peixotto, Jacob Schiff, Oscar Strauss, and Louis Marshall are just a few of the familiar-and noticeably male-intellectuals, religious leaders, philanthropists, and diplomats on whom the study centers. Despite these figures' varied affiliations, Adams argues that they shared a common goal to better integrate Jews into the nation's social and religious landscape. In this light he seeks to tie key nineteenth-century matters of Jewish faith and politics to broader efforts at Americanization. In the book's long view, the seminaries, congregational alliances, political skills, and networks that American Jews developed throughout the late nineteenth century represented both an outgrowth of contemporary posturing as much as an important foundation for robust-albeit factional-Jewish defense groups and denominationalism that would characterize the twentieth century. …

Role of the Chaplain on the Medical-Surgical Team

Although their role is often dismissed and frequently underestimated, professional chaplains play a crucial role in the psychological well-being of patients, family members, and hospital staff members; the physical health and surgical outcomes of patients; and the discussions between patients and family members when further surgical or medical care becomes futile. Chaplains have many duties on the health care team. First, and most important, they comprehensively assess and address the spiritual needs of patients from any religious background as well as the needs of patients with undefined or no spiritual beliefs. There are chaplains from within each of the major faith traditions (eg, Protestantism, Catholicism, Judaism, Hinduism, Islam) who may be better suited to meet the specific needs of patients in those faiths; however, given that only about one-half to two-thirds of hospitals have chaplains on staff, 1 nurses may not be able to choose a specific chaplain (ie, a Jewish chaplain for every Jewish patient, a Muslim chaplain for every Muslim patients). Chaplains also address the spiritual needs of

Chaplain with a Star of David: Reverend Leib Isaac Falk and the Jewish LegionsShlomit Keren is an associate professor at the Department of History and Director of the Israel Studies Programme at the University of Calgary. Michael Keren holds a Canada Research Chair in Communication, Culture and Civil Society at the University of Calgary and is visiting professor at Haifa

Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image size Notes 1. Eric J. Leed, No Man's Land: Combat and Identity in World War I, Cambridge, 1979, p. 204. 2. Michael Berkowitz, Western Jewry and the Zionist Project, 1914–1933, Cambridge, 1997. 3. Stuart A. Cohen, English Zionists and British Jews: The Communal Politics of Anglo-Jewry, 1895–1920, Princeton, NJ, 1982, p. 216. 4. Christopher M. Sterba, Good Americans: Italian and Jewish Immigrants During the First World War, New York, 2003. 5. Peter Simkins, Kitchener's Army: The Raising of the New Armies, 1914–16, Manchester, 1988. 6. The Jewish Chronicle, 25 December 1914. 7. Igal Elam, Hagdudim Ha'ivri'im Bemilhemet Ha'olam Harishona (The Jewish Legions in the First World War), Tel Aviv, 1984 (Hebrew); Zeev Jaostinsky, Megilat Hagdud (The Story of the Battalion), Tel Aviv, 1991 (Hebrew). 8. Martin Watts, The Jewish Legion and the First World War, New York, 2004. 9. See Michael Adler (ed.), British Jewry Book of Honour, London, 1922. 10. J.H. Patterson's letter to Col. John Wynne, 7 December 1917, Zahal Archive, Falk Private Papers. 11. J.H. Patterson, With the Judeans in the Palestine Campaign, New York, 1922. 12. War Cabinet Extracts 227 (3 September 1917), Jabotinsky Archive, Tel Aviv, Letters and memos, File 6-26. 13. Evening Standard, 12 September 1917. 14. Jonathan Hyman, ‘Jews in Britain during the Great War’, University of Manchester, Department of History, Working paper 51, October 2001. 15. Rev. L.A. Falk, ‘With the Jewish Battalions in Palestine: Memoirs of a Jewish Chaplain’, The Maccabean, 15 February 1929. 16. Michael Snape, God and the British Soldier: Religion and the British Army in the First and Second World War, London, 2005. 17. Doris L. Bergen, The Sword of the Lord: Military Chaplains from the First to the Twenty-First Century, Notre Dame, Indiana, 2004; Duff Crerar, Padres in No Man's Land: Canadian Chaplains and the Great War, Montreal, 1995. 18. On Jewish chaplains in the British army see British Jewry Book of Honour, and in the American army see Albert Isaac Slomovitz, The Fighting Rabbis: Jewish Military Chaplains and American History, New York, 1999. 19. The Maccabean, 15 February 1929. 20. L.I. Falk, Private papers, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF Archives), Tel-Hashomer, Israel. 21. Letter by Mrs Malkin, L.I. Falk, Private papers, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF Archives), Tel-Hashomer, Israelibid. 22. The Maccabean, 3 May 1929. 23. Richard Schweitzer, The Cross and the Trenches: Religious Faith and Doubt among British and American Great War Soldiers, Westport, CT, 2003, p. 47. 24. Robinson Memoirs, Legions House, Aviha'il, Israel, 38th Legion, file 2b, document 3. 25. H.D. Myer, Excerpts from Letters [of] H.D. Myer 1918–1919, Legions House Library, Aviha'il, Israel, p. 98. 26. The Maccabean, 22 March 1929. 27. The Maccabean, 8 March 1929. 28. The Maccabean, 22 March 1929. 29. The Maccabean, 5 April 1929. 30. The Maccabean, 5 April 1929 31. The Maccabean, 5 April 1929 32. The Maccabean, 26 April 1929. 33. Falk, Private papers 34. Falk, Private papers 35. Falk, Private papers 36. Falk, Private papers 37. Paul Fussell, The Great War and Modern Memory, London, 1975. 38. Clarence L. Abercrombie, The Military Chaplain, Beverly Hills, CA, 1977. 39. The Maccabean, 5 April 1929. 40. Falk, Private papers. 41. Letter by Professor Boris Schatz to Rabbi Falk, 7 Adar Beth, 1919, Falk Private papers. 42. ‘A Temple in the Wilderness: Bezalel in Jerusalem’, Israel Museum online publication, available at http://www.imj.org.il/eng/exhibitions/2006/schatz/bezalel_jerusalem.html 43. Abraham Isaac Kook, ‘The Significance of the Revival’, in Abraham Isaac Kook: The Lights of Penitence, the Moral Principles, Lights of Holiness, Essays, Letters, and Poems, Translated by Ben Zion Bokser, New York, 1978, p. 286. 44. Zvi Yaron, Mishnato Shel Harav Kook (The Philosophy of Rabbi Kook), Jerusalem, 1974 (Hebrew), p. 28. 45. Falk, Private papers. 46. Falk, Private papers 47. Paul Goodman, History of the Jews: Soldiers' and Sailors' Edition, London, 1917. 48. Falk, Private papers. 49. The Maccabean, 15 November 1929. 50. Megilat Hagdud, p. 133. 51. See Arthur Hertzberg, The Jews in America, New York, 1989; Gerald Tulchinsky, Taking Root: The Origins of the Canadian Jewish Community, Toronto, 1992. 52. The Maccabean, 22 February 1929, p. 12. 53. Falk, Private papers. 54. D. Gogol, ‘Bagdudim’ (In the Legions), Kuntres 2 (8 I'yar, 1919), pp. 35–37.

Achieving in-the-Moment Reconciliation

"Achieving in-the-Moment Reconciliation." Chaplaincy Today, 22(1), pp. 20–21 Additional informationNotes on contributorsDavid J. ZuckerRabbi David J. Zucker, PhD, BCJC, serves as rabbi/chaplain and director of spiritual-pastoral care and rehabilitation at Shalom Park, Aurora, CO. He is endorsed by the National Association of Jewish Chaplains.

Compassion Fatigue and Burnout among Rabbis Working as Chaplains

Compassion Fatigue, Compassion Satisfaction, and Burnout were studied in a convenience sample of 66 male and female Rabbis who work as chaplains and attended the annual conference of the National Association of Jewish Chaplains (NAJC) in 2002. Although Compassion Fatigue and Burnout were low among the survey participants, both measures were significantly higher among the women in the sample. Compassion Fatigue was also higher among chaplains who were divorced, and it increased with the number of hours per week the chaplains spent working with trauma victims or their families (r = .25, p<.05). Hierarchical multiple regression was performed to determine the influence of six professional and five personal variables on each of the three dependent variables. Four professional variables accounted for 19.5% of the variation and three personal variables accounted for 20.3% of the variation in Compassion Fatigue. Attempts to predict Burnout and Compassion Satisfaction were far less successful. Burnout was predicted by only two variables (i.e. age and years as a Rabbi), which accounted for just 18.4% of the variance in Burnout scores. Age was the only variable found to have a significant effect on Compassion Satisfaction, and its effect was positive. The implications of the findings are discussed.

PsychoBible: Behavior, Religion, and the Holy Book

Back to table of contents Previous article Next article Book ReviewsFull AccessPsychoBible: Behavior, Religion, and the Holy BookSeth L. Bernstein, D.Min.Seth L. BernsteinSearch for more papers by this author, D.Min.Published Online:1 Nov 2005https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.56.11.1468-aAboutSectionsView EPUB ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack Citations ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InEmail Referring to the Torah, one talmudic rabbi commented, "Turn it, turn it, for everything is in it." What applies to the Torah might very well apply to the Bible. Armando Favazza, M.D., M.P.H., is most inclusive with his biblical topics. Under "Bible" in the index to PsychoBible: Behavior, Religion, and the Holy Book, there are 47 references covering topics as diverse as archaeology, faith healing, animals, homosexuality, feminism, and God's revelation. Although Favazza's wide embrace is stimulating, one is challenged to grasp exactly what the central organizing principle of PsychoBible happens to be.Favazza, best known for his book on self-mutilation and body modification, Bodies Under Siege, is professor of psychiatry at the University of Missouri-Columbia Medical School and past-president of the Missouri Psychiatric Society. Some of Favazza's psychiatric insights are outstanding. For example, he poses the question, if homosexuality is an "abomination" as it is described in Leviticus 18:22, then why doesn't society show its outrage with equal fervor about other biblical abominations, such as men's trimming of their beards or wearing garments made of a mixture of linen and wool?In addition, Favazza suggests that a person with a diagnosis of schizophrenia might find the imaginative images of the prophet Ezekiel most engaging, whereas a person with a diagnosis of depression might be more prone to focus on the sadness of the words of the prophet Jeremiah. Finally, Favazza's definition of borderline personality disorder is intriguing: "a diagnosis predominantly given to impulsive women whose emotional life is like a roller coaster and who have the uncanny knack of making both themselves and others miserable and constantly on edge." Favazza is at his best in his chapter on women and the Bible. His discussions of the historical mistreatment of women and the difficulty women have in dealing with biblical texts are done with great sensitivity.It is a mighty undertaking to summarize the Hebrew and Greek Bibles and intertestamental literature. Favazza's book has its inaccuracies. For example, he mentions that the five scrolls in the Hebrew Bible are read at the five major Jewish festivals. However, although the books of Lamentations and Esther are read at the festivals of the Ninth of Av and Purim, respectively, neither holiday is a major festival in Judaism.Favazza keeps returning to the ideas of evil and suffering. In commenting about the origin of evil, he misses the importance of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. The most significant connection that Favazza fails to show the reader is the thread that connects the notion of the origin of evil to Satan and of Satan to the devil, and how all this relates to immoral behavior. However, when one considers all the biblical literature that Favazza summarizes, especially his treatment of Jesus, it is clear that he has done an outstanding job. In the end, he stresses the importance of sin and sacrifice as they relate to sanctification and the religious life. The details of the journey remain elusive—as, perhaps, they should be for those who choose a spiritual path. According to another Talmudic rabbi there are 70 faces to the Torah. One might say the same about the Bible. The biblical face that Favazza shows us is well worth noting.Rabbi Bernstein is rabbi of Temple Sinai in Worcester, Massachusetts, and is the Jewish chaplain at UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester.by Armando Favazza, M.D., M.P.H.; Charlottesville, Virginia, Pitchstone Publishing, 2004, 432 pages, $19.95 softcover FiguresReferencesCited byDetailsCited ByNone Volume 56Issue 11 November 2005Pages 1468-a-1469 Metrics History Published online 1 November 2005 Published in print 1 November 2005

Nearly everything we wish our non-Jewish supervisors had known about us as Jewish supervisees.

The authors observe that Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) developed out of a Protestant setting. Much of its thinking and writing therefore is heavily laden with Christian orientation and terminology. Sharing a general theological framework, most Christians read these words and think of the same- or similar-ideas. However, Jews neither start with nor share the same theological beliefs. Jewish students perpetually ask themselves, "If the premise isn't true for me, can the conclusion still contain meaning?" Sometimes yes, sometimes no. Often, the resulting conflict leaves Jewish students feeling alienated from their CPE supervisors and peers. Few CPE supervisors realize that although everyone is reading the same material there are (at least) two "nations" present that are processing it differently. This article, by two National Association of Jewish Chaplains (NAJC) Board-Certified Rabbis, presents twelve key points about Judaism and Jewish thought to help non-Jewish CPE supervisors and chaplains in their work with Jewish supervisees and patients (residents, et al.).

The public debate on life and death choices: a response from a Jewish hospital chaplain.

Addresses the issue of life and death choices from the perspectives of a Jewish chaplain. Explores the tension between the law (Halachah) and experience or story (Aggadah) and the impact of that tension on lives and decisions. Cites persons and situations from biblical material, oral tradition, and modern times which illustrate the human struggle with these disputed issues. Explores different levels of pain and our understanding of and response to suffering. Invites reflection on the range of responses to pain that are humanly possible. Illustrates how meaning in life nurtures the desire to live. Claims this meaning aspect is not adequately addressed in the current dialogue. Focusses on the role of chaplains in listening and responding to persons and in helping to activate the impulse of hope. Suggests ways in which chaplains can be advocates for patients, prophetic voices within communities and institutions, and empowering of the gifts of others.

Jewish ethical guidelines for resuscitation and artificial nutrition and hydration of the dying elderly.

The bioethical issues confronting the Jewish chaplain in a long-term care facility are critical, particularly as life-support systems become more sophisticated and advance directives become more commonplace. May an elderly competent patient refuse CPR in advance if it is perceived as a life-prolonging measure? May a physician withhold CPR or artificial nutrition and hydration (which some view as basic care and not as therapeutic intervention) from terminal patients with irreversible illnesses? In this study of Jewish ethics relating to these issues, the author carefully examines the moral implications and legal precedents in the literature. Jewish ethics, affirming a 'sanctity of life' position, suggest that while an elderly person may direct in advance that CPR not be administered in most instances, in the absence of a DNR (Do Not Resuscitate) order, CPR must be performed. In reference to 'tube-feeding', while there is some debate about whether elderly patients may refuse the initiation of 'tube-feeding', there is a consensus that once initiated, it may not be withdrawn.

A Theological Reflection on Baptism by a Jewish Chaplain

A Theological Reflection on Baptism by a Jewish Chaplain

The National Association of Jewish Chaplains

The National Association of Jewish Chaplains