Caring Committee

About Caring Committee

Every person and every family sometimes face challenging times and that's when we need to lean on the strength of our community most of all. The Caring Community of Congregation Shir Hadash recognizes our responsibility to care for one another. Together we build and nourish a network of relationships which can sustain us throughout the journey of our lives.

The Caring Committee assists members by offering: friendly phone calls, caring cards or notes, visits at home or in the hospital, mitzvah meals for the ill or bereaved, transportation to Shir Hadash events.

The Caring Committee offers guidance and support to members of Shir Hadash through: special Shabbat services, educational programs and workshops, and ongoing support groups.

Helpful publications available through the Shir Hadash library include our excellent Life Planning Guide (PDF), and our Guide to Mental Health (PDF).

Volunteer with Caring COmmittee

If you want to become involved as a volunteer, or know someone who needs our help, please contact us:

• By phone: (408) 358–1751
• By email: Caring  Committee

Medical Equipment

Do you have medical equipment or supplies that you would be willing to loan or give to a member of the congregation? Wheelchair, walker, grabber, etc? Contact Cindy Gordon of the Caring Committee who is organizing a clearinghouse. Do you need medical equipment? Please contact Cindy as well.

Community Resources

• Jewish Family Services Silicon Valley
• Sinai Chapel
• National Alliance on Mental Illness

Book Resources

Our Relationship with God

Being God’s Partner: How to Find the Hidden Link Between Spirituality and Your Work, by Jeffery K. Salkin, 1994, 182 pages Rabbi Salkin has developed innovative programs to find spiritual meaning in both great and small moments in life.

Finding God: 10 Jewish Responses, by Sunsind and Syme, 1993, 140 pages. The different ways Jews have spoken of God throughout history and asks “What is God?” “How does God relate to me?” “Why is there evil in the world?”

Talking to God: Personal Prayers for Times of Joy, Sadness, Struggle, and Celebration, by Naomi Levy, 2002, 264 pages. A book of prayers relating to such topics as: food on our table, a prayer before marriage, a prayer for accepting infertility and exploring adoption, a prayer after surgery, a prayer when a child is ill.

Health, Illness and Healing

Caring for the Soul: A Mental Health Resource and Study Guide, Edited by Richard F. Address 2003, 136 pages. Guide was created as a response to the need to raise awareness of and reduce the stigma within congregations regarding individuals and families dealing with mental health issues. Includes a selection of relevant sacred texts, traditional and modern readings for use in services and support groups, sermons and programs.

Kitchen Table Wisdom: Stories That Heal, by Rachel Remen, M.D., 1994, 336 pages. Remen is a physician, professor of medicine and a longtime survivor of a chronic illness.

The Mitzvah of Healing: An Anthology of Essays, Jewish Texts, Personal Stories, Meditations, and Rituals, Edited by Hara E. Person, 2003, 227 pages. A guidebook of healing, offering rituals, prayers, and poems

The Thin You Within You, by Abraham J. Twerski, M.D., 1997, 183 pages. Overeating and its connection to low self-esteem. How to rely on yourself instead of food in times of stress, anger, and fear. Forming a healthy self-image and eating habits.

Twelve Jewish Steps to Recovery: A Personal Guide to Turning from Alcoholism and Other Addictions—Drugs, Food, Gambling, Sex, by Rabbi Kerry M Olitzky and Stuart A. Copans, M.D. 1991, 115 pages. For anyone seeking an understanding of the Twelve Steps from a Jewish perspective, regardless of religious background or affiliation.

Sacred Aging

Jewish Perspectives on Caregiving, Edited by Richard F. Address and Hara E. Person, 2003, 198 pages. Aimed at caregivers, covers such topics as respecting the dignity of aging parents, the spirituality of aging, sharing responsibilities between siblings and other relatives, end-of-life issues, letting go.

The 36-Hour Day: A Family Guide to Caring for Persons with Alzheimer Disease, Related Dementing Illnesses, and Memory Loss in Later Life, by Nancy L. Mace, M.A. and Peter V. Rabins, M.D., M.P.H. 1981, 339 pages. This guide provides all the practical and specific advice you need to make care easier, improve quality of life, and lift the whole family’s spirits

To Honor and Respect: A Program and Resource Guide for Congregations on Sacred Aging, by Richard F. Address with Andrew.L. Rosenkranz, 2005, 113 pages. Designed to help congregations respond to the longevity revolution by helping older Jewish adults see their synagogues not as places for life-cycle events, but as sacred communities of meaning.

Your Best is Good Enough: Aging Parents and Your Emotions, by Vivian G. Greenberg, 1989, 170 pages. Publisher’s note: “A practical guide for caregivers of the elderly. Real-life examples. Her suggestions are practical and realistic.”

Marriage and Family

Fighting for Your Jewish Marriage: Preserving a Lasting Promise, by Crohn, Markman, Blumberg, Levine, 2000. 305 pages. This book covers overcoming barriers to establishing a positive Jewish identity. Exercises focus on solving conflict when dealing with gender roles, work, raising children and religious practice.

The Intermarriage Handbook: A Guide for Jews and Christians, by Judy Petsonk and Jim Remsen, 1988, 408 pages 
This book offers a variety of options, as well as listing many resources available to the intermarried couple.

Jewish Family and Life: Traditions, Holidays, and Values, by Yosef I. Abramowitz and Rabbi Susan Silverman, 1997, 326 pages. This book asks the question "why be Jewish?"

Jewish Divorce Ethics: The Right Way to Say Goodbye, by Rabbi Dr. Reuven Bulka 1992, 317 pages. This book is a clear guide to the entire divorce process written by a prominent Orthodox rabbi.

Making a Successful Jewish Interfaith Marriage: Navigating a Relationship Before Marriage, by Rabbi Kerry M. Olitzky with Joan Peterson Littman, 2003, 139 pages. This book covers interfaith marriage issues: “I believe that once a decision to marry has been made, the Jewish community has the responsibility to do all it can to help that couple and embrace the new family that may emerge.”

Preserving Jewishness in Your Family, by Allan Silverstein, 1995, 243 pages. This book has advice intended to help empower American Jews to seriously identify and confront the problems intermarriage poses to Jewish continuity.

Parenting

Living With Kids: Parents at Their Best, The Miriam Adahan Handbook, by Miriam Adahan 1994, 231 pages. Chapter titles include: Anger Won’t Change Anything, The Learning Disabled Child, Dolphin People and Shark People, Verbal Abuse in the Home.

Parenting Jewish Teens: A Guide for the Perplexed, by Joanne Doades, 2007, 149 pages. Guide for Jewish parents to help teens into adulthood with wisdom of the Jewish tradition. Provides real life experiences to aid in difficult times.

Resilience of the Soul: Developing Emotional and Spiritual Resilience in Adolescents and Their Families, by Rabbi Edythe Held Mencher, L.C.S.W. with Yael Shmilovitz and Rabbi Michael Howard 2007, 197 pages. This book provides essential information for Jewish communities responding to the realities of depression, eating disorder, binge drinking, substance abuse, and self-inflicted violence among teenagers.

End of Life and Mourning

A Time to Prepare, Edited by Richard F. Address and The Department of Jewish Family Concerns 2002, 107 pages 
A practical guide for individuals and families in determining a Jewish approach to making personal arrangements, establishing the limits of medical care, and embracing rituals at the end of life.

The End-of-Life Handbook: A Compassionate Guide to Connecting with and Caring for a Dying Loved One, by David B. Feldman, Ph.D. and S. Andrew Lasher, Jr., M.D., 2007, 186 pages. Practical advice, clearly explaining medical information, treatment options, and practical decisions that you may need to make in a terminal-care situation. The book guides you toward opportunities for hope, personal control, and loving family connection during this difficult period.

In the Winter of Life, by Bhehoref Hayamim, 2002, 202 pages. Collection of essays containing important information on the common medical questions that families face at the end of life. Applies Jewish concepts and values to the issues raised by modern medicine.