Bay Area Jewish Healing Center

TO PROVIDE JEWISH SPIRITUAL SUPPORT TO THOSE LIVING WITH ILLNESS, TO THOSE CARING FOR THE ILL AND TO THE BEREAVED THROUGH DIRECT SERVICE, EDUCATION AND TRAINING, AS WELL AS INFORMATION AND REFERRAL.

BAY AREA JEWISH HEALING CENTER WAS ESTABLISHED IN 1992, ALONGSIDE AN OFFICE IN NEW YORK, AS THE FIRST JEWISH HEALING CENTER IN THE COUNTRY, AT A TIME WHEN NO OTHER COMPARABLE ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE EXISTED. BAJHC TOUCHES APPROXIMATELY 5,000 INDIVIDUALS EACH YEAR THROUGH THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ITS MISSION: TO PROVIDE JEWISH SPIRITUAL CARE TO THOSE WHO ARE ILL, DYING AND BEREAVED THROUGH DIRECT SERVICE, EDUCATION AND TRAINING AND INFORMATION AND REFERRAL. OUR SERVICES ARE AVAILABLE REGARDLESS OF SYNAGOGUE AFFILIATION OR ABILITY TO PAY.AT THE CORE OF ITS MISSION IS A SET OF ASSUMPTIONS THAT THE BAJHC HAS ARTICULATED IN ORIGINAL LANGUAGE. THE USE OF WORDS WITH WHICH BAJHC ARTICULATES ITS MISSION IS AN EXAMPLE OF ITS FUNCTION AS A THOUGHT LEADER WHOSE MISSION CONNECTS CONCEPT TO DIRECT ACTION AS AN EFFORT TO DEFINE THE FIELD AND ENCOURAGE OUR COMMUNITY TO EXPAND ITS CAPACITY TO TALK ABOUT AND ACT UPON ANCIENT TRADITIONAL TEACHINGS IN A CONTEMPORARY SETTING. WE HAVE COINED MANY TERMS AS A MATTER OF THIS EFFORT AND WHICH ARE EMBODIED IN THIS DESCRIPTION. WE ARE ALL BORN WITH A "NATURAL SPIRITUAL HUNGER" WHICH WE SEEK TO SATISFY. IT IS A HUNGER AS NATURAL AS THE NEED FOR FOOD, SHELTER AND INTIMACY. ILLNESS, DEATH AND GRIEF ARE UNIVERSAL HUMAN EXPERIENCES. WHILE MANY HUMAN EXPERIENCES ARE COMMONPLACE, SUCH AS MARRIAGE, CHILD-BEARING, AND WORK, THEY ARE NOT UNIVERSAL. WHILE MOST PEOPLE MARRY, NOT EVERYONE DOES, WHILE MOST BEAR CHILDREN, NOT EVERYONE DOES, ETC. HOWEVER, NO MATTER ONE'S STATION IN LIFE, WE ALL BECOME ILL, WE ALL COME TO DIE, AND WE ALL LIVE WITH GRIEF. IT IS IN THE COURSE OF THESE UNIVERSAL HUMAN EXPERIENCES THAT WE NATURALLY ENGAGE IN SPIRITUAL REFLECTION. AND THIS NATURAL SPIRITUAL REFLECTION REASONABLY YEARNS FOR A COMMUNAL RESPONSE. IN OTHER WORDS, OUR NATURAL SPIRITUAL HUNGER RISES TO THE SURFACE OF OUR AWARENESS WHEN WE ENTER THE ARENAS OF ILLNESS, DYING AND GRIEF. SPIRITUAL NEED IS HEIGHTENED AND SO TOO IS OUR NEED FOR A COMMUNAL RESPONSE. TO MEET THE SPIRITUAL NEEDS THAT ILLNESS, DEATH, AND GRIEF PROVOKE, BAJHC PROVIDES SPIRITUAL CARE. IT IS A FORM OF CARE THAT EMBODIES BOTH SPIRITUAL AND THEOLOGICAL STRUCTURES. THE ARCHITECTURE OF THIS RESPONSE INCLUDES THE DIRECT SERVICE OF A RABBI, OFFICIATION AT FUNERALS AND OTHER RITUAL EXPERIENCES, GROUP EXPERIENCES IN THE FORM OF SPIRITUAL SUPPORT GRIEF GROUPS, SUPPORT WITH HOLIDAY OBSERVANCE, EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES TO BUILD THE CAPACITY OF THE BROADER COMMUNITY TO MEET SPIRITUAL CARE NEEDS, HOSPITAL AND CLINICAL SETTING SUPPORT SERVICES, PUBLICATIONS IN THE FORM OF ESSAYS, RELIGIOUS WRITINGS AND CONTEMPORARY PRAYERS, AND A MYRIAD OF AD HOC CONSULTATIVE OFFERINGS. BAJHC RECOGNIZES THAT OUR COMMUNITY AND BROADER CULTURE REMAINS CHALLENGED IN ITS UNDERSTANDING OF SOME PARTICULAR EXPERIENCES AND SO ADDS TO ITS OVERALL EFFORTS, A SPECIFIC DEDICATION TO ISSUES OF MENTAL ILLNESS. THE DEPTH AND BREADTH OF OUR STAFF AS WELL AS OUR AGENCY EXPERIENCE BRINGS A NORMATIVE STRUCTURE IN OUR SERVICE DELIVERY TO THE LGBT COMMUNITY, THOSE WHO ARE DISAPPOINTED WITH FORMAL RELIGIOUS STRUCTURES, THOSE FROM ALL ECONOMIC LEVELS, AND OTHERS WHO MAY OTHERWISE FEEL MARGINALIZED.BAJHC IS DEDICATED TO COOPERATIVE VENTURES. IT RECOGNIZES THAT NO ONE AGENCY CAN MEET EVERY CLIENT NEED ANY MORE THAN ONE INDIVIDUAL IN ONE'S LIFE (NO MATTER THE LEVEL OF INTIMACY) CAN MEET EVERY INDIVIDUAL NEED. BAJHC IS DEEPLY EXPERIENCED IN COOPERATIVE WORK WITH A LEVEL OF SOPHISTICATION THAT RECOGNIZES ISSUES OF DEVELOPMENT, IMPLEMENTATION AND SUSTAINABILITY OVER THE LONG TERM. TWO SUCH EXAMPLES ARE ITS UNIQUE ANNUAL WEEKEND FOR MOURNERS CALLED: "GRIEF AND GROWING (TM): A HEALING WEEKEND FOR INDIVIDUALS AND FAMILIES IN MOURNING AND "KOL HANESHAMA: A JEWISH END OF LIFE CARE/HOSPICE VOLUNTEER PROGRAM", WHICH INCLUDES PALLIATIVE CARE. BOTH OF THESE OFFERINGS REMAIN UNIQUE AND LONG-STANDING IN THE JEWISH/SPIRITUAL CARE LANDSCAPE AND PRE-DATE OTHER MORE RECENT EFFORTS TO MEET THE NEEDS OF THE GRIEVING AND DYING.BAJHC ASSERTS ITS WORK AS A CRUCIAL PART OF THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE AND DISTINCT FROM PSYCHOLOGICAL, MEDICAL, AND OTHER SOCIAL SERVICE MODELS. ONE'S NATURAL SPIRITUAL HUNGER IS NOT SEQUESTERED TO A BIOLOGICAL OR PSYCHOLOGICAL EXPERIENCE. IT IS A PART OF THE SPIRITUAL REALM WHICH COMPRISES THE GREATER WHOLE OF ANY HUMAN LIFE. IN THIS WAY BAJHC ASSERTS THE PLACE OF THE SPIRITUAL/RELIGIOUS AS A DISTINCT PART THAT INTERACTS WITH, AND INTEGRATES INTO, THE UNIVERSAL HUMAN EXPERIENCES OF ILLNESS, DEATH AND GRIEF.BAJHC IS HONORED FOR THE SUPPORT IS RECEIVES FROM THE COMMUNITY AT LARGE IN THE FORM OF A BOARD OF DIRECTORS, DONORS OF ALL FINANCIAL CAPACITY, CLIENTS OF ALL CONSTELLATION, AND OVERTURES OF ALL KINDS FOR CONSULTATION. FOR A MORE DETAILED UNDERSTANDING OUR WEBSITE IS WWW.JEWISHHEALINGCENTER.ORG.COPYRIGHT, BAY AREA JEWISH HEALING CENTER