Facing Illness, Finding God: How Judaism Can Help You And Caregivers Cope When Body Or Spirit Fails

Book Summary

Find spiritual strength for healing in the wisdom of Jewish tradition. Whether you are facing illness yourself, serving as a caregiver, providing pastoral care, or simply wondering where God is when we get sick, the teachings and wisdom of Jewish tradition can help you cope with the difficulties of illness and infirmity. With a format designed to accommodate the stressful life of people dealing with illness, Rabbi Joseph B. Meszler helps you focus on spiritual well-being as an essential aspect of physical healing and wholeness. He provides comfort and inspiration to help you maintain personal balance and family harmony amid the fear, pain, and chaos of illness. Combining the stories of real people with insights from Jewish sources, he offers practical advice and spiritual guidance for: * Reaching inward to the soul when the body fails * Reaching outward to provide strength, comfort, and compassion to the ill or infirm * Reaching upward to God through prayer and daily gratitude "Deeply personal and professionally inspiring.... Moving and yet practical ... helps us reach into our unique inner resources, out to our friends and community, and up to the ultimate Source of Healing and Wholeness." --Rabbi Simkha Y. Weintraub, LCSW, JBFCS/National Center for Jewish Healing; editor, Healing of Soul, Healing of Body: Spiritual Leaders Unfold the Strength & Solace in Psalms "A rich resource for congregational bikkur cholim and caring committees, rabbis and chaplains, and anyone who has ever felt alone.... Speaks to our human need for relationship with God and with each other. A wonderful gift." --Rabbi Ruth Alpers, Clinical Pastoral Education Supervisor, Children's Hospital, Cincinnati "Very accessible ... provides knowing companionship for those living with illness and the people who care for them. Reflecting on many dimensions of the experience of illness, he shares a universally human as well as a particularly Jewish wisdom." --Nancy Flam, co-director of programs, Institute for Jewish Spirituality "Reach out to others. Reach out to God. Reach inside yourself. Then reach for this book. In it, you will find healing and hope." --Rabbi Kerry M. Olitzky, author, Jewish Paths toward Healing and Wholeness: A Personal Guide to Dealing with Suffering

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