Health and Wellness: End of Life Issues, Two-Part Program

By Mindy Steinholz, WLCJ International Vice President and Health & Wellness Chair

“In this world, nothing is certain except death and taxes.”- Benjamin Franklin

Most of us would in fact prefer to discuss our taxes rather than death. Yet we know that death is something we will all face. Most of us have already faced it with our families and dear friends. We have visited them in the hospital or sat at their bedside at home. Maybe we have been the ones tasked with making decisions for someone who is terminally ill, of extreme age, or has become unable to make their own healthcare decisions for some reason. 

Nonetheless, it remains something most of us prefer not to talk about or even think about. We consider it as something that will happen “later” or “in the future”. Most of us just assume we have time to plan. But we don’t know when plans might be needed which means that the time to plan is now.

Please join Women’s League for a two-part series this winter on end-of-life issues. Part 1 on January 26 will feature guest speaker Rabbi Ron Goldberg speaking about “Difficult Conversations”. Rabbi Goldberg is a graduate of the Ziegler School and works at LA Jewish Health (formerly the LA Jewish Home). He will lead us in a program regarding those conversations we need to have with our families and significant others surrounding what we (and they) want. These conversations are not easy to have and yet are necessary – what kinds of medical care do we want especially if we are unable to make decisions ourselves? What kind of care do our loved ones want when they are unable to make decisions? Even if we able to make decisions, have we discussed our thoughts on the kind of care we want in various situations?

Part 2 on March 30 will feature a team from the Jewish Hospice and Chaplaincy Network. This Michigan based organization’s mission statement is “To ensure that no Jewish patient or family faces terminal illness alone. We help those we serve gain access to the needed resources compatible with their own Jewish identity, practice, and values.” The team includes rabbis, social workers, nurse practitioners, doctors, music therapists, and volunteers. We will welcome Rabbi David Rosen, Rabbi Joseph Krakoff and Natalie Rosenfeld (social worker and the director of patient care) for this session.

I hope you will join me for these important programs this winter. Together, we can make these topics more approachable and increase our comfort with them.

I wish you all good health and look forward to seeing you.

Shabbat Shalom,
Mindy Steinholz
WLCJ Health and Wellness Chair
msteinholz@wlcj.org