NeshamaCast – Details, episodes & analysis

NeshamaCast host Rabbi Ed Bernstein travels to Israel and interviews Jewish chaplains from Israel and across North America  attending a rabbinic conference in Israel.  

Chaplains interviewed in this episode are, in order of appearance:  
Rabbi Mary Brett Koplen, BCC, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York

Rabbi Barbara Speyer, BCC, VA Medical Center, Los Angeles

Mati Halperin, CPE student, Ichilov Hospital, Tel Aviv, Kashouvot: The Center for Spiritual Care in Israel 

Rabbi Beth Naditch, BCC, ACPE, Hebrew Senior Life, Boston

Rabbi Naomi Kalish, PhD, BCC, ACPE, Jewish Theological Seminary, New York

Rabbi Yonatan Rudnick, Community Chaplain, Jewish Family Services, Kansas City

Rabbi Miriam Berkowitz, BCC, Congregation Kol Haneshamah, Jerusalem, Co-founder of Kashouvot.

During the interview with Moti Halperin, listeners can occasionally hear the voice of Rabbi Ilana Garber, Director of Global Rabbinic Development of the Rabbinical Assembly. She and Rabbi Bernstein were matched with Moti for a tour of Ichilov Hospital. 

Special acknowledgment to Rabbi Valerie Stessin, BCC, Director of Kashouvot and Rabbi Mira Rivera, BCC, JCC of Harlem. Rabbi Stessin planned the chaplain programming for the RA Convention, and Rabbi Rivera was a participant. See NeshamaCast feed for their full interviews with NeshamaCast. 

Reference was made multiple times to Natal Global Resilience. 

Rabbi Beth Naditch refers to the terror attack of February 25, 1996 in which JTS rabbinical student Matthew Eisenfeld and his girlfriend Sara Duker were murdered in a suicide bombing of the Number 18 Bus in Jerusalem. See the book edited by Rabbi Edward Bernstein: Love Finer Than Wine: The Writings of Matthew Eisenfeld and Sara Duker.

The Nova Exhibition that is touring the US, is currently in Miami. More information here. 

This video discusses the agriculture crisis in the Gaza Envelope post-October 7 and the efforts of local kibbutzim to restore agriculture. Oren Barnea, who is featured in the video, spoke to the rabbinic group in December that included Rabbi Ed Bernstein and Rabbi Miriam Berkowitz. 

About our host:

Rabbi Edward Bernstein, BCC, is the executive producer and host of NeshamaCast. He serves as Chaplain at Boca Raton Regional Hospital of Baptist Health South Florida. He is a member of the Board of Neshama: Association of Jewish Chaplains. Prior to his chaplain career, he served as a pulpit rabbi in congregations in New Rochelle, NY; Beachwood, OH; and Boynton Beach, FL. He is also the host and producer of My Teacher Podcast: A Celebration of the People Who Shape Our Lives.

NeshamaCast contributor Chaplain David Balto is a volunteer chaplain at Washington Hospital Center  in Washington, D.C. and Western Correctional Insitution, Maryland’s maximum security prison. He coordinated the annual National Jewish Healing Conference. 

Support NeshamaCast and NAJC with a tax deductible donation to NAJC. For sponsorship opportunities as either an individual or institution, please write to Rabbi Ed Bernstein at NeshamaCast@gmail.com

Thank you to Steve Lubetkin and Lubetkin Media Companies for producing this episode.

Transcripts for this episode and other episodes of NeshamaCast are available at NeshamaCast.simplecast.com and are typically posted one week after an episode first airs. 
 

Theme Music is “A Niggun For Ki Anu Amecha,” written and performed by Reb-Cantor Lisa Levine.

Please help others find the show by rating and reviewing the show on Apple Podcasts or other podcast providers. 
 

We welcome comments and suggestions for future programming at NeshamaCast@gmail.com. And be sure to follow NAJC on Facebook to learn more about Jewish spiritual care happening in our communities.

Boca Raton Regional Hospital of Baptist Health South Florida hosted a symposium, "Caring for Jewish Patients and Families at End of Life," on December 4, 2024. The keynote speaker was Dr. Barry Kinzbrunner, with responses from Dr. Claudio Kogan, Dr. Jessica Eichler and Rabbi Ed Bernstein. 

Dr. Barry Kinzbrunner, MD, FACP, is Former Chief Medical Officer, VITAS Healthcare. He is board certified in Internal Medicine, Medical Oncology, and Hospice and Palliative Medicine and he was ordained as an orthodox rabbi in Jerusalem, Israel in 2002. Dr. Kinzbrunner’s publications include a textbook entitled “20 Common Problems in End of Life Care,” a second edition of which, under the title “End of Life Care: A Practical Guide” was published in January, 2011. As a pioneer in the development of the role of the Hospice Medical Director for Vitas, as well as for the hospice industry in general, Dr. Kinzbrunner had the opportunity to author and publish a monograph entitled “Medical Director Model” for the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (AAHPM) in 2004. He also was an editor in a more recent AAHPM publication for Hospice Medical Directors entitled “The Hospice Medical Director Manual.” Dr. Kinzbrunner is a member of Neshama: Association of Jewish Chaplains. 

Dr. Claudio Kogan, MD, MBE, M.Ed.,  is Director of Bioethics for Baptist Health South Florida.  Dr. Kogan is a native of Buenos Aires, Argentina. He attended the University of Buenos Aires Medical School where he received his M.D. Dr. Kogan received his Masters of Hebrew Letters and his rabbinical ordination at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion and his Master of Education from Xavier University, in Cincinnati, Ohio. He also received his Master of Medical Ethics from the University of Pennsylvania Medical School. Rabbi Kogan served on the Human Investigation Committee at Yale University.

Rabbi Kogan served 26 for years multiple Jewish congregations in Buenos Aires, Michigan, Ohio, South Dakota, Kentucky, Florida and Texas. He is also a Mohel (certified to perform circumcisions) and a firm believer that Medicine and Religion are two sides of the same coin. Dr. Kogan is a strong advocate to combine Science and Spirituality and an activist who has traveled around the world promoting interfaith dialogue.

Dr. Jessica Eichler, MD,  is Chief Hospice and Palliative Care Specialist for Boca Raton Regional Hospital. She also serves as the Associate Medical Director for Trustbridge Health and as an Assistant Professor for Florida Atlantic University, teaching all internal medicine residents on palliative care service at Boca Raton Regional Hospital. Dr. Eichler earned her medical degree at Universidad Iberoamericana School of Medicine, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. She completed her hospice and palliative care medicine fellowship at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. She serves on the ethics committee of Boca Raton Regional Hospital. 

Rabbi Edward Bernstein, BCC, serves as Chaplain at Boca Raton Regional Hospital of Baptist Health South Florida. He is a member of the Board of Neshama: Association of Jewish Chaplains.

About our host:

Rabbi Edward Bernstein, BCC, is the executive producer and host of NeshamaCast. He serves as Chaplain at Boca Raton Regional Hospital of Baptist Health South Florida. He is a member of the Board of Neshama: Association of Jewish Chaplains. Prior to his chaplain career, he served as a pulpit rabbi in congregations in New Rochelle, NY; Beachwood, OH; and Boynton Beach, FL. He is also the host and producer of My Teacher Podcast: A Celebration of the People Who Shape Our Lives.

NeshamaCast contributor Chaplain David Balto is a volunteer chaplain at Washington Hospital Center  in Washington, D.C. and Western Correctional Insitution, Maryland’s maximum security prison. He coordinated the annual National Jewish Healing Conference. 

Support NeshamaCast and NAJC with a tax deductible donation to NAJC. For sponsorship opportunities as either an individual or institution, please write to Rabbi Ed Bernstein at NeshamaCast@gmail.com

Thank you to Steve Lubetkin and Lubetkin Media Companies for producing this episode.

Transcripts for this episode and other episodes of NeshamaCast are available at NeshamaCast.simplecast.com and are typically posted one week after an episode first airs. 
 

Theme Music is “A Niggun For Ki Anu Amecha,” written and performed by Reb-Cantor Lisa Levine.

Please help others find the show by rating and reviewing the show on Apple Podcasts or other podcast providers. 
 

We welcome comments and suggestions for future programming at NeshamaCast@gmail.com. And be sure to follow NAJC on Facebook to learn more about Jewish spiritual care happening in our communities.

This is Part 3 in the series: Let’s Talk: Interfaith Voices on Israel. In this series, Rabbanit Alissa Thomas-Newborn, President of Neshama:Association of Jewish Chaplains, engages in dialogue with diverse faith leaders across America to discuss their personal and religious connections to Israel in a series co-sponsored by NAJC, Moishe House, the International Rabbinic Fellowship and Congregation Netivot Shalom of Teaneck, NJ. Each virtual event in this series features a positive interfaith bridge-builder. In this program Rabbanit Alissa is in conversation with Dr. Jeffrey Chadwick. He serves as Professor of Archaeology and Near Eastern Studies at the Brigham Young University Jerusalem Center in Israel, and as Associate Professor of Religious Education at Brigham Young University in Utah, USA. This program initially took place before a live online audience on May 9, 2024. 

About our host:

Rabbi Edward Bernstein, BCC, is the executive producer and host of NeshamaCast. He serves as Chaplain at Boca Raton Regional Hospital of Baptist Health South Florida. He is a member of the Board of Neshama: Association of Jewish Chaplains. Prior to his chaplain career, he served as a pulpit rabbi in congregations in New Rochelle, NY; Beachwood, OH; and Boynton Beach, FL. He is also the host and producer of My Teacher Podcast: A Celebration of the People Who Shape Our Lives.

NeshamaCast contributor Chaplain David Balto is a volunteer chaplain at Washington Hospital Center  in Washington, D.C. and Western Correctional Insitution, Maryland’s maximum security prison. He coordinated the annual National Jewish Healing Conference. 

Support NeshamaCast and NAJC with a tax deductible donation to NAJC. For sponsorship opportunities as either an individual or institution, please write to Rabbi Ed Bernstein at NeshamaCast@gmail.com

Thank you to Steve Lubetkin and Lubetkin Media Companies for producing this episode.

Transcripts for this episode and other episodes of NeshamaCast are available at NeshamaCast.simplecast.com and are typically posted one week after an episode first airs. 
 

Theme Music is “A Niggun For Ki Anu Amecha,” written and performed by Reb-Cantor Lisa Levine.

Please help others find the show by rating and reviewing the show on Apple Podcasts or other podcast providers. 
 

We welcome comments and suggestions for future programming at NeshamaCast@gmail.com. And be sure to follow NAJC on Facebook to learn more about Jewish spiritual care happening in our communities.

Rabbi Nancy Wiener, D. Min., was ordained at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion and now serves on the faculty of its New York City campus as: Founding Director of the Jacob and Hilda Blaustein Center for Pastoral Counseling; Dr. Paul and Trudy Steinberg Distinguished Professor in Human Relations; and Fieldwork Coordinator. Rabbi Wiener, along with Rabbi Jo Hirschmann, is a co-author of Maps and Meaning: Levitical Models for Contemporary Care. Rabbi Wiener serves on the board of Neshama: Association of Jewish Chaplains. For a more extensive biography, click here

Much of this conversation centers around texts from the Book of Leviticus, specifically, Chapter 13 and Chapter 14 . These texts are read in the annual Torah reading cycle as part of the weekly portions Tazria (Leviticus 12:1-13:59) and Metzora (Leviticus 14:1-15:33). These portions will be read in synagogue shortly after this episode is published. Rabbi Wiener also refers to the Haftarah reading for Metzora taken from II Kings 7:3-20.

Glossary of key Hebrew terms in this episode: 

Haftarah: Prophetic reading that accompanies the liturgical weekly Torah reading. 

Livui Ruhani: Spirtual accompaniment; "Livui" comes from the same root as Levi, the tribe of the priests, the class of people who accompanied the nation through sacred rites; the modern Hebrew term for chaplaincy.

Mleaven (male)/ Melavah (female) Ruhani: One who provides spiritual accompaniment; the modern Hebrew term for chaplain. 

Metzora: A person afflicted with the disease of tzara'at (see below). 

Ohel Moed: Tent of Meeting

Tahor: Pure

Tamei: Impure

Tzara'at: a skin disease referred to in Leviticus 13 and 14. It has often been translated as leprosy, but many modern Biblical scholars reject this translation. 

About our host:

Rabbi Edward Bernstein, BCC, is the executive producer and host of NeshamaCast. He serves as Chaplain at Boca Raton Regional Hospital of Baptist Health South Florida. He is a member of the Board of Neshama: Association of Jewish Chaplains. Prior to his chaplain career, he served as a pulpit rabbi in congregations in New Rochelle, NY; Beachwood, OH; and Boynton Beach, FL. He is also the host and producer of My Teacher Podcast: A Celebration of the People Who Shape Our Lives.

NeshamaCast contributor Chaplain David Balto is a volunteer chaplain at Washington Hospital Center  in Washington, D.C. and Western Correctional Insitution, Maryland’s maximum security prison. He coordinated the annual National Jewish Healing Conference. 

Support NeshamaCast and NAJC with a tax deductible donation to NAJC. For sponsorship opportunities as either an individual or institution, please write to Rabbi Ed Bernstein at NeshamaCast@gmail.com

Thank you to Steve Lubetkin and Lubetkin Media Companies for producing this episode.

Transcripts for this episode and other episodes of NeshamaCast are available at NeshamaCast.simplecast.com and are typically posted one week after an episode first airs. 
 

Theme Music is “A Niggun For Ki Anu Amecha,” written and performed by Reb-Cantor Lisa Levine.

Please help others find the show by rating and reviewing the show on Apple Podcasts or other podcast providers. 
 

We welcome comments and suggestions for future programming at NeshamaCast@gmail.com. And be sure to follow NAJC on Facebook to learn more about Jewish spiritual care happening in our communities.

This is Part 2 in the series: Let’s Talk: Interfaith Voices on Israel. In this series, Rabbanit Alissa Thomas-Newborn, President of Neshama:Association of Jewish Chaplains, engages in dialogue with diverse faith leaders across America to discuss their personal and religious connections to Israel in a series co-sponsored by NAJC, Moishe House, the International Rabbinic Fellowship and Congregation Netivot Shalom of Teaneck, NJ. Each virtual event in this series features a positive interfaith bridge-builder. In this program Rabbanit Alissa engages in conversation with Erica Cohen Moore, Executive Director of the National Association of Catholic Chaplains. This program initially took place before a live online audience on March 27, 2024. 

Note: at 9:40 in audio, Erica talks about the Jewish roots of one side of her family. She refers to a piece of artwork on her wall depicting an older Jewish man blowing a shofar, an heirloom from her Jewish grandparents. See recording on NAJC YouTube  channel to view picture. 

About our host:

Rabbi Edward Bernstein, BCC, is the executive producer and host of NeshamaCast. He serves as Chaplain at Boca Raton Regional Hospital of Baptist Health South Florida. He is a member of the Board of Neshama: Association of Jewish Chaplains. Prior to his chaplain career, he served as a pulpit rabbi in congregations in New Rochelle, NY; Beachwood, OH; and Boynton Beach, FL. He is also the host and producer of My Teacher Podcast: A Celebration of the People Who Shape Our Lives.

NeshamaCast contributor Chaplain David Balto is a volunteer chaplain at Washington Hospital Center  in Washington, D.C. and Western Correctional Insitution, Maryland’s maximum security prison. He coordinated the annual National Jewish Healing Conference. 

Support NeshamaCast and NAJC with a tax deductible donation to NAJC. For sponsorship opportunities as either an individual or institution, please write to Rabbi Ed Bernstein at NeshamaCast@gmail.com

Thank you to Steve Lubetkin and Lubetkin Media Companies for producing this episode.

Transcripts for this episode and other episodes of NeshamaCast are available at NeshamaCast.simplecast.com and are typically posted one week after an episode first airs. 
 

Theme Music is “A Niggun For Ki Anu Amecha,” written and performed by Reb-Cantor Lisa Levine.

Please help others find the show by rating and reviewing the show on Apple Podcasts or other podcast providers. 
 

We welcome comments and suggestions for future programming at NeshamaCast@gmail.com. And be sure to follow NAJC on Facebook to learn more about Jewish spiritual care happening in our communities.

This is the first session in the series: Let’s Talk: Interfaith Voices on Israel. In this series, Rabbanit Alissa Thomas-Newborn, President of Neshama:Association of Jewish Chaplains, engages in dialogue with diverse faith leaders across America to discuss their personal and religious connections to Israel in a series co-sponsored by NAJC, Moishe House, the International Rabbinic Fellowship and Congregation Netivot Shalom of Teaneck, NJ. Each virtual event in this series features a positive interfaith bridge-builder. In this program Rabbanit Alissa engages in conversation with Bishop Kenneth Ulmer, PhD., of the Baptist tradition. This program initially took place before a live online audience on March 13, 2024. 

This episode is also available to watch on YouTube. 

About our host:

Rabbi Edward Bernstein, BCC, is the executive producer and host of NeshamaCast. He serves as Chaplain at Boca Raton Regional Hospital of Baptist Health South Florida. He is a member of the Board of Neshama: Association of Jewish Chaplains. Prior to his chaplain career, he served as a pulpit rabbi in congregations in New Rochelle, NY; Beachwood, OH; and Boynton Beach, FL. He is also the host and producer of My Teacher Podcast: A Celebration of the People Who Shape Our Lives.

NeshamaCast contributor Chaplain David Balto is a volunteer chaplain at Washington Hospital Center  in Washington, D.C. and Western Correctional Insitution, Maryland’s maximum security prison. He coordinated the annual National Jewish Healing Conference. 

Support NeshamaCast and NAJC with a tax deductible donation to NAJC. For sponsorship opportunities as either an individual or institution, please write to Rabbi Ed Bernstein at NeshamaCast@gmail.com

Thank you to Steve Lubetkin and Lubetkin Media Companies for producing this episode.

Transcripts for this episode and other episodes of NeshamaCast are available at NeshamaCast.simplecast.com and are typically posted one week after an episode first airs. 
 

Theme Music is “A Niggun For Ki Anu Amecha,” written and performed by Reb-Cantor Lisa Levine.

Please help others find the show by rating and reviewing the show on Apple Podcasts or other podcast providers. 
 

We welcome comments and suggestions for future programming at NeshamaCast@gmail.com. And be sure to follow NAJC on Facebook to learn more about Jewish spiritual care happening in our communities.

About Our Guest:

Cantor Rabbi Rob Jury, PhD, BCC, CRADC, LCPC, NCC

Cantor Rabbi Dr. Jury is the Founder and Clinical Director of the Tikvah Center for Jewish Recovery & Healing, a state licensed and JCAHO accredited, Jewish addiction treatment program in Northbrook, Illinois. His Rabbinic ordination is from the Hebrew Seminary for the Deaf in Skokie, IL. Rob is also the senior rabbi at Congregation Anshe Tikvah. Rob serves on the faculty of The Family Institute of Northwestern University where he is the course lead for Research Methods in Counseling, in addition to teaching Assessment in Counseling, and Addiction Counseling. His article on Jewish metaphors in narrative practice with people resisting addiction can be found in the International Journal of Narrative Therapy & Community Work. He has a PhD in Counselor Education & Supervision, a Masters in Narrative Therapy and Community Work from the University of Melbourne, and an MA in Counseling from Northwestern University. Rob is a board certified chaplain with NAJC, where he currently serves as a member of the board and as Certification Chair. He is also a BCC member of the Association of Professional Chaplains. Rob is a member of the Chicago Board of Rabbis and the Cantors Assembly. Rob is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor in Illinois and a Certified Reciprocal Alcohol and Drug Counselor.

Cantor Jury's singing of "Hallelujah" at the end of this podcast is taken from a YouTube recording of his guest presentation to New Faith Apostolic Church in Chicago in 2017. Watch the whole video here. 

Cantor Rabbi Jury makes reference to Beit T'shuvah in Los Angeles and to their founders Rabbi Mark Borovitz and Harriet Rossetto. For more information, click here. 

Cantor Rabbi Jury discusses the labyrinth at his synagogue, Anshei Tikvah. Here is a video explaining this particular labyrinth. 

Glossary of Hebrew words used in this podcast: 

Biur Halakhah: Literally, "explanation of the Law" - a commentary tangential to the Mishnah Berurah, providing complex analysis of the legal rulings of earlier halachic authorities. Both the Mishnah Berurah and its commentary, Biur Halakhah, are compiled by R. Israel Meir Kagan (c. 1875 – 1905, Radun, Belarus. R. Kagan is also commonly referred to as the "Chafetz Chaim," based on his seminal book by that title that deals with the laws prohibiting gossip in Jewish tradition. 

B'rachah (39:22): Blessing; specifically referring in this context to the liturgy recited before drinking a beverage: Baruch ata Adonai Eloheinu melekh ha-olam, shehakol nehiye bidvaro. Praised are You God, Sovereign of the universe, in Whose word everything comes into being. 

Chayyei Adam--a Jewish law code by R. Avraham Danzig (1748-1820), covering the laws discussed in the Orach Chayyim section of the Shulchan Arukh. The rulings of the Chayyei Adam are cited often in later works, most notably the Mishnah Berurah. 

Pikuah Nefesh (28:21): literally "saving a life;" referring here to the Jewish legal notion of prioritizing saving a life over religious rituals. 

Purim Seudah (27:25): The festive meal traditionally held on Purim afternoon.   

Shul (37:44): Synagogue; may refer to the physical building or to services taking place there. 

Shulhan Arukh: An authoritative code of Jewish law compiled by Rabbi Yosef Karo (1488-1575). 

Yahrzeit (38:14): Anniversary of death; surviving relatives often make a point to attend services in synagogue on a loved one's yahrzeit. 

Zechut (22:32): Merit; as in having the merit, privilege or opportunity to fulfill a mitzvah, a sacred commandment. 

NeshamaCast contributor Rabbi Katja Vehlow was ordained at the Jewish Theological Seminary and is currently in chaplain training at Moses Maimonides Medical Center in New York. Previously, she served as Associate Professor of Religious Studies at University of South Carolina. A native German speaker, she is planning a forthcoming German-language podcast on the weekly Torah portion with a focus on pastoral care.

About our host:

Rabbi Edward Bernstein, BCC, is the executive producer and host of NeshamaCast. He serves as Chaplain at Boca Raton Regional Hospital of Baptist Health South Florida. He is a member of the Board of Neshama: Association of Jewish Chaplains. Prior to his chaplain career, he served as a pulpit rabbi in congregations in New Rochelle, NY; Beachwood, OH; and Boynton Beach, FL. He is also the host and producer of My Teacher Podcast: A Celebration of the People Who Shape Our Lives.

NeshamaCast contributor Chaplain David Balto is a volunteer chaplain at Washington Hospital Center  in Washington, D.C. and Western Correctional Insitution, Maryland’s maximum security prison. He coordinated the annual National Jewish Healing Conference. 

Support NeshamaCast and NAJC with a tax deductible donation to NAJC. For sponsorship opportunities as either an individual or institution, please write to Rabbi Ed Bernstein at NeshamaCast@gmail.com

Thank you to Steve Lubetkin and Lubetkin Media Companies for producing this episode.

Transcripts for this episode and other episodes of NeshamaCast are available at NeshamaCast.simplecast.com and are typically posted one week after an episode first airs. 
 

Theme Music is “A Niggun For Ki Anu Amecha,” written and performed by Reb-Cantor Lisa Levine.

Please help others find the show by rating and reviewing the show on Apple Podcasts or other podcast providers. 
 

We welcome comments and suggestions for future programming at NeshamaCast@gmail.com. And be sure to follow NAJC on Facebook to learn more about Jewish spiritual care happening in our communities.

About Our Guest:

Rabbanit Alissa Thomas-Newborn recently began her term as President of Neshama: Association of Jewish Chaplains. Rabbanit Alissa was ordained at Yeshivat Maharat and is a Board Certified Chaplain. She is  a full-time staff chaplain at New York-Presbyterian Columbia University Irving Medical Center where she specializes in end-of-life care, palliative care, and psychiatric care. She also serves on the clergy team at Congregation Netivot Shalom in Teaneck, NJ, where she resides with her family. Rabbanit Alissa is a prolific writer and speaker, and in 2017 was chosen as one of the Forward 50, the Forward's annual list of the 50 most influential, accomplished, and interesting American Jews.

Rabbanit Alissa is featured in the video “Are we ready for female spiritual leadership?” hosted by Mayim Bialik.

More about Rabbanit Alissa is found in Wikipedia.

During podcast interview, reference is made to article in New York Times Magazine, “Should patients be allowed to die from anorexia?”

About our host:
 

Rabbi Edward Bernstein, PBCC, is the producer and host of NeshamaCast. He serves as Chaplain at Boca Raton Regional Hospital of Baptist Health South Florida. He is a member of the Board of Neshama: Association of Jewish Chaplains. Prior to his chaplain career, he served as a pulpit rabbi in congregations in New Rochelle, NY; Beachwood, OH; and Boynton Beach, FL. He is also the host and producer of My Teacher Podcast: A Celebration of the People Who Shape Our Lives.

About our host:

Rabbi Edward Bernstein, BCC, is the executive producer and host of NeshamaCast. He serves as Chaplain at Boca Raton Regional Hospital of Baptist Health South Florida. He is a member of the Board of Neshama: Association of Jewish Chaplains. Prior to his chaplain career, he served as a pulpit rabbi in congregations in New Rochelle, NY; Beachwood, OH; and Boynton Beach, FL. He is also the host and producer of My Teacher Podcast: A Celebration of the People Who Shape Our Lives.

NeshamaCast contributor Chaplain David Balto is a volunteer chaplain at Washington Hospital Center  in Washington, D.C. and Western Correctional Insitution, Maryland’s maximum security prison. He coordinated the annual National Jewish Healing Conference. 

Support NeshamaCast and NAJC with a tax deductible donation to NAJC. For sponsorship opportunities as either an individual or institution, please write to Rabbi Ed Bernstein at NeshamaCast@gmail.com

Thank you to Steve Lubetkin and Lubetkin Media Companies for producing this episode.

Transcripts for this episode and other episodes of NeshamaCast are available at NeshamaCast.simplecast.com and are typically posted one week after an episode first airs. 
 

Theme Music is “A Niggun For Ki Anu Amecha,” written and performed by Reb-Cantor Lisa Levine.

Please help others find the show by rating and reviewing the show on Apple Podcasts or other podcast providers. 
 

We welcome comments and suggestions for future programming at NeshamaCast@gmail.com. And be sure to follow NAJC on Facebook to learn more about Jewish spiritual care happening in our communities.

The Journal of Jewish Spiritual Care can be found here. 

Transcripts of this episode and other NeshamaCast episodes may be found at https://neshamacast.simplecast.com. 

For more about Neshama: Association of Jewish Chaplains, visit https://najc.org  or on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/JewishChplns.

About Our Guests:

Rabbi Charles P. Rabinowitz, BCC, provides home hospice and palliative care services for Caring Hospice Services of New York.  Rabbi Rabinowitz holds ordinations as both Rabbi and Dayan from Tifereth Israel Rabbinical Seminary. He has written extensively on narrative psychology, clinical pastoral psychology and education, comfort fatigue/secondary stress, end-of-life cultural and communication issues for dementia patients and their families in a home hospice setting, Biblical and Judaic studies. He is the 100th generation of rabbis in his family (Hillel is at the bottom of the trunk.) Rabbi Rabinowitz is also certified in Palliative Care Chaplaincy. 

Rabbi Kinzbrunner is the owner of New Beginnings Spiritual Coaching and Consulting LLC, helping people on the journey through the waves of life. Bryan is an experienced Spiritual Care chaplain with over 15 years of experience working in Senior Care and Hospice. He has semicha/ordination from Yeshiva University. Bryan has spent his career working closely with people on areas of spirituality, grief and loss and transitions. He is passionate about helping others discover their authentic, spiritual selves.

About our host:

Rabbi Edward Bernstein, PBCC, is the producer and host of NeshamaCast. He serves as Chaplain at Boca Raton Regional Hospital of Baptist Health South Florida. He is a member of the Board of Neshama: Association of Jewish Chaplains. Prior to his chaplain career, he served as a pulpit rabbi in congregations in New Rochelle, NY; Beachwood, OH; and Boynton Beach, FL. He is also the host and producer of My Teacher Podcast: A Celebration of the People Who Shape Our Lives.

About our host:

Rabbi Edward Bernstein, BCC, is the executive producer and host of NeshamaCast. He serves as Chaplain at Boca Raton Regional Hospital of Baptist Health South Florida. He is a member of the Board of Neshama: Association of Jewish Chaplains. Prior to his chaplain career, he served as a pulpit rabbi in congregations in New Rochelle, NY; Beachwood, OH; and Boynton Beach, FL. He is also the host and producer of My Teacher Podcast: A Celebration of the People Who Shape Our Lives.

NeshamaCast contributor Chaplain David Balto is a volunteer chaplain at Washington Hospital Center  in Washington, D.C. and Western Correctional Insitution, Maryland’s maximum security prison. He coordinated the annual National Jewish Healing Conference. 

Support NeshamaCast and NAJC with a tax deductible donation to NAJC. For sponsorship opportunities as either an individual or institution, please write to Rabbi Ed Bernstein at NeshamaCast@gmail.com

Thank you to Steve Lubetkin and Lubetkin Media Companies for producing this episode.

Transcripts for this episode and other episodes of NeshamaCast are available at NeshamaCast.simplecast.com and are typically posted one week after an episode first airs. 
 

Theme Music is “A Niggun For Ki Anu Amecha,” written and performed by Reb-Cantor Lisa Levine.

Please help others find the show by rating and reviewing the show on Apple Podcasts or other podcast providers. 
 

We welcome comments and suggestions for future programming at NeshamaCast@gmail.com. And be sure to follow NAJC on Facebook to learn more about Jewish spiritual care happening in our communities.

About Our Guest

Reb Cantor Lisa Levine is a well known cantor, composer, author, chaplain, poet and recording artist who builds bridges between faith communities.

Lisa earned a BA from University of California Irvine and received her Ordination from HUC-JIR DFSSM. Lisa is the author of Yoga Shalom a popular Jewish Yoga book as well as the prayer voice of “Hebrew In Harmony” curriculum published by Behrman House Books. Her catalogue of 10 CD’s and 6 songbooks of healing and worship music is widely published and featured in many compilations. Her album “Bridge To Peace” is dedicated to chaplaincy and healing. Her album “Jospel Jam” is a mix of Jewish and Gospel original music which unites people of all faiths and beliefs. “We Are All Candles" is on the album “In the Light” and “Rock of Ages” appears on the album “Keeping the Spirit.” 

Lisa’s most recent album is “This Holy Place.”

Lisa received Ordination as Rabbinic Pastor through Aleph Alliance for Jewish Renewal in 2018. She serves as a JSSA (Jewish Social Services) Chaplain and Chaplain of Riderwood Jewish Community in Silver Spring, MD. Lisa is a Registered Yoga Teacher and teaches yoga embodiment as well as music and chaplaincy in conferences and zoom rooms around the country. Her book Heart of Light: Poems of Longing, Loss and Life has recently been published and is available on Amazon.com. She is currently the Artist-In-Residence at Temple Rodeph Torah in Marlboro, NJ and freelances around the country.

Here is Lisa’s video of “We Are All Candles,” referenced in interview.
 

About our host:

Rabbi Edward Bernstein, PBCC, is the producer and host of NeshamaCast. He serves as Chaplain at Boca Raton Regional Hospital of Baptist Health South Florida. He is a member of the Board of Neshama: Association of Jewish Chaplains. Prior to his chaplain career, he served as a pulpit rabbi in congregations in New Rochelle, NY; Beachwood, OH; and Boynton Beach, FL. He is also the host and producer of My Teacher Podcast: A Celebration of the People Who Shape Our Lives. Here is Ed’s interview with Jewish song leader and educator Rick Recht, who is mentioned in this interview.

About our host:

Rabbi Edward Bernstein, BCC, is the executive producer and host of NeshamaCast. He serves as Chaplain at Boca Raton Regional Hospital of Baptist Health South Florida. He is a member of the Board of Neshama: Association of Jewish Chaplains. Prior to his chaplain career, he served as a pulpit rabbi in congregations in New Rochelle, NY; Beachwood, OH; and Boynton Beach, FL. He is also the host and producer of My Teacher Podcast: A Celebration of the People Who Shape Our Lives.

NeshamaCast contributor Chaplain David Balto is a volunteer chaplain at Washington Hospital Center  in Washington, D.C. and Western Correctional Insitution, Maryland’s maximum security prison. He coordinated the annual National Jewish Healing Conference. 

Support NeshamaCast and NAJC with a tax deductible donation to NAJC. For sponsorship opportunities as either an individual or institution, please write to Rabbi Ed Bernstein at NeshamaCast@gmail.com

Thank you to Steve Lubetkin and Lubetkin Media Companies for producing this episode.

Transcripts for this episode and other episodes of NeshamaCast are available at NeshamaCast.simplecast.com and are typically posted one week after an episode first airs. 
 

Theme Music is “A Niggun For Ki Anu Amecha,” written and performed by Reb-Cantor Lisa Levine.

Please help others find the show by rating and reviewing the show on Apple Podcasts or other podcast providers. 
 

We welcome comments and suggestions for future programming at NeshamaCast@gmail.com. And be sure to follow NAJC on Facebook to learn more about Jewish spiritual care happening in our communities.