Jewish Wisdom on Aging
Three Thursdays
May 22, 29; June 5
Time: 12-1:15 PM ET
Instructor: Rabbi Rachel Hersh, MSW
Location: Online
Standard Class Rate: $120
Base Rate: $80
(Subsidized by Haberman Institute donors)
All interested students are encouraged to join our classes. Should registration rates become a barrier to enrollment, please contact our Executive Director, Matthew Silverman.
Jewish tradition has much to say about aging, inviting us to consider the blessings and challenges of getting older.
Join Rabbi Rachel Hersh online for a three-week learning series on these themes. Each class will include traditional Jewish text study and discussion, along with opportunities to explore our contemporary questions on this chapter of our lives.
Session 1: Biblical ancestors - what do the lives of Abraham, Sarah, Moses, Miriam, and others teach us about vitality and surrender in old age? What of their examples do we hold up as inspiration for our own lives and what serves as a cautionary tale?
Session 2: Rabbinic wisdom - Through the eyes of our rabbinic sages, we encounter different perspectives on the experience of getting older. How do we hear their wisdom in historical context and how does that wisdom hold up in our time?
Session 3: Mortal Truths - Inevitably, every stage of life highlights the finitude of our earthly journey. As we age, this reality becomes even more vivid. What does our tradition offer as guidance for the final chapter? How can we approach our mortality with mindfulness and gratitude?
Rabbi Rachel Hersh, MSW, serves as Director of Jewish Enrichment and Engagement for JSSA, the Jewish human service and social wellness agency serving people of all backgrounds in the greater Washington DC area. In her role with JSSA, she provides a Jewish perspective for organizational management and develops opportunities for agency staff to better understand the historic and present-day needs of the Jewish community. She directs the agency's Jewish community chaplaincy program, providing pastoral care to Jewish residents in continuing care communities, Jewish patients in hospitals, members of synagogue communities as well as individuals and families navigating life transitions. She works with the DC rabbinic community to connect congregations and synagogue members with agency resources and works with agency staff to develop services based on needs in the community.
Rachel served as cantor and rabbi for many years at Adat Shalom Reconstructionist Congregation in Bethesda, MD, where she continues to provide spiritual support and leadership. Her education and training have connected her with the Conservative, Reconstructionist and Jewish Renewal movements. She is now completing a fourth unit of clinical pastoral education.
Following a life-long interest in the connections between spiritual life and mental health, Rachel continues to seek out intersections between Jewish tradition, healing and wellness.
