Jewish Relational Care A-Z

A collection of caregiving tools combining the values of Jewish tradition and self-relations—useful for practitioners of ANY faith!

Self-relations, a powerful framework for doing respectful and humane caregiving for oneself and for others is here brought into relationship with Jewish thought.

Jewish Relational Care A-Z: We Are Our Other’s Keeper is an extensive resource for caregiving tools and approaches. Using Jewish tradition and Self-Relations as take-off points, experts from many fields provide insightful perspectives and effective strategies for caregiving.

In the language of self-relations each of us is not referred to as a Self. Instead, each of us is more accurately described as a relationship between “selves”—relationship is the basic psychological and religious unit! Jewish Relational Care A-Z: We Are Our Other’s Keeper sensitively centers on relationships and the healing process, using the understanding that to spark healing in others, a loving, respectful relationship must first be present between every aspect of our “selves.” Thirty-six categories of caregiving are comprehensively presented, allowing its use as a helpful resource for any clergy considering any of the included topics. Each author’s personal reflections, and personal experiences using care tools clearly illustrate how love-respect relationships within oneself can transcend into effective care for others.

Jewish Relational Care A-Z: We Are Our Other’s Keeper provides helpful tools and explores:

• the use of language as a relational care tool
  
• time management for optimum performance for oneself and for others
  
• compassion fatigue, the need for self-care, and nurturing your own spiritual and psychological development
  
• purposeful visiting as a sacred task
  
• silence as an important part of spiritual care
  
• the profound difference made in lives through relational listening
  
• music as sacred power—a communion between humans and the Divine
  
• chanting as an intimate expression of the soul
  
• creative ritual in relational healing
  
• spontaneous prayer, and its place in relational care
  
• relational care with other faiths inside and outside of the community
  
• care for those going through divorce
  
• care when a pregnancy is unwelcome
  
• relational care for sexual orientation and gender identity issues
  
• successful caring for those who don’t care about you
  
• dealing with traumatic loss
  
• care for those who have sinned sexually
  
• fragile relationships
  
• care with the healthy aging
  
• relational care and retired clergy
  
• care for those traumatized by sexual abuse
  
• care for the cognitively impaired, mentally ill, and developmentally disabled
  
• care for the final moments of life
  
• care for the sick and dying
  
• care within the grieving process

Jewish Relational Care A-Z: We Are Our Other’s Keeper is practical, insightful reading for clergy and caregivers of all denominations, educators, students, and lay people who care about clergy and their work.