ShalomDeutsch Family Shalom Center at Temple Chai
Sharona Silverman 
Sharona Silverman

Shalom Center Director

Who is wise?  One who learns from every person.

Mishnah, Avot 4:1

 

We have been blessed at Temple Chai to learn from many teachers – our clergy and educators, our community leaders, and from each other.  Many of us had a chance to experience this at our conference in May on “From Isolation to Shalom: Mental Health in the Jewish Community.”  Twenty-one presenters offered their expertise, both professionally and personally, on how mental health and illness need to be a priority in the Jewish community.  They offered wisdom and practical strategies to help us move toward wholeness (“shalom”) in the midst of some of life’s most difficult challenges.  My deepest appreciation goes to the wonderful speakers and to all who participated in this community-wide event. 

Feedback from the conference included:

“I loved the experientially sacred focus and the emphasis on community.”

“I appreciated the amount of variety in topics, speakers, and subjects and the community coming together to address these issues.”

We also received feedback to continue these types of informative and experiential workshops.  And so I am excited that we have received funding from the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Phoenix to continue our work through two grants:

  1. “Developing Mental Health Resources in the Jewish Community” would continue the work of this past year.  We will continue to sensitize and educate the Jewish community and to respond more thoroughly to mental health and illness among Jews.  This would be accomplished through educational programs, workshops, and the development of materials and resources for Jews with mental illness, their loved ones, clergy, and educators toward helping those in need effectively cope and participate in the life of our community.
  1. “Guiding Jewish Families through Dementia Comfort and Care” is a project that would allow us to give practical and supportive guidance for coping and caring for individuals with dementia in the Jewish community.  We plan to offer community-wide programming through educational workshops and the creative development of resources for assisting families caring for loved ones with dementia.  We would incorporate Jewish wisdom and community into these opportunities as we develop resources for maintaining respect, fostering community connections, and offering care.

Planning for these projects will begin this summer and continue through May 2009.  If you are interested in participating in the planning process or in serving on one of our committees, please contact me at the Shalom Center.  Our committees have always formed a strong bond as the volunteers have the opportunity to grow and learn together.

L’shalom,

Sharona

The language of the soul is meaning.  We may first discover the soul when life events awaken in us the need for meaning.  In serious or chronic illness, even people who have never considered this dimension of experience before instinctively reach for a personal meaning in events that have disrupted their lives.  Meaning helps us to see in the dark.  It strengthens the will to live in us.                  -Rachel Naomi Remen

 The variety of programs offered through the Shalom Center is based on the expressed needs and concerns of the congregants at Temple Chai and Jews throughout our community.  They are a way of sharing the struggles, the opportunities, and the blessings that life has to offer.  Please check the Temple calendar and join us for some interesting and meaningful programs:

L’Shalom,

Sharona
For more information, contact the Deutsch Family Shalom Center, Sharona Silverman, M.P.H.

Temple Chai
4645 E. Marilyn Road
Phoenix, AZ 85032

Office: 602-971-1234
Fax 602-971-5909

email Sharona Silverman
Call the Shalom Center at 602-971-1234 for more information