Jewish Spiritual Care: Perspectives from the Field

Co-sponsored by the Hornstein Jewish Professional Leadership Program at Brandeis University

As part of the project Leading Where Life Happens: Mapping and Building the Field of Jewish Chaplaincy, this webinar offers a series of reflections by Jewish chaplains serving in a variety of settings. Our panel will discuss their work on spiritual care in aging populations, approaches to end of life care, and serving as a Jewish chaplain on a multidisciplinary team / in a non-majority Jewish community.

Jewish chaplains serving in any capacity, as well as chaplains who may serve Jewish populations, will benefit from the perspective and expertise of three leading Jewish spiritual care providers. We’ll be joined by:

Rabbi Lynn Liberman, BCC, Community Chaplain at Jewish Family Services of St. Paul. Rabbi Lynn Liberman was ordained from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in 1993. She served as a congregational rabbi for over 20 years. She has taught and worked in a variety of educational settings. Rabbi Liberman is a Board Certified Chaplain, currently working as the Community Chaplain for the Jewish Family Service of St Paul. Additionally, she serves as an on-call chaplain for Regions Hospital, Gillette Children’s Hospital and M Health Fairview Hospital System. She volunteers as a Police and Fire Chaplain for the Mendota Heights/West St. Paul Police and Fire Departments. She has volunteered for a number of causes and groups, including NECHAMA: A Jewish Response to Disaster; as board secretary for J-HAP, a program creating supportive housing for people with special needs; and as vice president for Neshama: Association of Jewish Chaplains.

Rabbi Michelle Stern, BCC, Chaplain and Manager of Religious Life at CHE SeniorLife. Rabbi Michelle Stern, BCC, manages Religious Life and serves as Chaplain for CJE SeniorLife, a Jewish eldercare social service agency in Chicago and its suburbs. She works with CJE’s Board of Directors to ensure that CJE’s Jewish values are lived throughout all service lines of the agency. In 2019, she was recognized for her work by the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago by being awarded the Samuel A. Goldsmith Award. Michelle is a board certified chaplain through Neshama: Association of Jewish Chaplains, and previously served on their board. She received her rabbinic ordination from the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College and is a member of the RRA Ethics Committee. Prior to joining CJE SeniorLife in 2016, Michelle was a staff chaplain in the emergency department and critical care unit at Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore, MD.

Rabbi Jessica Shafrin, BCC, Manager of Pastoral Care at SSM Health. Rabbi Jessica Shafrin fell in love with helping others at a young age. She grew passionate about providing support for people in her community and abroad. Her commitment to care for the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of others led her to pursue rabbinic ordination from The Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies at the American Jewish University as well as becoming a board certified chaplain by Neshama: Association of Jewish Chaplains. Jessica currently works as a community chaplain at JFS and a chaplain at SSM- St Mary’s hospital.

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