Spiegel Seminar
The Spiegel Seminar on Jewish Family Values is a series of lunchtime seminars focused on topics related to Pastoral Care and Counseling most often seen as "stigmatized behaviors" and may not have been fully addressed in students' coursework.
Date:
Child Sexual Abuse: October 20; October 27
Domestic Partner Abuse: January 19; January 26
Elderly Abuse: March 9; March 23
Location: HUC-JIR, Los Angeles, California
Description:
The Spiegel Seminar on Jewish Family Values is a series of lunchtime seminars focused on topics related to Pastoral Care and Counseling most often seen as "stigmatized behaviors" and may not have been fully addressed in students' coursework. The goal is to focus on specific problems (such as domestic violence, addiction, divorce, and related subject areas), appropriate interventions and responses, and the identification of communal resources designed to assist family members. This school year, the Spiegel Seminar consisted of 6 sessions, including "The Myth of the 'Normal' Jewish Family," "Mental Health Issues in the Jewish Family and Our Institutions," and "Addictions and the Jewish Family." Every session drew a very large crowd and received wonderful responses. During the sessions, the students and faculty examined case studies, worked through text studies, heard from intriguing panel members, and engaged in in-depth and meaningful discussions. Participants asked thought provoking questions throughout the seminars and were actively engaged. The Spiegel Seminars clearly have a positive and profound impact on everyone involved; we are looking forward to even more success next year.
Click here for our "Case Studies on Addiction" handout.
Physician's Initiative Ongoing The Kalsman Institute is working intimately with partner Dr. Howard Silverman of Phoenix's Temple Chai Shalom Center, to create and foster a program of Jewish learning for Jewish doctors and other healthcare professionals.
Organizations: Temple Chai Shalom Center,
Phoenix National Center for Jewish Healing, New York
The Jewish Chaplaincy at Stanford University Medical Center
Title: Physicians Initiative
Date: Ongoing
Location: On-Line
Description:
The Kalsman Institute has been working intimately with partner Dr. Howard Silverman of Phoenix's
Temple Chai Shalom Center, to create and foster a program of Jewish learning for Jewish doctors and
other healthcare professionals. While still in the early stages of development, Dr. Silverman has
for the past number of years been working with other doctors on studying and discussing seminal
Jewish texts dealing with the work of doctors and others who provide healing. The program's
objective is to assist Jewish clinicians of all denominations to integrate their clinical work and
their Jewish and spiritual practice. The proposed format is an innovative integrated retreat and
online distance education program which will provide Continuing Medical Education (CME) units. The
core working team includes Dr. Elizabeth Feldman, Rabbi Simkha Weintraub and Dr Bruce Feldtein.
The Jewish Bereavement Project Ongoing HUC-JIR School of Jewish Communal Service students Amy Berkowitz and Michele Prince, under the auspices of the SJCS and the Kalsman Institute, launch a web based resource guide to Jewish and community bereavement resources in the Los Angeles area.
Description:
HUC-JIR School of Jewish Communal Service students Amy Berkowitz and Michele Prince, under the auspices of the SJCS and the Kalsman Institute, launch a web based resource guide to Jewish and community bereavement resources in the Los Angeles area. www.JewishBereavement.com is designed to provide information to help you, or someone you care for, find a way through the journey of mourning. Link to support groups, individual bereavement counselors, Jewish bereavement websites, books, organizations, and more
Kalsman Lecture Series Ongoing During the course of each academic year at HUC, the Kalsman Institute sponsors a number of "Lunch and Learn" programs for all HUC-LA students.
Description:
During the course of each academic year at HUC-JIR, the Kalsman Institute sponsors a number of "Lunch and Learn" programs for all HUC-LA students. An annual informational session is about Clinical Pastoral Education for interested Rabbinic students. Other 2005-2006 academic year sessions address working with couples in a Jewish setting, the problem of destructive behaviors in the Jewish community and how to address them, and the specter of domestic violence in the Jewish world. Additional topics will include Jewish Bioethics and a Sex Education Curriculum - "Forgotten Treasures: Discovering Lost Traditions of Jewish Sexuality."
Previous Initiatives & Events
Health and Jewish Values: Day School Leadership Through Teaching In partnership with DeLeT, Day School Leadership Through Teaching, the Kalsman Institute helped day-school teachers learn about teaching health to young people.
Title: Kals Health and Jewish Values: Day School Leadership Through Teaching
Location: HUC-JIR, Los Angeles, California
Description: In partnership with DeLeT, Day School Leadership Through Teaching, the Kalsman Institute helped day-school teachers learn about teaching health to young people. The course emphasized integration: weaving themes of health and healing, and what Jewish tradition says about them, into general studies and Jewish studies curricula. Topics included
Jewish texts on health; Jewish healers from history; recognizing and reporting child abuse and neglect; health of the teacher/self-care; how children mourn and grieve; and more. DeLeT is a 13 month fellowship program designed to increase the number of professional teacher leaders to serve in the growing number of Jewish day schools across America. Fellows are trained at HUC-JIR Los Angeles or Brandeis University in addition to placements in day schools during the academic year.
The Los Angeles Bikkur Cholim Project March - May, 2006 Following on the success of last year's conference, "Hope Abandoned, Hope Redeemed," the Kalsman Institute once again partnered with the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles to continue the training and development of Caring Community programs within local synagogues.
Organization: Kalsman Institute/Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles
Title: The Los Angeles Bikkur Cholim Project
Date: March - May. 2006
Location: Wilshire Boulevard Temple. Irmas Campus
Description:
Following on the success of last year's conference, "Hope Abandoned, Hope Redeemed," the Kalsman Institute once again partnered with the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles to continue the training and development of Caring Community programs within local synagogues. The three one-day events focused on specific aspects of Bikkur Cholim work, called Crossroads: At the Intersection of Jewish Spirituality and Health.
A second seminar addressed Jewish Genetic Diseases and Disorders and the third topic was on Parenting Jewish Special Needs Children.
Death, Dying and End of Life Issues November 6, 13, 20, 2003 An on-line interactive scholarly discourse on end-of-life issues, co-presented with the Joint Commission on Sustaining Rabbinic Education of the CCAR and HUC-JIR.
Description:
An on-line interactive scholarly discourse on end-of-life issues, co-presented with the Joint Commission on Sustaining Rabbinic Education
of the CCAR and HUC-JIR. This three-part mini-course is available to all CCAR members, and features
sessions on literature, ethics, and congregational scholarship. Originally the HUC-JIR Department o
Distance Education made this course accessible to colleagues around the globe through web-based
educational materials and real-time call-in courses. The material is now available through the
commission's archives.
Days of Awareness October 20-21, 2002 Kalsman Institute/HUC-JIR and the Family Violence Project of Jewish Family Service Los Angeles presented a two-day conference on domestic violence for teens, families and communal professionals.
Organization: Kalsman Institute/HUC-JIR and the Family Violence Project of Jewish Family Service Los Angeles
Title: Days of Awareness
Date: October 20-21, 2002
Location: Los Angeles, California
Description: Kalsman Institute/HUC-JIR and the Family Violence Project of Jewish Family Service Los Angeles presented a two-day conference on domestic violence for teens, families and communal professionals. Actor/activist Naomi Ackerman performed her one-woman show, "Flowers Aren't Enough," which chronicles one individual's journey through an abusive relationship.
Mental Illness in the Jewish Community: Help, Hope and Healing
October 20, 2002 A consortium of northern California Peninsula synagogues, the Bay Area Jewish Healing Center and the Kalsman Institute presented a one-day conference on reducing the stigma of mental illness in the Jewish community.
Organization: Northern California Peninsula synagogues, the Bay Area Jewish Healing Center and the Kalsman Institute
Title: Mental Illness in the Jewish Community: Help, Hope and Healing
Date: October 20, 2002
Location: Temple Beth Jacob, Redwood City, California
Description:
A consortium of northern California Peninsula synagogues, the Bay Area Jewish Healing Center, and the
Kalsman Institute presented a one-day conference on reducing the stigma of mental illness in the Jewish
community. Modeled on a successful event held in Marin County.
Panelists Dolores Brill, Mental Health Case Manager at Marin General Hospital and consumer advocate; Alex Markels, L.C.S.W with Jewish Family & Children's Services; and Mark Gottlieb, M.Sc., health physicist with the CA Dept. of Health Services and president of the San Francisco Depressive and Manic-Depressive Association.
Rabbi Nat Ezray of Temple Beth Jacob in Redwood City, CA, welcomes the community to "Help, Hope and Healing."
Rabbis Aliza Berk and Natan Fenner, of the Bay Area Jewish Healing Center, and Rabbi Cutter of the Kalsman Institute, facilitate a workshop on Jewish spiritual support for people with mental illness, their loved ones, and their caregivers.
Photo credit: Joyce Goldschmid, Woodside, CA
Mental Illness in the Jewish Community: Help, Hope and Healing October 8, 2002 Actor and activist Naomi Ackerman brings her one-woman show on domestic violence, "Flowers Aren't Enough," to the student body and community of HUC-JIR New York (see "Days of Awareness" below for more information on Ms. Ackerman and her work).
Description:
Actor and activist Naomi Ackerman brought her one-woman show on domestic violence, "Flowers Aren't Enough," to the student body and community of HUC-JIR New York (see "Days of Awareness" for more information on Ms. Ackerman and her work). The performance and subsequent discussion with students was the second annual program on domestic violence at the NY campus.
The Safe Spot
June 9, 2002 "When a parent has cancer" was a unique one-day camp for Jewish families with children ages 5 to 17.
Organization: Kalsman Institute, Temple Chai of Phoenix: Deutsch Family Shalom Center, and The Union for Reform Judaism
Title: The Safe Spot
Date: June 9, 2002
Location: Malibu, California
Description:
"When a parent has cancer" was a unique one-day camp for Jewish families with children ages 5 to 17. The JCC Shalom Institute in Malibu was the site for the second Safe Spot, a safe, welcoming environment for families to talk about how cancer has affected them. Rabbis, physicians, storytellers, social workers, and others gave their time to create educational and recreational programs for kids and adults alike. Co-planned by Jewish Family Service of Los Angeles; Valley Beth Shalom; Jewish Federation of Los Angeles; Jewish Healing Connection of JFS/LA; and the Kalsman Institute on Judaism and Health.
Women's Health and Integrative Medicine February 23, 2001 The Second Annual Integrative Medicine Conference for Cancer and Chronic Illnesses, in the series "New Frontiers in Medicine", dealt with various aspects of healthcare that are of particular concern to women.
Location: Skirball Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California
Description:
The Second Annual Integrative Medicine Conference for Cancer and Chronic Illnesses, in the series "New Frontiers in Medicine", dealt with various aspects of healthcare that are of particular concern to women. Convened by the Institute for Molecular Medicine at the Skirball Cultural Center.
From Myth to Reality: Opening the Window on Addiction in the Jewish Community October 22, 2001 "When a parent has cancer" was a unique one-day camp for Jewish families with children ages 5 to 17.
Organization:Los Angeles Jewish Federation, Gateways Beit T'Shuvah, Progressive Jewish Alliance and The Lee & Irving Kalsman Fund
Title: From Myth to Reality: Opening the Window on Addiction in the Jewish Community
Date: October 22, 2001
Location: Skirball Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California
Description:
This daylong conference by the Jewish community for the Jewish community sought to raise the consciousness of the participants regarding the effects of addiction, focusing primarily on drugs an alcohol, and including other areas such as gambling and food. The conference encouraged interested laypeople and professionals from different disciplines to address the problems from their own perspectives and to network with each other to expand their own expertise. Participants left with the understanding that addiction is a medical, psychological, spiritual and social problem for which treatment should be provided.
Through a Jewish Lens: Disability, Family, and Culture September 13, 2001 Seminar on disability, culture and the family.
Organization: Kalsman Institute, the USC School of Social Work, the HUC-JIR School of Jewish Communal Service, and the USC/Casden Institute for the Study of the Jewish Role in American Life
Title: Through a Jewish Lens: Disability, Family, and Culture
Date: September 13, 2001
Location: Skirball Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California
Description:
Seminar on disability, culture and the family. This conference examined current research on multicultural perspectives on disability, evaluated the legal and public policy implications, explored new models of interagency cooperation, engaged distinguished academics and experts in the field.
Complementary Medicine Roundtable August 7, 2001 Experts from the fields of complementary and alternative healthcare met to address the pressing issues of their community.
Description:
Experts from the fields of complementary and alternative healthcare met to address the pressing issues of their community. This discussion, moderated by Anne Brener, explored the possibility of a future conference on alternative and integrative therapies.
