A Heart of Wisdom
Making the Jewish Journey from Midlife through the Elder Years
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- $18.99
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- $18.99
Publisher Description
Shows us how to understand and meet the challenges of our own process of aging—and the aging of those we care about—from a Jewish perspective, from midlife through the elder years. Over 40 contributors offer their insights and experiences through personal narrative, text studies, poems, ceremonies and stories about aging, retiring, growing, learning, caring for elderly parents, living and dying.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In Judaism, as in many world religions, the elderly are revered as founts of wisdom. In this marvelous collection of short essays, stories, poems and rituals, Berrin, who was guest editor for Sh'ma magazine's special issue on Judaism and aging, brings together the voices of Jewish writers, teachers, artists and parents to reflect upon what it means to be a Jew growing old in America. Some of the essays explore biblical and Talmudic sources for insights into the process of aging. For example, Tufts University Judaic Studies professor Joel Rosenberg offers a close look at how the Hebrew Bible describes the aging of David, Jacob and Sarah. Other essays and reflections explore the passage through midlife (Letty Cottin Pogrebin's "Time Is All There Is"), intergenerational relationships (Gloria Levi's "A Letter to My Children") and the challenges of aging (Cary Kozberg's "Saving Broken Tablets: Programming for the Spiritual Needs of Jews in Long-Term Care Facilities"). A section of poems and stories and a section of ceremonies that celebrate the process of aging (Anne Tolbert's "A Personal `Seder' for Celebrating Aging") round out the collection. Helpful appendixes provide lists for further reading on Judaism and aging as well as lists of "national and international organizations serving Jewish elders and their families."
