HEADLINES | 4
LIFESTYLE & CULTURE | 18
CLIMATE FOCUS
CONVERSION STORY
New clergy climate project at ASU
One woman’s journey to Judaism
SEPTEMBER 10, 2021 | TISHRI 4, 5782 | VOLUME 74, NUMBER 1
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Jewish chaplains in Repentance ‘almost obsolete’ in a time of social media Greater Phoenix frustrated by W pandemic’s gains NICOLE RAZ | STAFF WRITER
NICOLE RAZ | STAFF WRITER
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ospitalizations for COVID-19 patients are once again on the rise, but this time, it feels different. “I don’t want to be angry because I’m a rabbi and need to be compassionate,” said Rabbi Jeffrey Lipschultz. “I just feel really sad, because the heartache of saying goodbye to somebody, or yourself saying goodbye and leaving this world is so much. Why would you do it unnecessarily?” As a staff rabbi at Madrona Hospice and Palliative Care, which offers hospice care and chaplaincy visits to terminally ill patients in homes and hospitals, he hasn’t had much contact with COVID patients. “There’s one good thing we can say about us Jews: We’re pretty good on vaccines. We’re pretty good with medicine,” he said. But knowing that people are dying unnecessarily breaks his heart and adds to a mountain of grief he is still processing from 2020. Lipschultz and other area chaplains say this period has been incredibly taxing, unlike anything they’ve witnessed. Lipschultz joined Madrona in December 2019. After 17 years of being a congregational rabbi, “I figured it’d be nice to have a little break from congregational politics.” But just a few months after taking the job, the pandemic hit. “To put it nicely, the year sucked,” he said. Before the vaccine became available, he was not allowed to visit patients in person, unless it was to give last rites. “We had to do everything by Zoom.” He offered as much support to families as he could, but it wasn’t the same. “They need hugs. They need to hold hands. I need to let the person know that I’m here.” he said. “We chaplains need to give our emotional love to people to let them know it will be OK. And SEE CHAPLAINS, PAGE 2
hat would Maimonedes, Rashi or other iconic Jewish scholars have thought of social media? “I imagine the rabbis who made such a big hay about lashon hara, evil gossip, would look at social media and just cry,” said Temple Beth Sholom of the East Valley Rabbi Herschel ‘Brodie’ Aberson. The entire point of Twitter is to spread what others have said, he noted. Meanwhile, SnapChat, which deletes content shortly after it has been viewed, is “all about the harm that nobody can prove you did.” Local clergy say the ubiquitous use, and misuse, of social media complicates the Jewish obligation to repent on Yom Kippur. Chabad of North Phoenix Rabbi Mendy Levertov recalled the Jewish story of the sack filled with feathers. The sack was torn open and the feathers were strewn about indoors and outdoors, making it impossible to put them all back in the pillow. “That’s what happens when you speak badly about someone. And it goes really fast on social media,” Levertov said. “With SEE REPENTANCE, PAGE 3
“FACEBOOK APP CENTER IPHONE” BY TOODLEPIP IS LICENSED UNDER CC BY 2.0
Torah dedication Members of Chabad of Flagstaff gather together to dedicate their new Torah. To read more, go to p. 14. PHOTO COURTESY OF CHABAD OF FLAGSTAFF
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