A Jewish prayer finding strength in the responses of our ancestors to the trials in their lives. Specially written for during the Covid-19 outbreak
Category: Henaynu Caring
Video: What’s Mourning Like?
A video that explores what it feels like to be a mourner, featuring my poem - The Secret Life of a Mourner.
Video: What to Say to a Mourner
A video that explores what to say to a mourner. Of particular significance for me since my father Ken Kipnes died.
The Secret Life of the Mourner
A poem about what a mourner experiences, hidden away from the rest of the world, sometimes hidden even from friends or community members
Rabbi In Crisis: How a Community Conspires to Care
Imagine having to make this decision: to fly home to hold your wife’s hand as she buries her mom on the West Coast or to remain on the East Coast to oversee the diagnosis and care of your mother who just had a major stroke. What would you do?
Creating an Escape for Teens After the SoCal Fires and Shooting
How might synagogues and Jewish communities respond to the needs of teens to express their inner turmoil and to learn new techniques for managing stress and emotional exhaustion?
So That’s What Rabbis Do: A Rabbinic Student Reflects on a Synagogue’s Fire Response
Rabbinic Student Elana Nemintoff reflects on the role of the rabbi during the immediate responses by Congregation Or Ami, Calabasas, to the Woolsey fire.
Hero or Imposter? As a Rabbi Struggles with Post-Fire Trauma
How does a Rabbi deal with the trauma of a fire and some shootings? Here's another peek into the journey.
When the Rabbi Feels Trauma: Lessons from the SoCal Fires
Facing the trauma after the fires. If it can happen to the rabbi, it can happen to you too...
After the Fires: Celebrating Thanksgiving When Homes are Lost or Damaged
When circumstances out of our control - like fires or other disasters - affect our ability to hold our Thanksgiving rituals in our usual way, we can become distraught. When life intervenes – like fires destroying homes or forcing a loved one to be absent – what happens to the ritual? By Sally Weber MSW and Rabbi Paul Kipnes
Resources after a Shooting: For Solace, Support, Action and Talking to Kids
In the aftermath of the shooting in Thousand Oaks, Congregation Or Ami sent these resources - for solace, support, action and talking to kids - to all our congregants.
It’s Surreal, Seeking Something after Rabbi Aaron Panken’s death
It’s Surreal: A Spoken Word Commentary. Seeking ... Something, after Rabbi Aaron Panken’s death
When Cutting One’s Hair for Chemo
When Cutting One’s Hair for Chemo: A Prayer/Blessing/Drash/Spoken Word Rap
Parent-Teen Mental Health and Wellness Summit
The Parent-Teen Mental Health and Wellness Summit realized a dream: to transform our synagogue, Congregation Or Ami (Calabasas), into a truly safe place for teens, their unique emotional journeys, and the parents who love but are unsure of how to protect them.
Teen Mental Health: Rolling Darkness into Light
Why did Congregation Or Ami focus our energies on creating a mental health and wellness retreat? Because today's teens are particularly stressed out, overwhelmed by anxiety, buffetted by the emotional turmoil engendered by social media. They crave support and relief.