A Heart of Wisdom: Making the Jewish Journey from Midlife through the Elder Years

We all are growing older. A Heart of Wisdom 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.

How does Jewish tradition influence our own aging? What are the tasks and the meaning of aging? How does being Jewish inform our relationships with the elderly? How does living, thinking and worshipping as a Jew affect us as we age? How can Jewish tradition help us retain our dignity as we age?

Over 40 contributors―people who themselves are dealing with the unique life passages that aging brings; their loved ones; and the rabbis, social workers and other professionals who assist them―offer their insights about the changes and new perspectives that come with aging, retiring, growing, learning, caring for elderly parents, living and dying. By sharing experiences in direct and personal narratives, poems, ceremonies and stories, they help us explore:

Offering enlightenment from Jewish tradition, A Heart of Wisdom is not just for the middle-aged, the old or the soon-to-be old. It is for all of us.

• What traditional religious texts have to teach us about aging.
• Ways to cherish the integrity of the aging process.
• Women's unique roles as they age in our changing society.
• Advice for all generations on how to meet the opportunities and difficulties of aging.
• Creative ceremonies to mark milestones in our lives and in the lives of senior citizens.

Contributors:

Martha Joy Aft • Aliza Auerbach • Phyllis Ocean Berman • Susan Berrin • Paul Citrin • Thomas R. Cole • Ruth Daigon • Eliezer Diamond • Maggie Dwyer • Ben Engelman • Linda H. Feinberg • Linda Knaster Feldman • Dayle A. Friedman • Everett Gendler • Mary Gendler • Muriel E. Ginsberg • Hillel Goelman • Lynn Greenhough • Suzanne Hodes • Barbara D. Holender • Judith Magyar Isaacson • Norma Baumel Joseph • Marc Kaminsky • Cary Kozberg • Gloria Levi • Sheva Medjuck • Kerry M. Olitzky • Victor Hillel Reinstein • Carol Rose • Joel Rosenberg • Rosie Rosenzweig • Zalman Schachter-Shalomi • Jonathan Segol • Alice Shalvi • Danny Siegel • Rachel Josefowitz Siegel • Elizabeth Anne Sussman Socolow • Marcia Cohn Spiegel • Mickey Teicher • Savina J. Teubal • Anne Tolbert

Susan Berrin teaches and lectures on Jewish issues, particularly in the areas of aging, Jewish women and spirituality, and interfaith dialogue. She was guest editor for Sh'ma magazine's special issue on Judaism and aging, and is the editor of Celebrating the New Moon: A Rosh Chodesh Anthology. She lives in Victoria, British Columbia.

Harold S. Kushner is author of the best-selling books When Bad Things Happen to Good People and Living a Life That Matters.