Maps and Meaning: Levitical Models for Contemporary Care

Maps and Meaning is rooted in the authors experience as clergy and chaplains and is relevant to those looking for a fresh perspective on biblical narratives related to the role of the priest, patients, soldiers, and others who spend time outside the camp. Drawing on diverse fields, from neuroscience to anthropology, the authors consider the geographical, interpersonal, temporal, and spiritual transitions individuals experience when they move in and out of the camp and the impact their time outside the camp has on family and community. They offer a unique perspective on self-care for caregivers of different disciplines who negotiate these transitions in their work.And they explore the lives and transitions of patients and returning veterans.

Drawing on contemporary explorations of stigma, the authors raise communal questions related to healthcare, returning veterans, and incarcerated people.They propose a societal approach that embraces the inevitability of lifes ebbs and flow and that draws maps to facilitate these journeys.

This book is a finalist in two categories for the 2014 National Jewish Book Award, 'Contemporary Jewish Life and Practice' and 'Modern Jewish Thought and Experience'!

Nancy H. Wiener is the founding director of the Jacob and Hilda Blaustein Center for Pastoral Counseling at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York, where she holds the Steinberg Chair in Human Relations. She is a board certified chaplain and a rabbi in a Reform congregation, as well as the author of several books on life cycle counseling through a Jewish lens.

Jo Hirschmann is a Reform rabbi, board certified chaplain, and candidate in an ACPE supervisory training program at The Mount Sinai Health System. A chaplain who has worked in hospice and psychiatric settings, she is currently helping to develop a new seminary-based Clinical Pastoral Education program at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York City.