Just as we all live differently, so we all need differently. This is perhaps never more apparent than when we are ill. Some people need spiritual uplifting, some need help with important decision making and some simply need company.
The Jewish Chaplaincy Program, a program of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation in cooperation with Jewish Family Services, takes seriously its mission to meet the religious, spiritual and cultural needs of Jewish patients, residents and family members in a variety of settings. The program does this through the mitzvah of bikkur cholim, or visitation of the sick and terminally ill, at the city’s hospitals, nursing homes, hospices and other facilities.
Dr. Sharon Fedderly, Milwaukee psychologist and musician, had already been involved in the program before her father, Emanuel Siegel, became ill. She serves on the chaplaincy advisory committee and has performed music for several chaplaincy programs.
So during her father’s recent hospitalization, “it just felt right to contact them and utilize the service,” she said. “I sensed that my father would benefit from some spiritual support.
“[Part-time Chaplain] Gloria Krasno contacted me and we talked about what my father’s needs were…. [She] had a really positive effect, a calming effect. She was sensitive to his needs and style.”
Krasno talked with Siegel about his emotions, circumstances, beliefs and spirituality, Fedderly said. After the visit, Krasno contacted Fedderly and gave her feedback.
Fedderly explained that visits from the chaplains provide spiritual anchors at a time of loss-of-control and fear. They can also direct patients to something deeper, and to give hope, she said.
Program director Rabbi Leonard J. Lewy believes the Jewish Chaplaincy Program aims to “let people know that the community cares and that they are not forgotten…. [That’s] such an important thing for people in isolated situations.”
The chaplaincy program works parallel to the efforts of congregational rabbis, filling different needs, Lewy explained. Though a synogogue rabbi may be busy with his/her myriad other duties, the community chaplains and volunteers are devoted specifically to reaching every patient, including the unaffiliated.
Chaplains are professional listeners who have received specialized training and skills to work in a variety of health care settings. In the greater Milwaukee area, some 500 individuals in 29 nursing homes and senior care facilities, 10 hospitals and in hospice programs have received their services. They are prepared to help people deal with issues as simple as ordering kosher meals and as complex as providing a Jewish perspective on life support.
Like Fedderly, Shirley Mendeloff has experienced the chaplaincy program from different angles. Her son Joey is developmentally disabled and participates in the Jewish Chaplaincy Special Needs Holiday Program, which is held eight times a year in cooperation with synagogues and senior care/group homes throughout Milwaukee. For adults with developmental, mental and physical disabilities, this program provides a religious service and discussion appropriate to the specific Jewish holiday, and a festive meal.
More recently, however, Shirley has experienced the chaplaincy’s bikkur cholim work. Her husband Elton, a retired surgeon, has been ill for almost eight of the last ten months. Finally home, Elton remembers part-time chaplain Rita Gordy fondly. “We became very good friends,” he said.
“They were friendly and helpful in promoting my spirits,” explained Elton. “They provided company in what can be a very isolating time.”
Shirley also benefited from Gordy’s visits. “Knowing that [my husband] had people he could talk to and visit with made a big difference,” providing her some peace of mind as well.
A common thread among family members of people who have received chaplaincy services seems to be the benefit of the chaplain’s objectivity. Sometimes people “feel freer talking to someone who’s not emotionally involved,” explained Fedderly. Lewy agreed: “Somebody with a little distance can make a difference.”
In Daniel Stein’s case, visiting rabbis and chaplains helped to ease religious tensions within a multi-denominational family. Stein, a physical therapist, is Orthodox and his father, Sheldon Stein, is not.
“I am grateful that the chaplaincy is there,” said Daniel Stein. “It affords a lot of opportunity to do a lot of good for people.” He considers four main benefits: providing comfort, counseling, refereeing family differences of opinion and assisting in halachic decisions.
“There are life and death questions that come up,” explained Stein, and family members must make important decisions. “These are the questions you need to ask a chaplain.”
On the practical level, when Sheldon was first moved to his room in St. Luke’s Medical Center, Lewy appeared with an electric menorah in hand, spoke with him and gave him a blessing, Daniel recalled. “I don’t know how much it registered for Dad at the time, but I am grateful it was available,” he said.
He was also grateful that Lewy arranged for kosher meals for his father.
Lewy and two part-time chaplains, in addition to two volunteer chaplains, staff the Jewish Chaplaincy Program. The program also receives support from Aurora and other health care organizations. For more information, contact Lewy, 414-219-7818.
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