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PASSOVER: A LESSON FOR HEALING AND RECOVERY

Rabbi Tsvi Blanchard Keynoter at the Association of Jewish Aging Services in San Diego

How can we use our tradition to help us through difficult times? What insights does Passover offer to help us face the challenges in our own lives?

In March, CLAL Director Rabbi Tsvi Blanchard, Ph.D. was the keynote speaker at the 2009 Annual Conference for the Association of Jewish Aging Services (AJAS). The conference brought together hundreds of professionals working in Jewish nursing homes nationwide.

Acknowledging the impact of the economy on patients, staff, and institutions, Rabbi Blanchard discussed how we can use the Passover story as a lesson for coping in challenging times. Reminding participants that even in tough moments, we all have the resources to help someone less fortunate, whether financial, emotional, or physical, he emphasized the need to create a common vision, and remember our enduring values. "People raise each other up. They provide comfort and healing, even when they cannot reverse the situation."

Drawing from the Haggadah, Rabbi Blanchard focused on the value of family, and the importance of retelling of the Exodus story from one generation to the next. "In hard times, we look to intergenerational meaning-making and connection. Passover reminds us that we build community and relationships in our homes. Connection is critical when we feel vulnerable. What we cannot achieve alone we can achieve together."

The theme of this year‘s conference was Thriving in an Age of Change. It addressed many of the recent shifts in technology, fundraising, gerontology, psychology, nutrition, and the other aspects of health care provision for an aging population. .

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