Bikkur Cholim means the “visiting and
caring for the sick.” It is an integral part of a caring community and
provides for specially arranged short-term visits to ill or recovering
members of Temple Shalom.
We visit the three local hospitals, as
well as assisted living facilities and nursing homes. We also make
calls and visits to the homebound in our efforts to offer support and
extend the hand of love and caring to our Temple family.
Please call
the Temple office at 455-3030 to join us or to let us know your needs.
We will call, we will visit.
Jewish Caregivers Group
A Jewish Caregiver Group at Temple Shalom is now open to the entire Jewish community. It includes men and women, young and old, who are caring for loved ones suffering from many different types of diseases.
At every Shabbat service we acknowledge the illness of our loved ones with the healing prayer, MiShebeirach. The ebb and flow of changes brought on by illness, affect not only the people who are ill, but also the lives of everyone entrusted to their care: the husband who attempts to apologize for his wife’s poor memory stolen through dementia, the parent who must care for a child with mental or physical illness, the adult faced with an aging parent, the wife who cares for her cancer-stricken husband, and those who have loved ones facing major life decisions involving illnesses such as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s Disease.
All these caregivers harbor a fear of the future! The question is, “How do you find the equilibrium to remain emotionally, spiritually and physically strong while facing the consequences of declining health?” Feelings of disbelief, hostility, anger, guilt, depression and isolation can result in being unable to cope. Many caregivers have no local extended family. Surely, if we are a compassionate Jewish community, we should help to meet their needs.
This group meets twice a month at Temple Shalom.
