Spotlight Archive
This is the archive of Mental Health and Wellness spotlight articles on a variety of subjects, as well as past programs and recordings.
Spotlights
(May 2023)
https://temple-isaiah.org/community/spotlight-article/may-2023/1961
(February 2023)
https://temple-isaiah.org/community/spotlight-article/february-2023/1869
(December 2022) December Holiday Challenges
https://temple-isaiah.org/community/spotlight-article/december-2022/1809
(Fall 2022) Depression
https://temple-isaiah.org/community/spotlight-article/fall-2022/1796
(June 2022) Let’s Learn To Live And Thrive With Covid
https://temple-isaiah.org/community/spotlight-article/june-2022/1724
(May 2022) Mental Health Month
https://temple-isaiah.org/community/spotlight-article/may-2022/1712
(April 2022) What Do Passover and Mental Health Have in Common?
https://temple-isaiah.org/community/spotlight-article/april-2022/1713
(March 2022) Purim, Bullies, and becoming the Upstander
https://temple-isaiah.org/community/spotlight-article/march-2022/1714
(February 2022) The Concept of Self Actualization and How It Impacts Our Lives
https://temple-isaiah.org/community/spotlight-article/february-2022/1715
(January 2022) Caregivers: What You Need to Know, Spotlight and Recorded Program (Family Caregiver Alliance, Community Outreach Specialists, Julian Leus and Adriana Sanchez)
https://temple-isaiah.org/community/spotlight-article/january-2022/1716
(December 2021) Sleep Well… and Wake Up to Life!
https://temple-isaiah.org/community/spotlight-article/december-2021/1717
(November 2021) Gratitude and Light
https://temple-isaiah.org/community/spotlight-article/november-2021/1718
(October 2021) Dear God These are anxious times: Resilience Trauma & Etty Hillesum (Rabbi Dorothy Richman)
Spotlight and Recorded Program
https://temple-isaiah.org/community/spotlight-article/october-2021/1719
(September 2021) High Holy Days Lead to Reflections on Alcohol Use
https://temple-isaiah.org/community/spotlight-article/september-2021/1720
(August 2021) Back to School - IN PERSON!
https://temple-isaiah.org/community/spotlight-article/august-2021/1721
(July 2021) Mindfulness: Meditation and Chanting
https://temple-isaiah.org/community/spotlight-article/july-2021/1722
(June 2021) Let’s talk about Eating Disorders
https://temple-isaiah.org/community/spotlight-article/june-2021/1723
Past Programs
Mental Health in the Book of Ruth
With Rabbi Lawrence and the Mental Health and Wellness Committee
Wednesday, May 24, 2023 at 7pm in the Temple House Courtyard
In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month and the holiday of Shavuot, when the Book of Ruth is traditionally read, come together for a text study and discussion of the role of mental health in this beloved Biblical book. We will explore how the characters’ struggles with dark moods and mental illness are part of the Jewish story and played a role in the future of the Jewish people. Join us as we experience how our ancestors’ journeys of mental health can offer us validation, affirmation, and solidarity. No preparation necessary - we will read out loud together.
Melissa Bernstein in conversation with Rabbi Stacy Friedman of Congregation Rodef Sholom
Thursday, March 3, 2023, 7:00 pm via Zoom
For those who weren’t able to join us, here is a link to the recording of the program for you to enjoy
https://www.rodefsholom.org/streaming-events.html#
Co-sponsored by Temple Isaiah’s Mental Health and Wellness in partnership with REAL at Rodef Sholom.
Behind the joy of running the #1 parent-recommended toy brand with her husband, Doug, Melissa was fighting her own secret battle with existential depression and anxiety, a condition that both fueled her creativity and brought her to the brink of self-harm. In conversation with Rabbi Stacy Friedman, Melissa will share her story and her holistic practice that promotes lifelong vitality and provides tools to lead a meaningful, authentic life.
Melissa Bernstein, along with her husband Doug, is the Co-Founder of the toy company Melissa & Doug, which has created over 5,000 children’s products and sold billions of dollars of toys since its inception. In 2020 Melissa launched LifeLines, an ecosystem filled with content, tools and products to share her learnings and her practice in order to help as many people as possible. Melissa lives in Westport Connecticut with Doug and their six children.
Temple Isaiah’s Mental Health and Wellness in partnership with REAL at Rodef Sholom presents:
“Caregiving: When Your Family Needs You”
Wednesday, February 9, 2023, 7-8:30pm on Zoom
Click here for the recording.
Click here for the presentation slides.
Presented by Family Caregiver Alliance, Community Outreach Specialists, Julian Leus and Adriana Sanchez
Presenting information to help you make choices about your loved one’s care including:
• Different types of caregivers, including professional and family members caring for elderly, disabled, or juvenile with needs.
• Dealing with issues of financial/legal burden
• Addressing mental health issues of caregivers, such as Isolation, exhaustion, burnout
• Q&A session for individualized questions
By registering you will receive an email with the zoom link information prior to the program. Questions may be directed to Diana MaKieve at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
Scott Stossel in conversation with Rabbi Elana Rosen-Brown of Congregation Rodef Sholom
Thursday, January 20, 2023, 7:00pm via zoom
For the recording, visit https://www.rodefsholom.org/streaming-events.html
As recently as thirty-five years ago, anxiety did not exist as a diagnostic category. Today, it is the most common form of officially classified mental illness. Drawing from his award-winning book, “My Age of Anxiety”, Scott Stossel will join Rabbi Elana to discuss all things anxiety: the science, culture, history, genetics, and how we were raised. Scott will speak candidly about his own anxiety disorders and his journey to understand himself and this pervasive and too often misunderstood affliction. Scott Stossel is the editor of The Atlantic and the author of “My Age of Anxiety: Fear, Hope, Dread, and the Search for Peace of Mind”, and “Sarge: The Life and Times of Sargent Shriver”. His articles and essays have appeared in The Atlantic, The New Yorker, The New Republic, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and many other publications. He lives with his family in Washington, D.C. Co-sponsored by the REAL Mental Health Initiative at Congregation Rodef Sholom and Temple Isaiah’s Mental Health and Wellness.
Mental Health and Wellness presents “Dear God, These are Anxious Times: Resilience, Trauma, and Etty Hillesum” with Rabbi Dorothy Richman
Sunday, November 14, 2021, 3-4:30pm on Zoom
Click here for the recording.
In this time of pandemic and social disruption, how do we continue to find the resources to support ourselves and others? Together, we will explore the writings of Etty Hillesum, a Dutch woman in her late twenties living in Nazi-occupied Amsterdam for insight into how to manage our mental and spiritual health in trying times. Etty’s journals and letters have been called “the most spiritually significant documents of our age.” Who was this young woman and what can we learn from her hard-won wisdom? Co-sponsored by Temple Isaiah and Rodef Sholom.
About Rabbi Dorothy Richman Rabbi Richman serves as the rabbi of Makor Or: Jewish Meditation and is a founding faculty member of the Romemu Yeshiva in New York City. Her teaching integrates Jewish text, practice, ritual and music to help students connect to themselves, to each other, to the Divine, and to their communities.
REAL at Rodef Sholom and Mental Health and Wellness at Temple Isaiah bring you Dr. Edith Eger
Thursday, November 4, 2021 at 6pm on Zoom
Click here for the recording.
Dr. Eger is a psychologist, holocaust survivor, author of two books: The Gift and The Choice, and helps PTSD victims confront their past and heal their minds.