Scholar-in-Residence Program
Judaism and Your Health
with Rabbi Douglas Kohn
March 15 - 17, 2013
Rabbi Kohn will be our featured speaker for this year's Scholar-in-Residence Program
On Friday night, March 15, during Shabbat Services (services begin at 7:30 pm):
Illness and Wellness: How Do Jews and Judaism Understand Them?
We live in a world which seeks and idolizes wellness, but in truth, we only understand wellness from the context of illness. Thus, what is illness, itself, and how has our Tradition understood it over the millennia? Jewish thinking has evolved, but also may be regressing. What is illness and wellness?
Shabbat morning, Saturday, March 16, at 9:00am:
Jewish Biomedical Ethics: Life and Death Questions and Brilliant Discussions
When does life begin? When does it end? What may we do to prolong life? What are we prohibited from doing? How do we understand life, itself? Euthanasia, abortion, contraception, organ transplantation – understanding Jewish biomedical ethics establishes our positions on these, and other, critical, sensitive issues.
Saturday night March 16, at 7:00pm
Life, Faith and Cancer: Facing Illness with Grace and Purpose
When I was diagnosed with cancer in 2004, I began to think: what resources are there for individuals and communities for cancer patients, caregivers and families facing this disease? How do we face the Big ‘C,” with all its fears and mystique, with grace and purpose?
Sunday Morning March 17, at 9:30am
Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia: the Next Frontier for the Jewish Community
As baby-boomers age, and as their parents also age and live-longer, the rate of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia is expected to skyrocket. Not only must we prepare ourselves for this next epidemic, but it raises significant questions: for the people of memory, what happens when mind and memory no longer function?
Rabbi Kohn has been the Rabbi of Congregation Emanu El in Redlands, CA since 2001. Prior to that he has served congregations in Hoffman Estates IL, Buffalo and Baltimore.
After his diagnosis and treatment for cancer in 2004-2005, Rabbi Kohn has focused on writing and teaching on Judaism and health, beginning with editing a book on Judaism and cancer, published in 2008 by URJ Press. Titled Life, Faith, and Cancer: Jewish Journeys through Diagnosis, Treatment, and Recovery, the book includes the narratives and teachings of Rabbi Kohn and eighteen other Jewish religious leaders who also have, or have had, cancer. Rabbi Kohn’s newest volume, titled, Broken Fragments: Jewish Experiences of Alzheimer’s Disease Through Diagnosis, Adaptation and Moving On, was recently published by URJ Press, and is already under consideration for the National Jewish Book Award. It, too, includes the narratives and teachings of a wide array of distinguished Jewish leaders and physicians. Rabbi Kohn is also a contributing author of the textbook, World Religions for Healthcare Professionals (Routledge Press, 2009). Rabbi Kohn is also a close rabbinic friend and classmate of Rabbi Straus.