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When counseling those struggling with debilitating illness or the prospect of death, psychologists and clergy have much to learn from each other. Exploring this intersection of psyche and spirit, a Center for Adult Jewish Learning lecture series at Hebrew College featured three of the nation's leading Jewish thinkers and practitioners in both realms. On December 3, Harvard Medical School cancer researcher and AIDS specialist Dr. Jerome Groopman examined the dynamic tension between hope and acceptance, as well as the overlapping roles of clergy, health providers, friends and family in supporting a person with illness.
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On December 10, Rabbi Harold Kushner, best-selling author of When Bad Things Happen to Good People, explored the dynamics of helping a dying individual and of supporting loved ones in their fear, anger and sadness over personal loss. The series concluded on December 17 with death educator and counselor Dr. Earl A. Grollman's discussion of the need to place grief counseling within a spiritual context. Psychologist Dr. Joel Ziff is leading a follow-up course, Thursdays, January 6–February 12, on how to apply Jewish texts, laws and customs to the psychotherapeutic process—and vice-versa. For more information, call 617-559-8709 or email