SEPTEMBER 9 • 2021 | 35
R
eflecting on relation-
ships is a part of the
High Holidays every
year, but it’s taken on a new
meaning in the context of this
past year.
The isolation brought about
by the pandemic is challenging
people to recalibrate and ask
themselves what really matters
at the end of the day: To reflect
on what they can release and
what overall relationships they
can reengage with in a mean-
ingful way.
For Rabbi Joseph Krakoff,
senior director of the Jewish
Hospice and
Chaplaincy
Network (JHCN),
these are ques-
tions that come
up throughout the
year. He’s involved
with helping people
reflect on their lives
daily as part of the spiritual care
the organization provides.
This gives people a chance to
explore their lives and legacies
— and allows JHCN clients to
see the impact their lives have
had and the ways they’ve lived
with purpose.
However, this message, now
more than ever, is for everybody,
he explains, and part of more
conversations because of the
pandemic and the approaching
new year.
“I think it can be very uplift-
ing, especially going through a
pandemic. It gives us a chance to
step back and say, ‘wait a minute
here, my life is a blessing,
’ and
‘am I living my best life?’ — and
if not, what do I have to do to
make it happen,
” he says. “Those
are all opportunities to make
positive changes.
”
People don’t have to wait until
the end of their lives to open the
door to this kind of introspec-
tion and what adjustments they
might want to make, he says.
It can be an optimistic and
forward-thinking process, he
adds, as people wake up to
the message of living more in
the moment, appreciating the
moment and not putting things
off because of life’s unpredictabil-
ity. Exploring one’s relationships,
connections to family, expres-
sions of gratitude and the ability
to put their authentic selves into
their interactions are all mean-
ingful places to start.
“It’s real and it’s relevant,
as a result of what we’ve been
through as a world. It resonates
more powerfully than it may
have resonated previously, with a
larger swath of people.
”
END-OF-LIFE SUPPORT
As the High Holidays approach,
George Glassman of Sylvan Lake
is thinking about the tight family
bonds his late parents, Debbie
and Jerry, valued so much. They
instilled those values of family,
and of being caring and compas-
sionate, from the start. “That’s
how we were raised,
” he says.
“My father lost both of his par-
ents as a teen … for him, family
was everything.
”
He’s mindful of those messag-
es every day. They were passed
on to him and his siblings, and
then to the next generation.
As he and his sisters, Lenore
and Judith, worked together to
support their parents during the
ends of their lives, their bond
grew stronger. The whole family
came together as a unit.
“It reinforced all the things
we always knew were import-
ant,” he explains. “This was a
perfect example of taking care
of those who needed help.” It
also highlighted the impor-
tance of being there for each
other, he says.
“It was very comforting that
we were all there together.
Whether we were there for
painting, singing, whatever it
was, it was spending quality
time.”
Glassman also savors the time
Jerry spent interacting with
great-granddaughter Elsa, and
the intergenerational connection
they had in the last weeks of his
life. “It was this incredibly touch-
ing moment … there was this
incredible bond,
” he explains.
In dealing with loss, the hol-
iday tropes are magnified, he
says. He’s making sure to take
the time to enjoy life and fami-
ly — seeing his granddaughter,
visiting with his daughter and
son-in-law who recently moved
back to Michigan, and more.
“You never forget, nor should
you ever forget, those who have
enriched our lives,” he says. “It’s
a special time of year, a time
of reflection — of reassessing
what’s important, hopefully
living the following year as a
better person, and doing more
good for others.”
HIGH HOLIDAYS
LEFT: George Glassman and family. RIGHT: George Glassman’s late
parents, Jerry and Debbie.
High Holidays are the perfect time
to concentrate on relationships.
Time for Refl
ection
Rabbi
Joseph
Krakoff
KAREN SCHWARTZ CONTRIBUTING WRITER