14 | OCTOBER 31 • 2024 J
N
O
n Nov. 13, Temple Kol Ami will host the
second of a two-part event called “End
of Life Choices: The Jewish Perspective.”
It’s a difficult subject, but one event organizer
Lee Schottenfels, a congregation and board
member at Temple Kol Ami, says is important for
the entire community.
Temple Kol Ami’s Rabbi Natalie Shribman
and Rabbi Joseph Krakoff of Jewish Hospice
& Chaplaincy Network will share the history
of decision-making at the end of one’s life and
where Judaism currently stands on the subject.
Shribman, who now serves as senior rabbi at
Temple Kol Ami, previously worked as a hospital
chaplain for the Marshfield Clinic Health System
in Wisconsin on the oncology floor and intensive
care units. With her extensive background in
end-of-life care, the event promises to be highly
educational, personal and informative for the
greater Metro Detroit Jewish community.
At the first event in September, a group
called Compassion and Choices — which
initially inspired Schottenfels to organize the
two-part Temple Kol Ami event — presented
plans and how to implement them for end-of-
life care, including choices a family can expect
to make.
Schottenfels, who attended a meeting at
which Compassion and Choices presented,
felt compelled to enlist the nonprofit group to
speak at Temple Kol Ami. “It motivated me to
want them to present to our temple family and
stimulate a discussion about this issue,” he says.
The upcoming November event, however, will
specifically shine a light on hospice care. “We’re
focusing on how hospice connects to Jewish
values,” Shribman explains.
In Judaism, it’s essential to preserve life, she
continues, yet living a compromised existence
isn’t the same as living a full life. “Hospice helps
people have that transition in a peaceful and non-
intense way,” Shribman says.
Between the COVID-19 pandemic, aging
synagogue populations and unexpected losses
within the Jewish community, Shribman believes
gaining knowledge on hospice care is important
for all, even if these difficult situations haven’t
personally been experienced.
However, there isn’t one exact end-of-life
approach for everyone, which is why the event
focuses on options and choices people can expect
to encounter along the way.
“There’s not necessarily a Jewish way of dying,”
Shribman says, “but there are certain rituals one
can do toward the end of their life when they
realize that maybe they’re sick or maybe they’ve
decided to stop various treatments that are
keeping them alive.”
It’s extraordinarily challenging to witness a
loved one at the end of their life, but Shribman
says hospice aims to offer some relief. “When
you go into hospice, you’re no longer physically
suffering,” she explains. “You can live peacefully
those last days or weeks. It doesn’t necessarily
usher you into death, but it helps you have a
fuller time during that time in-between.”
Temple Kol Ami’s end-of-life event will also
discuss power of attorney and advance directives,
which help ensure your personal wishes
surrounding medical and mental care will be
honored if you’re not able to communicate
them.
The event will include a Q&A session and
will also be available online to join through
Zoom.
“We’re going to have those important
conversations about making sure you sit
down with your loved ones and outlining
your preferences if you get to be in a difficult
situation,” Shribman says. “That way, your
loved ones aren’t unsure of what you want for
yourself and can respect your wishes.”
OUR COMMUNITY
Hospice and Judaism
Free Temple Kol Ami event will highlight end-of-care options in Judaism.
ASHLEY ZLATOPOLSKY CONTRIBUTING WRITER
DETAILS
“End of Life Choices:
The Jewish Perspective.”
Nov. 13 at 7 p.m.
Temple Kol Ami
5085 Walnut Lake Road
West Bloomfield
Free to members and
non-members.
More information at
templekolami.org.
Rabbi Natalie
Shribman
REDPIXEL.COM