Don’t Feel S.A.D (Seasonal Affective Disorder) on Hanukkah

The air is cold, the days are short, and the nights are long. This is when we need light the most. It also is when we tell the story of Hanukkah. This story has everything: bravery, resilience, miracles, hope. Most important, it has light.

Articles

Shemini Atzeret: A Holiday of Holding

Simchat Torah is one of the most joyful days of the year, filled with music, dancing, and celebration of the Torah. However, its roots in Shemini Atzeret remind us that joy can take many forms, and the boisterous celebrations traditionally practiced on Simchat Torah may not be the kind of joy everyone needs as the High Holiday season comes to a close. Some of us find the most joy in the quiet embrace of those we love.

Downloads

Who is strong? Resisting Peer Pressure & Underage Drinking

Articles

From Gap to Gain: Why Measuring Backward Moves You Forward

That six-minute personal best happened because I spent less energy worrying about where I wasn't and more energy appreciating where I was. My body responded to gratitude and confidence instead of stress and anxiety. The course didn't get shorter. I just stopped racing toward the horizon and started measuring the ground under my feet.

Articles, Downloads

The Rule of Threes: A Jewish Way to Say You’re Sorry

The High Holidays are a season of forgiveness—a time dedicated to improving ourselves and making amends with God and the people we’ve wronged in the past year. Some might see this exercise as trite: Why would we need to be reminded to say we’re sorry to our friends? Others might see it as disingenuous if we all do it at the same time every year, but sometimes we need that external push to actually do it. But how?

Audio + Video, Stories of Hope

Quieting the Silence: A Storytelling Event About Visible and Invisible Disabilities

Listen to the stories of people living with visible and invisible disabilities and how that experience has impacted their mental health.

Soul (From Hineni: Caring for the Caregiver)

Spirituality is so much more than lighting candles on Shabbat or sitting in services every week. Our spirituality has the potential to be an infinite source of energy and support. We want you to explore this aspect of yourself as a caregiver, and identify how it can best serve you in your journey.

Body (From Hineni: Caring for the Caregiver)

Mental health IS physical health and vice versa. We are only beginning to fully understand the way this works and how our actions affect our physical being. In addition, emotions can be a very physical experience, and we gain from learning the skill of tuning in.

Downloads

Mind (From Hineni: Caring for the Caregiver)

Mental illness is rarely logical. Thoughts and feelings can collide in ways that make no sense; illness can make someone reject help they know they need and do things that can harm. We attempt to explain what we can, suggest strategies for maintaining objectivity, and point you toward resources that can provide more information.

Articles, Downloads, Jewish Support, Mental Health Support, Support Resources

Hineni | Caring for the Caregiver

This is a companion guide, not a “manual.” We don’t intend to lecture; we want you to feel as if we are sitting with you at the breakfast table, helping you to step back from your own reactions and look at things objectively. We want it to feel conversational, e.g., one parent/caregiver talking to another, and provide you with information to educate you as a caregiver and accompany you on what is often an incredibly isolating and thankless job. Our team’s extensive experience working with families and educating communities has taught us a great deal about ways to offer support, and we wish to share some of that experience with you and say, “Hineni.”

Downloads

Sanctifying Social Media: Doomscrolling and Mental Health

The Hebrew word for being holy/sanctified is “kadosh,” However, many scholars stress that to be kadosh also means to be separate. This dual meaning — to make something holy is to separate it from other parts of our lives — is significant. Separating ourselves from things that are potentially harmful to our mental health like social media would mean making our lives kadosh, holy.

Articles, Downloads

What to Do When Our Walls Fall

Jerusalem’s walls may feel like a far-off historical artifact, but those walls and their destruction are actually deeply relevant to our lives — and our mental wellness — in two critical ways. Walls, like many things in our lives, offer security and identity, and we need to remember them.