Resource Category: Grieving

Coping with Grief and Trauma Following October 7 and Recent Events in Israel, Gaza and the United States

By Ruth Weinberg, LPC | There is no one Jewish experience or perspective. Clients expressed a huge range of feelings, reactions, opinions and political beliefs. This has been an unbelievable time in our world. My heart goes out to all living beings struggling with the terror and violence they have lived, witnessed or been exposed to. In addition, I empathize with all those who have endured hateful and painful experiences as they try to cope with these events. Though sadly there is no easy fix for our pain, this article offers strategies for coping with grief and trauma arising from the recent violence in the Middle East and the reverberating antisemitism that has followed.
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Hineni – 8 Ways to Support Your Trans Teen

At the Blue Dove foundation, we recognize that being a parent, guardian or loved one of a teenager isn’t always easy. So much in this world is constantly changing, and it can be hard to keep up. We all want to do right by our youth, but we don't always know how. Adults also need support when it comes to connecting with a trans teen.
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An Aftermath of Grief in Megillat Rut

By Ruthie Hollander | If the past few months have taught us anything, it is that some grow louder in the face of loss and others quieter. Grief looks different on each one of us. In Megillat Rut, the text we read on the holiday of Shavuot, we find a powerful affirmation of the different forms of grief. They are especially resonant now as we feel the outpouring of the Jewish world’s anger, fear, and mourning in the still-echoing wake of unprecedented attack, of war we never wanted, of lost and stolen loved ones.
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Jewish Responses to Traumatic Death with the Shomer Collective

What can we possibly say to a person who is grieving a traumatic death? We know too many examples of such events in our own lives, from the shock of death by suicide, to the realities of death by natural disaster, to the horror of death by terrorism, and more. And yet, too often, we are stunned into our own silence, and moreso, into our own inaction, not knowing what to say or do in response to a traumatic death in our communities.
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October 7th – The Jewish Collective Trauma Response

By Talya Gordon | I don’t have the answers for how or even if we will be okay. Right now, all we can do is sit with the pain and be honest about how we are doing. We are not okay. We need the world to do more. We need to mourn and cry and take care of ourselves. We need support from non-Jews, so we know people outside of our community care about our safety.
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Death and Sorting

By Rabbi Sandra Cohen | After the death of her father-in-law, Rabbi Sandra reflects on grief is funny. "Just when you think you have a handle on your feelings and on the physical energy around mourning, it creeps up on you from behind and nails you to the wall."
Group of older adults gathering.
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