For “Solomon,”  life was coming to an end at Jerusalem’s St. Louis French Hospital, a small and historic facility that cares for mostly terminal or chronically ill patients. Though he had acquired many close friends through his life in Israel, “Solomon” had no family and as the end neared it was Rabbi Miriam Berkowitz from Kashouvot who came to visit and offer support. As I read Miriam’s account of her visit with “Solomon” I was both moved by the beautiful heartfelt words she shared with someone whose life was waning, and also stunned to realize that what she was doing was a rare occurrence in a country where rabbis are in abundance and we would expect end-of-life pastoral care to be the norm.

For Miriam and her friend and co-founder, Rabbi Valerie Stessin starting Kashouvot was the culmination of their wish to bring “together our skills, passions and interests with a deep need in Israel for opening meaningful Jewish experiences to a wider range of people.” The two chose the Hebrew word “Kashouvot” which translates to “attentive” in English. Put simply, pastoral care begins with attentive listening and that is what they and their small staff provide to hospital and home hospice patients, residents in nursing homes, and others.

With the help of a Good People Fund grant and additional matching funds, Kashouvot has now started an additional program at Hadassah Hospital as well as at a nursing home further north.

Lest we think that all that they do is associated with death and dying, we were thrilled when we heard their story about the wedding that they facilitated for two nursing home residents (aged 78 and 85). Between the bride and groom and the home’s staff, there wasn’t a dry eye to be found anywhere!