Rabbi Friedman has given us a very good look into the Pastoral Care that Jews so often overlook. This handbook, though academic, provides a guide to resources and techniques that can make recipients of pastoral care feel at ease and accept the help offered. I have been using this in conjunction with a class in general Pastoral Care at a local hospital, and have found it to be very informative and helpful.
Academic Text:
This is an academic text which allows those in the fields of pastoral or spiritual care to look at these practices from a Jewish perspective. I particularly like the chapter on "Spiritual Accompanying", which has been most helpful to me in formulating my own theory of spiritual care in an interfaith setting.
Jewish Pastoral Care-A Practical Handbook:
This book is a treasure for anyone who would like to enhance their knowledge of Jewish healing resources with respect to all of the situations that life presents.
Rabbi Friedman has enlisted compassionate, experienced pastoral caregivers who are experts in their particular areas of counseling and who effectively convey the intimate details of what they provide, teach, learn and encounter in dealing with people in need and transition. The contributors share their own wisdom, insecurities, sorrows, and... more info
