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NeshamaCast

NeshamaCast

Written by: Rabbi Ed Bernstein
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 Exploring Jewish spiritual care today Alternative & Complementary Medicine Hygiene & Healthy Living Judaism Psychology Psychology & Mental Health Spirituality
Episodes
  • Case Consult: Jewish Chaplains Discuss Clinical Ethics

    Case Consult: Jewish Chaplains Discuss Clinical Ethics
    Jan 14 2026
    Chaplain Karen Lieberman, JD, MSJS, MA, BCC, serves as the Jewish Chaplain for the Midwest Region of Advocate Health. She is board-certified by NAJC and has worked in adult and pediatric hospital settings for over 15 years. Previously, Karen practiced law in both the public and private sectors and served as an adjunct law school faculty member at Marquette University. In addition to her law and Jewish studies degrees, Karen holds a master’s degree in bioethics and health policy. She has served on multiple hospital ethics committees and is the immediate past co-chair of the ethics committee at Aurora Medical Center—Grafton. She has a special interest in the intersection of law, medicine, ethics and spirituality.Chaplain Lieberman is co-author of: “The Expanding Role of United States Healthcare Chaplains in Clinical Ethics,” from the Journal of Religion and Health, M. Jeanne Wirpsa, Nina Redl, Karen Lieberman & Krys Springer. She also contributed a chapter to Karen Pugliese & Jeanne Wirpsa, Eds., Chaplains As Partners in Medical Decision-Making, Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2020. Regarding references, I've published a number of articles over the years and have been featured in a few articles, but I believe the article you've already linked is the only one that directly relates to the topic we'll be discussing. I did publish a chapter in Jeanne Wirpsa's book, Chaplains as Partners in Medical Decision-Making, in which I make passing reference to chaplains' formal involvement in their organizations' clinical ethics work, but that isn't the main thrust of either the book as a whole or my chapter contribution.Rabbi Dr. Jason Weiner, BCC, is the senior rabbi and executive director of the Spiritual Care Department at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles, where he oversees the chaplaincy team and all spiritual care services across the health system. He also serves as rabbi of Knesset Israel Synagogue of Beverlywood and as a senior consultant to Ematai.Formerly the assistant rabbi at Young Israel of Century City, Rabbi Weiner holds two rabbinic ordinations, a doctorate in clinical bioethics, a master’s in bioethics and health policy from Loyola University (Chicago), and a master’s in Jewish history from Yeshiva University. He completed four units of clinical pastoral education and is a board-certified chaplain.He serves on the executive committee of the Cedars-Sinai Bioethics Committee and is a past president of the Southern California Board of Rabbis. He has received chaplaincy and rabbinic leadership awards from the Rabbinical Council of America, Orthodox Union, Chabad On-Call, Chai Lifeline, and Neshama: Association of Jewish Chaplains, where he chairs their ethics committee. In 2023, he donated a kidney to a stranger.Rabbi Weiner frequently lectures nationwide as a scholar-in-residence on Jewish medical ethics, pastoral care, and wellness, and teaches hands-on Jewish medical ethics to high school students throughout Los Angeles.In addition to dozens of articles and book chapters, he is the author of Guide to Observance of Jewish Law in a Hospital (Kodesh Press), Jewish Guide to Practical Medical Decision-Making (Urim Press), cited in a Supreme Court brief, and Care and Covenant: A Jewish Bioethic of Responsibility (Georgetown University Press), a finalist for the Rabbi Jonathan Sacks Book Prize. Rabbi Dr. Neal Loevinger, BCC, is the director of Spiritual Care and the Ethics Coordinator at Vassar Brothers Medical Center, in Poughkeepsie, New York, now part of Northwell Health. He has held rabbinic positions in Toronto, Massachusetts and New York, and has studied at both the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies and the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College. Neal also holds a Master of Environmental Studies from York University in Toronto, a Doctor of Ministry degree from Hartford Seminary, now called Hartford International University, and a Certificate in Clinical Ethics from Albert Einstein College of Medicine, where he is slowly working on a Master's Degree in clinical ethics. He currently also serves as the rabbi of Congregation Temple Beth-El, in Kauneonga Lake, NY, the heart of the Borscht Belt, and is the kosher supervisor for the Vassar College kosher kitchen. About our host:Rabbi Edward Bernstein, BCC, is the executive producer and host of NeshamaCast. He serves as Chaplain at Boca Raton Regional Hospital of Baptist Health South Florida. He is a member of the Board of Neshama: Association of Jewish Chaplains. Prior to his chaplain career, he served as a pulpit rabbi in congregations in New Rochelle, NY; Beachwood, OH; and Boynton Beach, FL. He is also the host and producer of My Teacher Podcast: A Celebration of the People Who Shape Our Lives. NeshamaCast contributor Chaplain David Balto is a volunteer chaplain at Washington Hospital Center in Washington, D.C. and Western Correctional Insitution, Maryland’s maximum security prison. He coordinated the annual National Bikur Cholim ...
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    1 hr
  • Resources on Death and Dying Available to Jewish Chaplains

    Resources on Death and Dying Available to Jewish Chaplains
    Jan 12 2026

    Bassie Taubes, RN, is the Director of Community Outreach for Ematai. Go to www.ematai.org for more information and resources.

    Rabbanit Alissa Thomas-Newborn, BCC, is the President of NAJC. For information and resources related to Jewish spiritual care and chaplaincy, go to www.najc.org.

    About our host:


    Rabbi Edward Bernstein, BCC, is the executive producer and host of NeshamaCast. He serves as Chaplain at Boca Raton Regional Hospital of Baptist Health South Florida. He is a member of the Board of Neshama: Association of Jewish Chaplains. Prior to his chaplain career, he served as a pulpit rabbi in congregations in New Rochelle, NY; Beachwood, OH; and Boynton Beach, FL. He is also the host and producer of My Teacher Podcast: A Celebration of the People Who Shape Our Lives.

    NeshamaCast contributor Chaplain David Balto is a volunteer chaplain at Washington Hospital Center in Washington, D.C. and Western Correctional Insitution, Maryland’s maximum security prison. He coordinated the annual National Bikur Cholim Conference.

    Support NeshamaCast and NAJC with a tax deductible donation to NAJC. For sponsorship opportunities as either an individual or institution, please write to Rabbi Ed Bernstein at NeshamaCast@gmail.com

    Thank you to Steve Lubetkin and Lubetkin Media Companies for producing this episode.

    Transcripts for this episode and other episodes of NeshamaCast are available at NeshamaCast.simplecast.com and are typically posted one week after an episode first airs.

    Theme Music is “A Niggun For Ki Anu Amecha,” written and performed by Reb-Cantor Lisa Levine.

    Please help others find the show by rating and reviewing the show on Apple Podcasts or other podcast providers.

    We welcome comments and suggestions for future programming at NeshamaCast@gmail.com. And be sure to follow NAJC on Facebook to learn more about Jewish spiritual care happening in our communities.
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    59 mins
  • Palliative Care, and Why You Need to Know About It: Dr. Diane Meier and Rabbi Dr. Edith Meyerson

    Palliative Care, and Why You Need to Know About It: Dr. Diane Meier and Rabbi Dr. Edith Meyerson
    Nov 24 2025

    NAJC and NeshamaCast are pleased to share this edition of the Exit Strategy podcast in which host, Stephanie Garry leads a conversation with Dr. Diane Meier — Founder and Director Emerita of the Center to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC) — and Rabbi Dr. Edith Meyerson, BCC — Director of Pastoral Counseling and Bereavement Services at the Hertzberg Palliative Care Institute at Mount Sinai Hospital in NYC — to demystify palliative care and explain its place on the healthcare and end-of-life spectrums.

    Useful websites:

    www.plazajewishcommunitychapel.org

    www.capc.org

    www.mountsinai.org/care/palliative-care/about/institute

    www.getpalliativecare.org

    Contact Exit Strategy:

    stephanie@plazajewish.org

    About our host:


    Rabbi Edward Bernstein, BCC, is the executive producer and host of NeshamaCast. He serves as Chaplain at Boca Raton Regional Hospital of Baptist Health South Florida. He is a member of the Board of Neshama: Association of Jewish Chaplains. Prior to his chaplain career, he served as a pulpit rabbi in congregations in New Rochelle, NY; Beachwood, OH; and Boynton Beach, FL. He is also the host and producer of My Teacher Podcast: A Celebration of the People Who Shape Our Lives.

    NeshamaCast contributor Chaplain David Balto is a volunteer chaplain at Washington Hospital Center in Washington, D.C. and Western Correctional Insitution, Maryland’s maximum security prison. He coordinated the annual National Bikur Cholim Conference.

    Support NeshamaCast and NAJC with a tax deductible donation to NAJC. For sponsorship opportunities as either an individual or institution, please write to Rabbi Ed Bernstein at NeshamaCast@gmail.com

    Thank you to Steve Lubetkin and Lubetkin Media Companies for producing this episode.

    Transcripts for this episode and other episodes of NeshamaCast are available at NeshamaCast.simplecast.com and are typically posted one week after an episode first airs.

    Theme Music is “A Niggun For Ki Anu Amecha,” written and performed by Reb-Cantor Lisa Levine.

    Please help others find the show by rating and reviewing the show on Apple Podcasts or other podcast providers.

    We welcome comments and suggestions for future programming at NeshamaCast@gmail.com. And be sure to follow NAJC on Facebook to learn more about Jewish spiritual care happening in our communities.
    Show More Show Less
    31 mins
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