Spiritual Care
At JFCS, we take a holistic approach towards caring for members of our community. In supporting people through life’s various challenges, we attend to the needs of the mind, body, and spirit.
Guided by values and principles central to the Jewish tradition, our Spiritual Care Services provide comfort to individuals and families of all backgrounds and faiths, by addressing the emotional, psychological, and spiritual concerns that may arise during difficult life transitions.
Spiritual care is fully integrated into the array of programs offered throughout JFCS services, in order to enhance our direct services and offer an extra level of support and compassion to those in need.
Grief and Bereavement Counseling
JFCS is here to help individuals and families of all faiths and backgrounds who are experiencing grief and loss.
We provide individual counseling and also offer eight-week Grief Support Groups that give mourners the opportunity to seek solace and healing with others who have also experienced a significant loss. Both individual and group sessions are led by the bereavement specialists at JFCS.
Find out about our Grief and Bereavement Counseling >
If you have have experienced the death of a baby through miscarriage, neonatal, and infant death we can help. Please find out more here >
Rabbinic Services
In addition to working directly with community members through our Seniors At Home, Parents Place, and Palliative Care Program, JFCS provides rabbinic services to clients, staff, and programs throughout our regions, including:
• Workshops on various topics in Jewish thought and practice at events for Holocaust survivors and at JFCS study groups
• Spiritual leadership during Jewish holiday events and celebrations for clients, staff, and community members
• Memorial and funeral services for recently deceased JFCS clients
• Rabbinic leadership at JFCS’ Volunteer Service functions
• Jewish education and service learning for teens in JFCS’ Youth Programs
• Guidance regarding the creation of a living will
Rabbi Daniel Isaacson, Director of Spiritual Care Services
Rabbi Daniel Isaacson holds a bachelor’s degree in religion from Dartmouth College. He received a master’s degree, and his rabbinic ordination, from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, in New York City. During his rabbinic training, Daniel lived and studied in Israel for four years. Prior to his work at JFCS, Daniel trained and worked as an interfaith chaplain at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center and as a spiritual care counselor for Pathways Hospice, both in the East Bay.
