The Hadassah Jewish Family Book of Health and Wellness

by Berman, Robin E.; Kurzweil, Arthur; Mintz, Dale L.

• ISBN13: 9780787980719
• ISBN10: 0787980714
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2006-03-17
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass

Summary

The Jewish people have special concerns, approaches, and attitudes about health and wellness, due in part to certain illnesses known as "Jewish genetic diseases," such as Tay-Sachs, Niemann-Pick, Gaucher, and others. Beyond these genetic diseases, however, the entire range of topics and issues related to health and wellness has long been of great interest to the religious and secular Jewish community. Jewish tradition has developed many special approaches to health and health-related issues, based on the hallowed traditions and precepts found in the Torah, its commentaries, and the vast literature written by rabbinic authorities throughout the centuries. Similarly Jewish secular culture has developed many special attitudes and approaches to the issues in this book regarding women's health, nutrition, raising children, caregiving, and other special issues.The Hadassah Jewish Family Book of Health and Wellness, written in collaboration with Hadassah: The Women's Zionist Organization of America, known throughout the world for its leadership as a major force in health research and education, provides a much-needed resource and guide to physical health and spiritual issues that are of concern to Jewish families.

Author Biography

Robin Ely Berman, M.D., is founder, president, CEO, and medical director of the National Gaucher Foundation. She has been a pioneer in her work with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in researching and treating Jewish diseases, and also runs the Center for Integrative Medicine in Rockville, Maryland.

Arthur Kurzweil is a writer and teacher, and serves as publisher at Parabola magazine. He is the editor of Best Jewish Writing 2003, and author of From Generation to Generation: How to Trace Your Jewish Genealogy and Family History and On the Road with Rabbi Steinsaltz, all from Jossey-Bass.

Dale Liebson Mintz, MPA, CHES, is Hadassah's founding National Director of Women's Health and Advocacy and an expert of long standing in the field of health and wellness. She has spoken on doctor-patient communication, the sandwich generation, and many other topics to Jewish and secular audiences. She communicates her knowledge and passion to her audiences with enthusiasm to motivate them to take action on their own and their family's behalf.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	xi
Introduction: Why a Hadassah Jewish Family Health Book?	xv
PART ONE Health in the Jewish Tradition
Hadassah's Commitment: Jewish Perspective on Health	3	(3)
The Jewish Way of Healing	6	(5)
Ten Jewish Psychological Insights	11	(9)
Why Are So Many Hospitals Named After Mount Sinai?	20	(5)
The Healing Path of Jewish Tradition Is Entering Upon an Awakening	25	(6)
PART TWO Taking Care of the Body
Whose Body Is It Anyway?	31	(6)
Jewish Stress Management	37	(4)
Nurturing the Nurturer: Be Good to Yourself	41	(3)
The People of the Treadmill	44	(4)
Finally, Kosher Yoga	48	(6)
Special Focus: Specific Health Care Issues	53	(1)
How to Talk to Your Doctor: An Rx for M.D. Visits	54	(2)
Women and Heart Disease	56	(4)
Take Control of Your Heart's Health	60	(10)
Stress and Heart Disease	70	(3)
Menopause and Hormones	73	(6)
PART THREE Nutrition
You Are What You Eat	79	(5)
Making Your Kitchen Healthy: Food, Halakhah, and Hygiene	84	(3)
Vegetarianism and Judaism: Frequently Asked Questions	87	(20)
Tips on Fasting	107	(5)
Special Focus: Health Habits for Kids	111	(1)
Children and Exercise: A Lifelong Habit Starts Young	112	(3)
Healthy Children Today, Healthy Adults Tomorrow: A Formula for Heart Health	115	(6)
PART FOUR Jewish Genetic Diseases
Genetic Diseases Among Individuals of Ashkenazi Jewish Heritage	121	(3)
Therefore Choose Life	124	(3)
Testing Genetic Tests for Jewish Values	127	(8)
Ethics and Genetic Testing	135	(3)
Hadassah Policy Statement on Genetic Testing	138	(6)
Special Focus: Specific Genetic Conditions	143	(1)
Gaucher's Disease, Type 1	144	(2)
Living with Gaucher's Disease: A Guide for Patients, Parents, Relatives, and Friends	146	(18)
Hadassah Saved My Daughter	164	(4)
Niemann-Pick Disease, Type A	168	(2)
Information from the National Niemann-Pick Disease Foundation, Inc.	170	(10)
Tay-Sachs Disease	180	(2)
Crohn's Disease	182	(2)
Canavan's Disease	184	(2)
Bloom's Syndrome	186	(5)
PART FIVE Raising Our Children
Infant and Child Care	191	(15)
Some Answers from a Mohel	206	(6)
Breast-Feeding: Insights from the Torah and Sages	212	(4)
Breast-Feeding Questions and Answers	216	(4)
Turning Your Kid into a Mensch	220	(4)
Special Focus: Infertility	223	(1)
Infertility and the Jewish Couple	224	(5)
Assisted Reproduction in Judaism	229	(10)
PART SIX Caregiving
The Physician's Daily Prayer	239	(3)
The Many Worlds of Family Caregivers	242	(4)
Honoring the Elderly	246	(3)
Ten Guiding Principles of Long-Term Health Care Planning	249	(9)
On the Quest for Resources: A Guide for Caregivers and Professionals	258	(6)
A Crisis of Caregiving, a Crisis of Faith	264	(10)
Special Focus: Hospice Care	273	(1)
What Is Hospice?	274	(2)
Frequently Asked Questions About Hospice Care	276	(2)
Hadassah Hospital Kay Hospice for the Terminally Ill	278	(3)
Myths and Facts About Hospice, Pain, and Dying	281	(8)
PART SEVEN Visiting the Sick
Bikkur Cholim: Visiting the Sick	289	(12)
What to Say When Visiting the Ill	301	(2)
Jewish Folk Traditions That You Can Use	303	(6)
PART EIGHT Prayer and Meditation in Practice
Eight Possible Ways in Which Prayer May ``Work''	309	(1)
Healing at Bedtime: The Traditional Kriat Sh'ma	310	(3)
The Lubavitcher Rebbe on Health and Healing	313	(6)
Meditation	319	(4)
What Is Reiki, and Is It ``Jewish''?	323	(4)
PART NINE Keeping Healthy in a Changing World
The Challenges of Maintaining a Healthy Lifestyle in Today's Society	327	(3)
Alternative Versus Complementary: What's the Difference?	330	(6)
Special Focus: Medical Research	335	(1)
Clinical Trials: The Way We Make Progress Against Cancer	336	(3)
Judaism and Stem Cell Research	339	(6)
Stem Cell Research in Jewish Law	345	(18)
PART TEN Organ Donation
Judaism and Organ Donation	363	(2)
The Gift of Life	365	(3)
The Myth of Organ Donation	368	(4)
Tradition, Transcendence, and Transplantation	372	(5)
Jews and Organ Donations: All Take and No Give?	377	(7)
When Is Death?	384	(4)
Coordinating Mitzvah and Miracle	388	(7)
PART ELEVEN Jewish Views on AIDS, Smoking, Abortion, and Eating Disorders
AIDS: The Basics from the Jewish AIDS Trust	395	(9)
AIDS: A Jewish Perspective	404	(6)
Smoking: Is It Kosher?	410	(3)
Smoking: The Rabbinical Council of America Roundtable's Proposal	413	(10)
Smoking: A Jewish Perspective	423	(5)
Abortion: What Jewish Law Says	428	(4)
Abortion: The Controversy over Jewish Religious Rights and Responsibilities	432	(5)
Eating Disorders: Perceptions and Perspectives in Jewish Life Today	437	(7)
Eating Disorders: The Jewish Community's Perspective	444	(3)
Eating Disorders: Six Ways to Boost Girls' Self-Esteem	447	(3)
Eating Disorders: A Young Woman's Story	450	(5)
A Note from the Editors	455	(2)
About Hadassah	457	(4)
The Editors and Contributors	461	(22)
Credits	483	(10)
Index	493