Support for Rabbis

CCAR Rapid Response
for those facing an immediate crisis, who need to speak to someone urgently. There are three colleagues available to help:

  • Rabbi Charles P. (“Charlie”) Rabinowitz, (914-834-2880 OR 914-844-8368), Rabbinic Bereavement and Pastoral Counselor.  Charlie works for Caring Hospice of New York where he provides home hospice and palliative care services to patients and families.
  • Rabbi Pearl Barlev, (310-880-5849), Pearl is a Board Certified Chaplain the former Jewish Chaplain and Interfaith Psychiatric Chaplain for UCLA Health.  She currently serves as a consultant and on-call Rabbi/Chaplain at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center and Santa Monica UCLA Hospital.  
  • Rabbi Edie Meyerson (917-747-5432), Edie has a doctorate from HUC-JIR in pastoral counseling and is the associate director of Pastoral Counseling and Bereavement Services in the Hertzberg Palliative Care Institute at Mount Sinai.

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255

CCAR Special Advisors for Member Support and Counseling

Short Term Counseling and Member Support

Rabbi Dayle Friedman MSW, MAJCS, BCC (215-266-3647)
Dayle is a trained spiritual director and board-certified chaplain. She has been a leader in the fields of pastoral care, Jewish healing and spirituality and aging. Recently she has served as an interim rabbi. Common to all of these roles is her passion for accompanying others on their journeys.

Rabbi Don Rossoff AMFT, (224-330-8604)
Don has over 35 years of experience as a congregational rabbi. He has served as an interim rabbi and mentored rabbis at many stages of rabbinic life. He holds an associate license in marriage and family therapy.

Dayle and Don are available for a limited number of sessions (free of charge) for rabbis and family members who are facing personal or professional issues such as transition, loss, illness, or struggles with difficult individuals.

All conversations are confidential

The NCRCR is a joint commission of the URJ and CCAR whose mission is to advise, support and nurture sacred partnerships and healthy relationships among lay leadership and rabbis.

North American Commission on Rabbinic Congregational Relations (NCRCR): Nurturing Sacred Communities 

Liturgy for Moments of Communal Crises
These prayers, texts, and readings, drawn from CCAR publications, can help rabbis support and comfort their communities when dealing with crises, ranging from a weather emergency to an act of violence. We’ve also created recommendations and liturgy for the 2020 coronavirus outbreak, and Prayers for Our Country, for times of national crises. You can also find prayers and resources specifically dedicated to Israel here.

Alcoholism and Addiction Response and Recovery Support
Rabbi Andrea Cosnowsky
, (630-981-4225) is available to provide support to colleagues and members of their family who are dealing with addiction, along with resources for rabbis looking to support others.

Sharing Our Lives strengthens our connections by lettings know if colleagues have celebrated a simcha, or experienced a loss, providing us with the opportunity to rejoice and mourn together. Email important events to  sharingourlives@ccarnet.org.

The Hesed fund provides emergency financial assistance to rabbis and the spouses of deceased colleagues. Please contact hesed@ccarnet.org for more information.

CCAR Staff & Referral Services
Rabbi Hara Person
and Rabbi Betsy Torop are available to listen, provide guidance, and direct you to relevant resources, professionals, and support.  These support services are also available to family members of rabbis.  All discussions are completely confidential.