Chaplains Pay Tribute to Treasured Spiritual Voice – Debbie Friedman

Debbie Friedman: 1951 – 2011.  A Life Silenced, but a Voice Forever

Sometimes loss is contained within the walls of the family, and sometimes it breaks loose and encircles a whole community.

The loss of Debbie Friedman last month silenced a composer and singer whose transformative songs spoke to generations of Jews, and many of other faiths as well. “She was arguably the most influential Reform Jew of the last century,” wrote Jonathan Mark in New York’s The Jewish Week, “a rabbi to thousands from the unaffiliated to professional clergy.”

“Her liturgical melodies have had more impact on what is sung in synagogues worldwide than any other woman in Judaism’s 4,000 year history,” wrote Paul Wieder of Chicago’s Jewish United Fund/Jewish Federation.

HealthCare Chaplaincy staff and alumni offer tribute.

“In her heart, Debbie was a natural chaplain, although I never heard her self-define that way,” says Rabbi Dr. Bonita Taylor, director of Jewish chaplaincy education at HealthCare Chaplaincy. “This was evident during the many concerts and healing ceremonies that she led. With her mellifluous voice, her memorable and sing-able melodies, her gender-inclusive words, she helped us to feel spirituality in the midst of religiosity, many of us for the first time.”

“Her music since the 1970s has progressively transformed Reform Judaism, beginning in Jewish summer camps and then finding its way to the heart of the synagogue and its worship,” says HealthCare Chaplaincy president and CEO, the Rev. Dr. Walter J. Smith, S.J. “Even some Catholic parishes have embraced these ancient texts and songs. I suspect that Mi Shebeirach, one of the foundational Jewish prayers for those who are in need of healing, will surely now become an icon of her musical legacy.”

Rabbi Harry Rothstein, a HealthCare Chaplaincy staff chaplain at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, first heard Debbie Friedman’s music in the first year of his rabbinate. He says, “Her lyrical, passionate and beautiful music brought me to tears. She was the lone pioneer to propose new liturgical music for the synagogue in a popular mode. I last saw Debbie at an educator’s conference a decade ago. Her music was so well known and loved by then that she had only to sing a few notes and this assembly of rabbis, educators and teachers would break into song and complete the music and lyrics. I don’t know how we will replace her.”

“Debbie Friedman sang the language of the soul,” says Rabbi Mychal Springer, former associate director of the Jewish Institute for Pastoral Care at HealthCare Chaplaincy and currently associate dean and director of field education of the Rabbinical School at the Jewish Theological Seminary, where she also holds the Helen Fried Kirshblum Goldstein Chair in Professional and Pastoral Skills. “She made prayer available — in English and Hebrew — in the language of folk. She embraced religious experience as an essential part of the human diet and welcomed others into her world with grace and passion. Her music had a transforming power. With her death, the world has lost a great leader.”

"The impact of Debbie's death is nothing compared to the impact her life has had on many, many Jews of the 20th and 21st century,” adds Rabbi Shira Stern, former director of the Jewish Institute for Pastoral Care at HealthCare Chaplaincy and past president of the National Association of Jewish Chaplains. “Debbie had the power to make our hearts sing, not just our mouths. Her legacy will be to inspire this and future generations to come closer to God by creating their own new melodies. In those songs we will hear her echo."

HealthCare Chaplaincy is pleased that our friend, Rabbi David Ellenson, president of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, announced on January 27 that The School of Sacred Music, one of the most prestigious cantorial schools in the country, will henceforth be called “The Debbie Friedman School of Sacred Music.”

To hear Debbie Friedman perform her celebrated version of the Mi Shebeirach Prayer as well as other inspiring works, click here.

Trustee Manny Chirico Dedicates Time and Talent to HealthCare Chaplaincy

You might think that the head of the Phillips-Van Heusen Corporation, one of the world’s largest and most profitable apparel companies, would be too busy to devote time to philanthropic work. However, its chairman and CEO Manny Chirico, an active and invaluable HealthCare Chaplaincy trustee since 2005, finds the time.

As a cancer survivor, Manny understands the transformative role that spirituality plays in facing a diagnosis and undergoing treatment.

When we honored Manny in 2008 with our Wholeness of Life Award, the turnout was overwhelming. Corporate executives came from as far away as Hong Kong to attend the dinner, which raised three quarters of a million dollars for the Chaplaincy.

Several weeks ago Manny was honored at the Fashion Scholarship Fund awards dinner. HealthCare Chaplaincy president and CEO, the Rev. Dr. Walter J. Smith, S.J., gave the introduction and told a little of Manny’s background.

“Recognizing his talent and potential, Phillips-Van Heusen recruited Manny 18 years ago as its vice president and controller,” said Father Smith. “Soon thereafter, he was named executive vice president and chief financial officer. Then, in a series of accelerated promotions, Manny became president and chief operating officer, chief executive officer, and finally, chairman of the board.

“When Manny’s grandfather arrived in New York almost a century ago, Phillips-Van Heusen was a 30 year old shirt-making company. Today, that immigrant’s grandson, along with thousands of dedicated employees, has catapulted Phillips-Van Heusen into the ranks of one of the world’s largest fashion players, which is successfully developing and marketing marquee brands that include: Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, Van Heusen, IZOD, Arrow, Geoffrey Beene, Donald J. Trump Signature Collection, Kenneth Cole, G.H. Bass & Co. and others.

“Throughout his distinguished business career, Manny has always believed that success is measured not only by a strong balance sheet, but also by how well a company cares for its employees, suppliers and customers, conducts its day-to-day business, and participates charitably in sustaining and enhancing the life and well-being of the wider community.

“Values. Integrity. Hard work. Care for others. Manny Chirico has learned these lessons so well from his parents and grandparents. If Lady Liberty were to trade in her draped gown and cloak, she would proudly put on an Arrow button-down shirt, a Calvin Klein jacket, and Tommy Hilfiger slacks. She might even consent to put a dab of Euphoria behind her ears.

“Why? Because what is inscribed at her feet has been fulfilled in the exemplary achievement of your honoree, whose grandparents, at the dawn of the twentieth century, first saw this statue and dreamed of a night like this for their children and grandchildren.

"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me.
I lift my lamp beside the golden door."

Manny Chirico’s term as a HealthCare Chaplaincy trustee and invaluable member of the Board audit committee ends this spring. But the perspective and knowledge that he has provided for the past six years will continue to guide HealthCare Chaplaincy.

Meet Extraordinary Patient Care Honoree
Jean Fareri

Our annual Wholeness of Life Awards dinner on November 4th featured the patient care honorees from the metropolitan New York health care institutions where we manage, staff, and operate board certified chaplaincy services.

Each honoree is chosen by his or her peers as an exemplar of patient-centered care.

Each issue of HealthCare Chaplaincy Today is profiling one honoree.

Today meet Jean Fareri, RNC, Staff Nurse, Radiology, Lawrence Hospital Center. From the citation read at the award ceremony at the hospital, here’s what her colleagues say about her: “Jean, Your excellence as a nurse at Lawrence Hospital Center comes from seeing each person within the patient, and taking each and every opportunity to improve that person’s life experience.

“You make sure that even the simplest needs of the patient are accommodated while simultaneously identifying the complexity of issues which are often easily overlooked.

“You offer compassion, caring and constancy in your work, making sure the patient receives the care and attention he or she deserves.

“You always are the one going that extra mile, each day.

“The knowledge, passion and professionalism that you practice is a shining example to all.”

Follow us on for the latest news about HealthCare Chaplaincy and the growing field of spirit-centered palliative care.