Recovering Purim: Cantor Rabbi Rob Jury on the complexities of Purim for people in recovery and a community in distress
About Our Guest:
Cantor Rabbi Rob Jury, PhD, BCC, CRADC, LCPC, NCC
Cantor Rabbi Dr. Jury is the Founder and Clinical Director of the Tikvah Center for Jewish Recovery & Healing, a state licensed and JCAHO accredited, Jewish addiction treatment program in Northbrook, Illinois. His Rabbinic ordination is from the Hebrew Seminary for the Deaf in Skokie, IL. Rob is also the senior rabbi at Congregation Anshe Tikvah. Rob serves on the faculty of The Family Institute of Northwestern University where he is the course lead for Research Methods in Counseling, in addition to teaching Assessment in Counseling, and Addiction Counseling. His article on Jewish metaphors in narrative practice with people resisting addiction can be found in the International Journal of Narrative Therapy & Community Work. He has a PhD in Counselor Education & Supervision, a Masters in Narrative Therapy and Community Work from the University of Melbourne, and an MA in Counseling from Northwestern University. Rob is a board certified chaplain with NAJC, where he currently serves as a member of the board and as Certification Chair. He is also a BCC member of the Association of Professional Chaplains. Rob is a member of the Chicago Board of Rabbis and the Cantors Assembly. Rob is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor in Illinois and a Certified Reciprocal Alcohol and Drug Counselor.
Cantor Jury's singing of "Hallelujah" at the end of this podcast is taken from a YouTube recording of his guest presentation to New Faith Apostolic Church in Chicago in 2017. Watch the whole video here.
Cantor Rabbi Jury makes reference to Beit T'shuvah in Los Angeles and to their founders Rabbi Mark Borovitz and Harriet Rossetto. For more information, click here.
Cantor Rabbi Jury discusses the labyrinth at his synagogue, Anshei Tikvah. Here is a video explaining this particular labyrinth.
Glossary of Hebrew words used in this podcast:
B'rachah (39:22): Blessing; specifically referring in this context to the liturgy recited before drinking a beverage: Baruch ata Adonai Eloheinu melekh ha-olam, shehakol nehiye bidvaro. Praised are You God, Sovereign of the universe, in Whose word everything comes into being.
Pikuah Nefesh (28:21): literally "saving a life;" referring here to the Jewish legal notion of prioritizing saving a life over religious rituals.
Purim Seudah (27:25): The festive meal traditionally held on Purim afternoon.
Shul (37:44): Synagogue; may refer to the physical building or to services taking place there.
Yahrzeit (38:14): Anniversary of death; surviving relatives often make a point to attend services in synagogue on a loved one's yahrzeit.
Zechut (22:32): Merit; as in having the merit, privilege or opportunity to fulfill a mitzvah, a sacred commandment.
NeshamaCast contributor Rabbi Katja Vehlow was ordained at the Jewish Theological Seminary and is currently in chaplain training at Moses Maimonides Medical Center in New York. Previously, she served as Associate Professor of Religious Studies at University of South Carolina. A native German speaker, she is planning a forthcoming German-language podcast on the weekly Torah portion with a focus on pastoral care.
About our host:
Rabbi Edward Bernstein, BCC, is the 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.
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.
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