Teaching Spiritual Care

As a rabbinical student at the Jewish Theological Seminary, Joshua Barton knew that learning pastoral and spiritual care skills was crucial. But working last summer at Jewish Home Lifecare in Manhattan, he saw how profound the relationship could be in aiding people experiencing crises in their lives.

Chaplains are called on to help people find meaning in difficult situations of loss and suffering. "It's a privilege to be helpful," Barton says. He was one of 10 students who had an unusual opportunity to build their pastoral skills last summer in a program supported by UJA-Federation of New York. Participating chaplain interns were also assigned to other beneficiary agencies including the Educational Alliance, F•E•G•S Health and Human Services System, and the Jewish Association Serving the Aging. They provided spiritual care at the clinical sites for three days a week and engaged in educational seminars at JTS for the other two days.

"Our goal is to make sure as many clergy as possible get pastoral care training," says Rabbi Mychal Springer, director of the Center for Pastoral Education at JTS. Last summer was the third year of the program, which Springer says gives students important skills for their chosen path, including if they go into professional chaplaincy.

Rabbi Jonathan Malamy, the director of religious life at Jewish Home Lifecare who worked with Barton, calls the pastoral education training program for seminarians "a win-win. They provide a very valuable service where issues of mortality are front and center — and also further their professional education in a real-life environment."