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Post by medic09 on Dec 24, 2008 0:27:31 GMT -5
well, Death, mostly.
I was asked to prepare a 30 minute presentation for our ED staff on Jewish beliefs, customs, rituals, and expectations concerning death. It should be oriented to being useful to the staff.
We have almost no traditional Jews at all in New Mexico. So, even though the core information will be traditional, I think I need to make them aware of the variations in the American Jewish scene.
So, what would YOU want your colleagues to know about this topic?
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Post by Rivka P on Dec 24, 2008 12:52:31 GMT -5
have you ever heard anything about opening a window to let the soul out? My clinical coordinator asked me about that the morning after a patient of mine died. I told her I don't think that's a Jewish thing, because I hadn't heard of it.
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Post by medic09 on Dec 24, 2008 15:17:20 GMT -5
Apparently the source for that is the very holy and esoteric sefer Maavar Yabok. I haven't seen it myself, but it is brought by the Gesher HaHaim and the Pnai Baruch, so that would indicate it is a pretty known and accepted thing.
All the issues around dying and death are among the deepest and holiest. Maavar Yabok is one of the most quoted sources on the topic, from what I've seen.
So, what do you all see that your colleagues need to know about this time of life?
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Post by Rivka P on Dec 25, 2008 1:38:42 GMT -5
in that case i am ashamed to say that a born again Xian knew more about jewish tradition that i did.
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Post by medic09 on Dec 25, 2008 21:46:28 GMT -5
I certainly wouldn't be embarrassed. I have rarely seen this come up. Apparently your colleague saw one of the rare instances where someone knew about this minhag and was concerned about it. How else would you know about it? It isn't a common thing, and doesn't come up in common conversation. So, any suggestions for my 30 minute presentation? It is a little tough to whittle it down to a small block of time, especially given that I am presenting to staff who know nothing. Hanukkah sameah!
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chanab
Junior Member
Posts: 64
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Post by chanab on Dec 31, 2008 1:13:44 GMT -5
As I frequently like to remind people - death is an expected outcome of living. I think the Jewish perspective of life and death does harbor an awareness of this. A couple points you might want to mention is that we do live our lives in the present, but also in prep for Olam Haba. Someone who is dying might feel the need to try to prep themselves for that by increasing the amount of mitzvos they're doing to increase their merits. Family in Judaism is central, so ED staff should expect family members to want to be there, or people from within the Jewish community. I have heard that saying vidui and shema before one dies is a good thing/something people try to do - allowing the pt to do so, or to have family members there to assist should be done. Th pt and/or family may be nearby saying a lot of tehillim. If the hospital is not near the community and the pt gets there right before Shabbos, for the pt's sake, some help with fod/ accomodations/cots in a room for the family might be helpful.
I am on the Chevra Kaddisha in our community, so a couple pf practical points if a pt does die - if the pt is bleeding when they die and the blood loss is directly r/t the COD - the blood (some say all blood at the time of and beyond death even not directly r/t COD) should be buried with the body. So if they cough it up, or bleed it out, find some way to collect as much as poss, stick it in a biohazard bag and send it with the body to whoever is prepping for burial. Urine and fecal matter are not incuded in this - again unless they just died of a massive bowel bleed per rectum. If they have any kind of invasive lines in or bandages, caths, etc - that may cause additional bleeding by being pulled or taken off - LEAVE IT IN! Especially PICC lines - do you have any idea how difficult it is to stop bleeding on a dead body? If they have any emergency surg or procedures and die on the table, if the staff would be kind enough to attempt to seal off any incision as well as possible, again greatly appreciated by the Chevra Kaddisha. We recently had a body where there was a small incision in the neck fold that kept bleeding and it took us some time to figure out where the blood was coming from and how to stop it - the pt obviously died on the table. If the pt dies of an infectious disease, has any kind of iso protocol, has mysterious bandages that one wouldn't know what bleeding will ensue when they're taken off - pass the info along. Forewarned is forearmed.
A lot of the rituals r/t death, such as shiva, tearing kriyah, would occur after the pt is out of the ER. You might want to mention the progression of shiva and how it will not make all the pain go away when it's over - but it is cleverly designed to work a person back into a more normal routine without ignoring the loss of a family member (in contrast to a lot of what we see in the surrounding culture - where a parent may die, and the next day the person is back at work, needing to go about business like everything is normal).
That's all (!) I could think of for now. Hope you got some helpful ideas for your presentation.
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Post by medic09 on Dec 31, 2008 18:07:18 GMT -5
Thanks, Chana! I have plenty (too much) of possible material. It helps to hear what others think important. I appreciate the input.
If anyone else has some thoughts on this, please speak up! And you may not have a suggestion, but you may have a question that points to something I should address.
I've gotten some good input from members on the RCA forum, but you all are the ones in the trenches!
Thanks again!
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