Exit Strategy

How far would you go to create a long lasting legacy keeping your presence alive in impact and spirit? The reach for remembrance takes many forms, and is the focus of a compelling new film — Forever Endeavor — capturing how legacy is embraced across the spectrum of human experience … from the unimaginable to […] The post Reaching for Legacy appeared first on Plaza Jewish Community Chapel.

Funerals are singular moments to collectively honor and mourn our dead — but with room to practice our relationship to life and mortality … and with ourselves and others … in any which way. At Exit Strategy’s first-ever taping before a live audience at Plaza Jewish Community Chapel, host Stephanie Garry interviews Alix Strauss, author […] The post Exit Strategy Live! The Joy of Funerals appeared first on Plaza Jewish Community Chapel.

Kimberly Novod’s world changed suddenly, unexpectedly and dramatically. Her son Saul arrived prematurely and died after 20 days in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in Louisiana. From her deep grief grew a driving purpose … to cement a legacy for her son by founding Saul’s Light, an organization making immense impact by elevating awareness of […] The post From Deep Grief, a Mission: Supporting Families Facing Infant Loss appeared first on Plaza Jewish Community Chapel.

An oracle says you have three days to live. What choices do you make? What peace do you seek with others? How do you process grief for yourself and your aspirations? A provocative, award-winning new film — 3 — explores this scenario within an ultimately uplifting love story. Exit Strategy host Stephanie Garry speaks with […] The post A Film Director Explores Mortality, Grief … and Possibility appeared first on Plaza Jewish Community Chapel.

In her award-winning new book — Fifty-seven Fridays: Losing our Daughter, Finding our Way — Myra Sack writes about losing her young daughter, Havi, to Tay-Sachs disease and discovering essential truths about love and joy … ritual and community … born from wrenching grief. Myra joins Exit Strategy host Stephanie Garry in a conversation of […] The post Moving Through the Loss appeared first on Plaza Jewish Community Chapel.

Forgiveness is a powerful tool to preserve our emotional and physical selves, and also to redefine our relationships not only with the living … but also the dead. Gayle Kirschenbaum is a creative whose journey through a treacherous relationship with her mother brought her to an intentional place of forgiveness and peace. As a filmmaker, […] The post The Power of Forgiveness appeared first on Plaza Jewish Community Chapel.

Grief often leads us into unmarked emotional territory. Navigating it mindfully can ensure a journey of perspective, growth and healing. After the death of her mother, Barri Leiner Grant committed herself to learning about the grief process and to educating others about it. She is a certified grief coach, and the Founder and Chief Grief […] The post Journeying Through Grief appeared first on Plaza Jewish Community Chapel.

In her recently published book — Breath Taking: A Memoir of Family, Dreams, and Broken Genes — author Jessica Fein writes with eloquence, passion and universality about grief and joy … and the search for balance through the illness of her daughter, Dalia, and the everlasting aftermath of her loss, and life. In conversation with […] The post Grief and Joy, the Balance appeared first on Plaza Jewish Community Chapel.

When his son Nadav died at the age of five, James G. Robinson was propelled into a journey of grief and a search for meaning that over time deepened his identity as a parent, his relationship to Jewish thought and tradition, and his view of the world he walks through every day. In conversation with […] The post The Grief of a Father appeared first on Plaza Jewish Community Chapel.

A grounded perspective on mortality and loss can be powerfully life affirming — among the themes in Sprinkle Glitter on My Grave, a 2016 book by popular author, actor, humorist and consummate New Yorker, Jill Kargman. Exit Strategy Host Stephanie Garry speaks with Jill about how the realities of end-of life shape her lens on […] The post On Life, Laughter and Loss appeared first on Plaza Jewish Community Chapel.

Obituary writing is an art, capturing not only the facts of a life, but also an individual’s singular essence and legacy. So how do we ensure an obituary is well informed and properly nuanced? Should we consider writing our own … even as a form of self-reflection and examination? Andrew Silow-Carroll — editor-at-large at New […] The post Reflections of an Obituary Writer appeared first on Plaza Jewish Community Chapel.

When Plaza Jewish Community Chapel opened in 2001, it immediately began to elevate conversations on end-of-life issues and practices, and to create partnerships strengthening the fabric of Jewish life and observance in New York City and beyond. In this special anniversary episode, Exit Strategy Host Stephanie Garry speaks with B’nai Jeshurun Senior Rabbi and Rosh […] The post Plaza@25: Building, Honoring and Serving Community appeared first on Plaza Jewish Community Chapel.

As a young boy during WWII, Sami Steigmann spent three years in a Nazi labor camp at Mogilev-Podolsky, in the Transnistria region of Ukraine. Now living in New York, he devotes himself to telling his story and sharing his practice of resilience — and embrace of life. Marking Yom HaShoah — Holocaust Remembrance Day — […] The post A Holocaust Survivor’s Legacy of Life appeared first on Plaza Jewish Community Chapel.

For those raised outside of the Jewish faith, learning about Jewish traditions — including those surrounding end-of-life — is key to nourishing interfaith relationships, and also to advancing the conversion process. Fifteen years ago, Rabbi Lisa Rubin joined Central Synagogue in New York City and established the Center for Exploring Judaism, a structured space for […] The post Raised Outside Jewish Faith, Now Learning Jewish End-of-Life Traditions appeared first on Plaza Jewish Community Chapel.

Plaza Jewish Community Chapel opened in 2021 with a nonprofit model elevating dignity, affordability, and education on end-of-life issues, and over a quarter century has become rooted in New York City and beyond as a dynamic mainstay of Jewish communal life and service. In this special episode — as Plaza moves towards its 25th anniversary […] The post Plaza@25: The Vision and The Impact appeared first on Plaza Jewish Community Chapel.

Telling our stories — and listening to those of others — connects us through common journeys, often difficult ones, grief included. In a new, bestselling anthology about the Jewish experience post-October 7 — On Being Jewish Now: Reflections from Authors and Advocates — Zibby Owens, a prominent author, publisher and podcaster, brings together diverse voices […] The post Storytelling, on the Path through Grief appeared first on Plaza Jewish Community Chapel.

In Pacific Palisades, in the midst of the overwhelming destruction and grief wrought by the January infernos, Kehillat Israel (KI) stands and endures as a symbol and beacon of hope and renewal. Rabbi Daniel Sher — who lost his home along with hundreds of other KI congregants — speaks just weeks after the fires with […] The post After the Devastating Fires, The Jewish Roadmap Forward appeared first on Plaza Jewish Community Chapel.

Living through or witnessing devastation and loss — such as that caused by fires in Los Angeles, or war in Israel — generates levels of stress, trauma and grief. Embracing and practicing hope and resilience is critical for our emotional and physical health, says Dr. Eva Selhub — a prominent expert and writer on human […] The post Facing Challenge, the Power of Resilience appeared first on Plaza Jewish Community Chapel.

End-of-life conversations and practices are increasingly emergent in the Jewish community, as communal entities bring attention to the value and beauty of deeply rooted Jewish thought and tradition surrounding death. Kavod v’Nichum (Hebrew for “Honor and Comfort”) is creating and empowering Chevra Kadisha — sacred communities that care for the deceased and comfort the living. […] The post “Honor and Comfort” — Giving Space to End-of-Life Ritual and Practice appeared first on Plaza Jewish Community Chapel.

In his new and widely acclaimed book — “For Such a Time as This: On Being Jewish Today” — Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove of Park Avenue Synagogue in NYC uses Jewish history and storytelling to frame the challenges facing the Jewish community post-Oct 7 … the individual and collective grief and sense of isolation … and […] The post Post-October 7, Reaching for Community, Future and Hope: A Conversation with Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove appeared first on Plaza Jewish Community Chapel.