Sweet and Holy Friends, TAO would like to provide supportive care and services to assist you during your grieving journey. TAO – Temple Adath Or – is a community of light; a Kabbalah-based community, TAO is led by Rabbi Marc Labowitz, a visionary leader bringing his warmth and wisdom to those suffering loss.
The Bereavement support group lasts approximately 1 hour during which the participants will interact, learn with and be guided by either me or by one of our several experts in the field of bereavement, listed below. No previous Judaic knowledge is necessary, and all are welcome regardless of where you are in your grieving process.
Please take advantage of this uplifting program for your health and your spirit.
For the Zoom link and password, email [email protected].
Our Compassionate Facilitators
Rabbi Marc Labowitz, Spiritual Leader of Temple Adath Or
For more information on Rabbi Marc Labowitz, please click here
Rabbi Leon Olenick
Leon was ordained as a Rabbi, Maggid, Baal ha Bracha (master of the blessing). He is a Board Certified Chaplain engaged in hospital and hospice Chaplaincy for over 30 years. His book, “Anatomy of A Tear” is a compilation of spiritual stories is an educational tool for clergy of all religions. In the words of Reb Zalman z’l, “Leon Olenick managed to integrate all the learning to be a Rabbi and Chaplain with the heart. This book is a heart opener for clergy and their work and for people who seek out clergy for help. “In story after story, I was moved to tears and compassion.”
Rabbi Debra Smith
Rabbi Debra Smith (“Reb Deb”) is the founder and spiritual leader of Congregation Or Ha Lev, a virtual Jewish Renewal Community, formerly physically located in New Jersey. She is also a Clinical Social Worker and Multicultural Family Therapist.
Reb Deb received smicha (rabbinic ordination) from ALEPH, the Alliance for Jewish Renewal. She is also an ordained Maggidah (Jewish Storyteller). The focus of Reb Deb’s rabbinic work is Deep Ecumenism and multi-faith dialogue. As a multi-faith activist, she currently serves as co-chair of the NJ Muslim-Jewish Solidarity Committee and is co-chair of the Morris County 1 NJ chapter of the Sisterhood of Salaam-Shalom.
Reb Deb co-facilitates Jewish-Christian dialogue sessions and Jewish-Muslim dialogues with local pastors and imams. She has developed and is teaching, with a Muslim colleague, an online course in Muslim-Jewish Leadership, for ALEPH: The Alliance for Jewish Renewal. In addition to serving as Rabbi of Congregation Or Ha Lev, Reb Deb is the Rabbi-in-Residence at the Drew University Methodist Theological Seminary in Madison, NJ. She is on the faculty of the ALEPH Ordination Program where she teaches Pastoral Counseling and Clergy Ethics.
She is the author of Every Tallit Tells a Tale, which teaches about the history and evolution of the tallit (prayer shawl) and shares 75 stories about the tallit from many contributors throughout the country and as far away as Israel. She is also the author and editor of a collection of original multi-faith prayers, poems and blessings from more than 40 contributors, Words from the Heart, released this past summer.
Rabbi Chaya Lerner
I am a Rabbinic Pastor ordained by ALEPH-Alliance for Jewish Renewal. I am a vitakot- Sageing® mentor from Yerusha. I have also been a Licensed Clinical Social Worker for over 30 years.
Rabbi Jay Weinstein
I am a father of 8 and a Saba of 11 and one on the way. For the last 23 years, I have devoted my life to serving my congregants as their rabbi and spiritual guide walking with them on their journey of life, celebrating the good things and supporting them when they are feeling challenged. In the past, I spent many hours at the bedside, working as a nurse, chaplain and rabbi providing care for those in all stages of health, dying, and death and have supported many families in those processes. I have led bereavement support groups and other rituals before and after death. In addition to being a congregational rabbi, I maintain a Spiritual Counseling practice and in the past have provided individual, couple and family counseling in both clinic and private practice. I have worked as a hospice chaplain and have served as an end of life doula. After 9/11, I volunteered as a Red Cross Disaster Chaplain at Ground Zero. During the Covid-19 epidemic, I volunteered with RUACH: Emotional and Spiritual Support initially as a remote Spiritual Counselor, then Team Leader and then Clinical Director. Today, I serve in a leadership role of the Nechama minyan, a Jewish renewal minyan of comfort and healing. I am a practitioner of therapeutic yoga, mindfulness and Hebrew chant.