Welcome to an inspiring evening featuring a panel of distinguished local rabbis, who will share their unique insights, stories, and experiences from their work in spiritual care. Together, they will illuminate how love, resilience, and unexpected joy can emerge even in the most challenging times.
Tuesday, April 22
6-7pm Resource Fair followed by Main Program at 7pm
Gorn Chapel at Beth El Congregation
No cost to attend
MODERATED BY:
Michael Olesker, Former Baltimore Sun columnist and Author
FEATURING:
Rabbi Benjamin Shalva, Gilchrist's Manager of Jewish Care, Support & Rabbinic Services
Rabbi Mitchell Wohlberg, Beth Tfiloh Congregation
Rabbi Elissa Sachs-Kohen, Baltimore Hebrew Congregation
Questions? Please contact Rabbi Ben Shalva at [email protected]. If you experience problems with the registration form, please ensure you are using an updated web browser.
*By attending this event, you grant Gilchrist permission to use any video or photographs taken for publicity or promotion of any program or service provided by the organization. Please note that publicity or promotional use may extend beyond the originally intended purpose and does not expire on any particular date.
Special thanks to our Resource Fair participants. Please visit their websites to learn more!
Avila Home Care
The Baltimore County Department of Aging
Compassionate Ally
Jewish Community Services
Sol Levinson & Bros Inc Funeral Home
Soul Center Baltimore
Third Space at Shaarei Tfiloh
Moderator Michael Olesker has written seven books, more than 5,000 newspaper columns, more than 5,000 TV news commentaries, more than a thousand radio commentaries, and hundreds of pieces for Jmore magazine.
His books include the memoir, "Leap Into Darkness," based on the wartime exploits of Holocaust survivor Leo Bretholz. Among his other books, he's written a reminiscence about the legendary 1958 Baltimore Colts, an expose of local television news, and the life story of Baltimore legend Leonard "Boogie" Weinglass.
He has been nominated four different times for a Pulitzer Prize. He's a graduate of Baltimore City College and the University of Maryland in College Park. He and his wife, Suzy, live in Baltimore and have three children.
Rabbi Elissa Sachs-Kohen has served as one of Baltimore Hebrew's rabbis for 21 years. In addition to lifecycle, teaching and preaching responsibilities she is the Director of BHC Cares and advises BHC Justice, concentrating in recent years on immigration, racial justice, women's health rights and poverty.
Rabbi Sachs-Kohen annually leads Rosh Hashanah Under the Stars at Oregon Ridge Park, BHC's Erev Rosh Hashanah service which is free and open to the public. During its 17 years, the service has attracted as many as 7000 participants and continues to grow.
Rabbi Sachs-Kohen participated in the Clergy Leadership Program with the Institute for Jewish Spirituality, an 18-month fellowship bringing together early Chasidic wisdom, mindfulness meditation, yoga, chant, and prayer. The fellowship has renewed her rabbinate and her own spiritual life in remarkable ways, and she is grateful to have had the opportunity.
She has recently completed The Leadership Baltimore, a program whose goals include transforming "Greater Baltimore into an even more thriving, vibrant, and equitable community of people who care deeply for one another and the region we collectively call home."
Rabbi Sachs-Kohen has had the honor of serving on various organization boards and task forces, including The Pearlstone Center, Habitat for Humanity, The Center for Jewish Camping, and Our Joyful Noise. She was appointed by Governor Martin O'Malley to serve a term on the Maryland Commission for Women. She currently serves on the Governor Wes Moore's Interfaith Council, led by Lt. Governor Aruna K. Miller.
Before coming to Baltimore, Rabbi Sachs-Kohen served for 5 years at Congregation Beth Israel in West Hartford, CT. She was ordained in 1999 from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, Cincinnati. She earned her BA in theater and drama at the University of Michigan. Rabbi Sachs-Kohen grew up at Temple Beth El in Harrisonburg, VA. She lives in Tuxedo Park where she hopes her college-age son and daughter will continue to visit, with or without dirty laundry.
Born in Brooklyn, NY, Rabbi Mitchel Wohlberg received the Bachelor of Arts, Master of Hebrew Literature, and rabbinic ordination from Yeshiva University. Upon receiving his rabbinic ordination, Rabbi Wohlberg was honored by Yeshiva University for being the first family in which three brothers and their father all received rabbinic ordination from that institution.
Rabbi Wohlberg has been the recipient of the Humanitarian Award from the Louis Z. Brandeis District of the Zionist Organization of America, the Fellowship Award from Bar-Ilan University, the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Shaarei Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem, and a scholarship has been established in his honor at Yeshiva University. He is also the recipient of the Golden Shofar Award from the State of Israel Bonds and has been honored by the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America. In November 1998, Rabbi Wohlberg was presented with the "Rabbinical Award" by the UJA Federations of North America. He presently serves on the International Board of Governors of Bar Ilan University, and on the Board of Directors of Baltimore's Institute of Islamic, Christian and Jewish Studies, of which he is a founding Board member. He serves as President of the Haron Dahan Foundation.
Rabbi Wohlberg is married to Sherry Kwestel Wohlberg, MSW. The Wohlbergs are proud parents of two sons and six grandchildren, all of whom live in Baltimore.
Rabbi Benjamin Shalva specializes in spiritual and hospice counseling, meditation and mindfulness instruction, and Jewish music, and serves as Manager of Jewish Care, Support, and Rabbinic Services for Gilchrist.
Rabbi Shalva is the author of two books of nonfiction: Spiritual Cross-Training and Ambition Addiction, both published by Grand Harbor Press, and has written poetry and prose for publications including The Washington Post, Image, and Spirituality & Health Magazine.
Rabbi Shalva lives in Pikesville with his wife, Sara, and their children, Lev and Avital.
