The Israel Healing Tour For Bereaved Parents
The Koby Mandell Foundation
Israel Healing Tour For Bereaved Parents
"The world is divided into two types of people now: those who are safe, and those who are toxic," said a bereaved mother participating in the Koby Mandell Healing Tour this July. What she meant was that there are some people in her life who just don't get it. Many bereaved parents are isolated because it is almost impossible for others to understand the depth and the continuity of the pain, and as a result, our true thoughts often remain unspoken, even though we are surrounded by loving, caring people who mean well.
The isolation can be relieved through sharing with those who get it,
who have been through it and who understand. In this way, the 4 day healing tour in Jerusalem for couples and women created a holy space, a safe place for bereaved parents to share their pain and their hopes.
Held in a synagogue in Jerusalem, the Healing Tour allowed 10 parents to express their unique needs—their need to talk about their children, and questions about G-d and faith, olam ha ba and the hurtful things that others have said to them. It was an atmosphere of permission, permission to be real, to say what usually remains unsaid. And it was an atmosphere of sharing, because in our depths we are so connected by our experiences of loss. And our experiences of growth.
One thing that was most striking was the number of times participants said: "I've never stated that publicly before." The holy space permitted an intimacy that gave the participants the power to touch and share their truths and to relate happy memories they shared with their children.
At the end of the tour, one of the women said: "When I go to my child's grave, I cry for all of the tragedies, not just my own." The goal of the Healing Tour could be described as unity with other people who have experienced the loss of a child and unity with all of Am Israel. Parents returned home energized and hopeful.
Sessions include dramatherapy, art therapy, an unusual tour of the Old City, massage, learning, workshops on prayer and spirituality, hiking, and a BBQ at the Mandell home.
The Koby Mandell Foundation will be running another bereaved parents healing tour in January 2012 and Summer 2012.
For More Information:
Contact Sherri Mandell sherri@kobymandell.org
or
Rabbi Reuven Tradburks rtradburks@gmail.com
US Number 773-599-7074 (Israel Time) Israel Number - 972-54-941-4252
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In the United States:
The Koby Mandell Foundation 366 Pearsall Avenue SUITE 1 Cedarhurst, NY 11516 Tel: (301) 576-6235 Fax: (206) 350-7467
In Canada:
Justine Apple Canadian Friends of The Koby Mandell Foundation 31 Ames Circle North York, ON M3B 3B9 Telephone: (416) 441-0602 Fax: (416) 441-0671
In Israel:
Keren Koby Mandell Israel Netzach Yerushalim 21 P.O.B. 12112 Efrat, Israel 90435 Tel: +972-2-648-3758 Fax: 02-648-1370
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