Alexander Jewish Family Service Mental Health and Suicide Prevention programs featured as Jewish groups start addressing mental wellness—for those who are suffering, and the people who love them.
Alexander Jewish Family Service Mental Health and Suicide Prevention programs featured as Jewish groups start addressing mental wellness—for those who are suffering, and the people who love them.
By Paula Jacobs
February 1, 2021
Rabbi David-Seth Kirshner’s life changed forever on July 17, 1996. While leading a USY trip in Israel, he received the news about the suicide of his beloved oldest brother, Gabriel. He still recalls the kindness of the couple who comforted him during his flight home to the U.S. for the funeral, the challenge of concentrating on his studies as a second-year rabbinical student at the Jewish Theological Seminary, and how he felt solely responsible for healing his parents’ wounds because his other two brothers were married with families. “I felt I was carrying the world on my shoulders,” he said.
Sharing personal stories on blogs and social media represents an important tool for those struggling with mental illness and suicide ideation. It also helps reduce the shame of families impacted by suicide.
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