Wise Aging

Background of the Temple Sinai Wise Aging Program

Temple Sinai’s Wise Aging Committee began its work in summer 2019, when several people contacted Rabbi Mates-Muchin with ideas for engaging seniors. Out of our initial meetings grew two initiatives:

• The creation of a “Wise Aging Group,” based on the book, Wise Aging: Living with Joy, Resilience, & Spirit, by Rabbi Rachel Cowan and Dr. Linda Thal.
• The development of a speaker series to address issues of aging.

Our first Wise Aging group began in February 2020, led by a trained facilitator from Temple Beth El in Berkeley. That group, and others more recently formed, have continued as self-led, after eight facilitated sessions. New groups are led by Temple Sinai members, building on a facilitator training led by the national Wise Aging organization. See Wise Aging Groups below for details.

Our second goal was realized beginning in September 2020. To date, we have sponsored more than 20 presentations, free on Zoom and open to the general public, with registration. For details, and a link to recordings of our presentations, see Wise Aging Speaker Program below.

Wise Aging Groups

New Wise Aging Group Forming—Apply by February 15, 2025!

Are you interested in exploring your experiences, challenges, and opportunities as an older adult through a Jewish lens? If so, consider joining a Wise Aging group, which can help build insight, resilience, and camaraderie.

The Wise Aging program was developed by the Institute for Jewish Spirituality in New York and is based on the book, Wise Aging: Living with Joy, Resilience, & Spirit, by Rabbi Rachel Cowan and Dr. Linda Thal. Topics include: cultivating nourishing relationships, living with loss, forgiveness, accepting our aging bodies, legacy and stewardship, and more. At each session, participants have opportunities for personal sharing, basic mindfulness practice, and text study.

Groups are open to Temple Sinai members age 55 or older. The facilitated program is eight sessions long, held roughly every other week for two hours. (Participants may choose to continue after that as a self-led group.) Each group will have 10-12 participants, in addition to the facilitator(s). Participants are expected to be present for all sessions, unless something urgent arises.

To be considered for the next group (date TBD) fill out the application here . 

Those on the waiting list will get first consideration. If you are not invited to be part of the next group, you will be put on a waiting list for the following group.

We will accept people on a first-applied, first-admitted basis, with a few caveats:

• Only one member of a couple will be accepted into this group.
• We will aim to create gender balance in the group
• We will try to have a spread of ages.

The facilitator(s) and Rabbi Mates-Muchin will review all applications.

Fee: $100, which includes receiving a copy of the Wise Aging text. The fee should not stop anyone from participating. Contact Rabbi Mates-Muchin for alternate financial arrangements.

Wise Aging Speaker Program

Our highly successful Wise Aging speaker program has reached over 800 individuals, both Temple members and beyond. These presentations are offered free, on Zoom, with registration. The list below shows the range and breadth of our offerings. Announcements of upcoming presentations are made through a Google group list (write to wiseaging@oaklandsinai.org to be added to the list), and on the Temple Sinai website.

Recordings of most of these presentations can be found here
(Note: The presentation by Rabbi Address on 9/12/21 was accidentally not recorded, and the recording of the session by Rabbi Steven Moss on 8/27/23 began 15 minutes into the session.)​​​​​

• Navigating Caregiver Stress with Dr. Aaron Blight — March 20, 2025
• God is Here: Reimagining the Divine with Rabbi Toba Spitzer — March 5, 2025
• Doulas: Companions for the Dying and their Loved Ones with Zoe Goldblatt — February 2, 2025
• Understanding Cognitive Differences Dr. Jim Mittleberger, MD, MPH — September 15, 2024
• Options for Senior Living Part 2 with Helen Lindberg, Anne Aronov, MA and Dee Madnick, MA — July 28, 2024
• Cybersecurity Awareness with Erik Zwerling — June 2, 2024
• Options for Senior Living Part 1 with Anne Aronov, MA and Dee Madnick, MA – March 24, 2024
• You Gotta Have Soul with Rabbi Steven Moss – August 27, 2023
• The Healthy Aging Brain with Jay Luxenberg, MD – July 9, 2023
• Aging in Place? with Barbara de Vries — April 2, 2023
• Chevrah Kadisha: What Is It and Why Should You Care? with David Zinner – March 19, 2023
• The Grieving Brain with Dr. Mary-Frances O’Connor – October 8, 2022
• End of Life Choices Part 2—Patient and Family Perspective with Stewart Florsheim and Ann Gordon along with panelists Rabbi Mates-Muchin, Julie Stroud, and Alison Clay-Dubof – July 10, 2022
• An Elderly Mother, Her Aging Son, and Life’s Final Journey with Dave Iverson — June 12, 2022
• End-of-Life Choice in California Part 1 with Stewart Florsheim, Ann Gordon, and Rabbi Andrea Berlin — April 24, 2022
• Family Love Letters: Preserving Your Life’s Stories with Aviva Black – March 20, 2022
• How to Build Strong and Meaningful relationships Across Generations with Dr. Kerry Byrne – February 13, 2022
• Unstuffing Your Life: More Love, Less Stuff with Andrew Mellon – January 9, 2022
• Caregiver: A Love Story with Dr. Jessica Zitter and Rick Tash – December 12, 2021
• A Three Part Series around the High Holidays with Rabbi Richard Address
  “Elul: Are We What We Worship?” – August 29, 2021
  “What We Choose Determines Who We Are: The Unetaneh Tokef” – September 12, 2021
  “The Sukkah of Peace?” – September 26, 2021
• Living with Joy, Resilience and Spirit with Dr. Linda Thal – July 11, 2021
• Elderhood with Dr. Louise Aronson — April 18, 2021
• Rabbi Richard Address: “A Chupah of Values: A Pathway to a Theology of Sacred Aging” – March 21, 2021
• Getting Good at Getting Older with Rabbi Laura Geller — February 18, 2021
• Embracing Reality: Preparing Ourselves to Live with Dementia with Rabbi Dayle Friedman – November 22, 2020
• The Art of Dying Well with Katy Butler — September 2, 2020