Category: News

During this past holiday season, Rabbi David Gold represented L’Chaim as he was invited by chaplains of the Veteran Affairs Hospital, University of Miami Sylvester Cancer Center, Mercy Hospital, and Jackson Memorial Hospital to arrange a Chanukah celebration. Rabbi Gold also provided Hanukkah bags to each participant, which included a menorah, dreidel and chocolate coins. these bags were sponsored and put together by the Light Family, who continues to support our L’Chaim outreach efforts each year especially during the Jewish holidays.

Each facility had on average 15 persons from the staff, patients, families, and volunteers. In his visits, Rabbi Gold explained the significance of the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah and a meaningful lesson. Participants enjoyed Rabbi Gold’s visit, and he was invited to return for the next Jewish holiday to arrange a celebration.

Thank you, Rabbi Gold, for being an extension of our Catholic Hospice and L’Chaim and sharing the beauty of Hanukkah to patients and staff at our local hospitals! We’d also like to thank the chaplains at these facilities for inviting us to arrange Hanukkah celebrations!

In collaboration with the Greater Miami Jewish Federation, we started an initiative called “Tikvateinu,” which means “our hope” in Hebrew. This initiative aims to provide comfort and hope to individuals who are grieving the loss of a loved one or the anticipation of a loss.   The Grief Comfort kits consist of items intentionally chosen to help individuals navigate through their grief, whether through art, through mindfulness, through words, through affirmations, through recollecting memories, or through emotions just needing to be released. The kit is given to the family as a gesture of support, with the hope that when they are ready to grieve, the items inside will offer them comfort and solace during this difficult time.

Grief is an emotional journey.  The Grief Comfort Kit is not just a collection of objects, but a gesture of love and solidarity, a reminder that in our pain, we are held by the hands of others.

To view the list of the current support groups that we offer to the community, please click here. Our support groups are offered at no cost to those who need the support and require RSVP. To RSVP, contact our Bereavement Hotline at (305) 351-7025 or e-mail us at info@lchaimcare.org.

For more information on the initiative or if you are interested in sponsoring a Grief Comfort Kit, contact our team at info@lchaimcare.org.

L’Chaim joined the JCC Health Fair, a vital event aimed at promoting health, well-being, and community connection. This health fair reinforces our shared commitment to building a healthier, more informed community. L’Chaim is always looking for and exploring ways to work together to enhance the well-being of the team. Together, we can make a difference.

Rosh Hashanah is coming up on October 2 and L’Chaim Rabbi David Gold recently spent time with a past patient’s family to prepare 60 holiday bags to distribute to our L’Chaim Hospice patients to celebrate Rosh Hashana. These bags contained apple sauce and honey sticks, which are given out for the holidays for a sweet a healthy Jewish New Year.

Thank you to the Perez family for their continued support and sharing joy with our L’Chaim patients and families for this upcoming Rosh Hashanah!

On Tuesday, April 2, 2024, L’Chaim Rabbi David Gold attended an interfaith chaplain breakfast at the University of Miami. Chaplains from different faith communities gathered and had discussions about end-of-life care and cancer treatments.

Thank you to Rabbi Gold for being a representative of L’Chaim Hospice and the Jewish faith in such gatherings and important conversations!

Last year, the Perez family had a loved one in our hospice program, and when their loved one passed, they decided to honor their loved one by giving back. They became volunteers with L’Chaim Hospice. Last Hanukkah, Ivana and her children put together gift bags for families. This Purim, they put together 50 Mishloach Manot, which will brighten the day for many of our L’Chaim families in both Broward and Dade counties.

Thank you to the Perez family for their active involvement and continued support for L’Chaim Hospice!

WISHING YOU ALL A HAPPY PURIM!

If you’re interested in supporting our hospice, like the Perez family, contact our team at info@lchaimcare.org.

Also, hear Ivana’s testimonial about L’Chaim Hospice here.

On March 20, 2024, L’Chaim Rabbi David Gold attended the World Happiness Fest at the historic Spanish Monastery in Miami celebrating International Day of Happiness. During this celebration, faith leaders engaged in an interfaith dialogue, “Union in Diversity,” that explored happiness through the lens of faith, music, and communal harmony.

For more information about this event, click on the link here to read an article that David Gallardo, Founder and President of World Happiness Fest and World Happiness Foundation wrote on LinkedIn.

The 15th of Shevat on the Jewish calendar—celebrated this year on Thursday January 25, 2024—is the day that marks the beginning of a “new year” for trees. Commonly known as Tu Bishvat, this day marks the season in which the earliest-blooming trees in the Land of Israel emerge from their winter sleep and begin a new fruit-bearing cycle.

We mark the 15th of Shevat by eating fruit, particularly from the kinds that are singled out by the Torah in its praise of the bounty of the Holy Land: grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives and dates. On this day we remember that “man is a tree of the field” (Deuteronomy 20:19), and reflect on the lessons we can derive from our botanical analogue.
Read more about 15 Shevat (https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/468738/jewish/Tu-BiShvat-What-and-How.htm)

Ivania Perez, sits down with Rabbi Gold and explains the outstanding spiritual service she experienced using L’Chaim Hospice.