These words are for anyone going through the journey of cancer or serious illness. They are for their family or friends. They are for the ones who experience this journey in private while living very public lives and are trying to balance the need of the very personal while including the wider community. They are for those who have a deep sense of spirituality and for the ones who have deep doubts. May these words, the ancient and the modern, help you find your own words. May they bring comfort and strength, a sense of peace and wholeness. And healing.
Margaret Frisch Klein is the rabbi of Congregation Kneseth Israel in Elgin, IL, a fiercely independent congregation. She has worked as a rape and domestic violence counselor, a graphic designer and technical writer, and a strategy consultant for high technology companies before the rabbinate. She blogs as the Energizer Rabbi at www.theenergizerrabbi.org and is the author of two books, Enduring Spirit: Learning to Thrive Again and Climbing Toward Yom Kippur. She serves on a number of non-profit boards and as a police chaplain. She enjoys running and hiking with her husband and they have hiked in 32 states.