Midash & Medicine, by Rabbi William Cutter, PhD

This groundbreaking volume examines the spiritual shortfalls of our current healing environment and explores how midrash can help you see beyond the physical aspects of healing to tune in to your spiritual source. Pushing the boundaries of Jewish knowledge, physicians, rabbis, social workers, psychologists and philosophers investigate the role of midrashic thinking in addressing seemingly intractable social and personal issues. Topics discussed include: how metaphors and parables can aid healing; how Jewish tradition can inform and enrich health, hospice and nursing-home care; new ways of reading Jewish texts in the discussion of medical ethics; and the role of community in addressing aging, loss and suffering. Rabbi William Cutter, PhD, is emeritus professor of Hebrew literature and human relations at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, with which he has been affiliated for over fifty years. He is editor of Healing and the Jewish Imagination: Spiritual and Practical Perspectives on Judaism and Health (Jewish Lights). He has published widely on health and healing. Paperback, 352 pages, isbn 9781580234849