Alan Abrams

In my dissertation, I seek to articulate a fresh approach to creating theologies of pastoral care in this post-religious age, where theology may seem irrelevant to many. I argue that not only is new theology needed if we are to effectively address the suffering of those who are ill or facing profound loss, but that such a theology must include a passionate desire for the holy, as was true of pastoral care theologies in pre-modern times. But I do not argue for a return to the theologies of old. Rather, this work is a kind of recovery project inspired by the field of affect theory, especially the work of Eve Sedgwick and her concept of reparative reading; I seek to recover the passion of things like pre-modern religious faith without also recovering the oppressive structures that came with them. In the heart of this work, I engage three thought resources to craft what I call a practical-impossible approach to pastoral care. The first two are 20th century French philosophers, Emmanuel Levinas and Gilles Deleuze, who had ethics at the center of their thought. Ethics is a rich place for seeking thought applicable to the task of pastoral care because it, like pastoral care, is concerned about the nature of human relationships. The third thought resource is Talmud as read by contemporary Talmud scholar Sergei Dolgopolski who argues it is a metaphysical but not philosophical system. I conclude with a discussion of the common points between these three thought resources that are often thought to be incompatible.

Judaism could be said to have its own version of Everyone poops — the prayer Asher Yatzar, which the Talmud presents as being said upon leaving the בית הכסא/beit kisei, the privy. Yet, while this prayer might be about the most ordinary of things, there is nothing ordinary about the prayer itself, neither in its original textual context nor in its use throughout history. Read as a unit with the prayer for entering the privy, Asher Yatzar can be understood as being directed to angels as opposed to God, something extremely unusual — almost heretical — in Judaism. An anthropologist studying Orthodox yeshivot or other traditional Jewish settings might even — seeing the text of Asher Yatzar commonly posted outside of rest rooms — be led to the conclusion that Asher Yatzar, far from being ordinary, is the most important prayer in all of Judaism.  As early as Gaonic times, it had been lifted from its original context for recitation and added to the daily prayer service where it can still commonly be found in traditional Jewish prayer books as one of the first morning blessings; in this prayerbook context, the prayer is so divorced from its original “pooping” context as to be understood as an expression of thanks to God for creating the human. And, perhaps most surprisingly, this prayer about the most ordinary daily event has been found to have rich meaning and varieties of expression by Jews suffering crippling and deadly illness. One person with AIDS recites it before taking his medicine, perhaps as a form of thanks for what about his body continues to function despite his illness or perhaps as a petition for future health. An influential singer of Jewish songs and liturgy finds it as a powerful guide to finding meaning from the chaos she had previously experienced around her chronic illness, and others make it a standard part of the recent phenomenon of Jewish healing services.

Anger may lead us to fight for justice, but, alone, it cannot bring healing to the brokenness of the world. We need joy, too. Joy may not be what we first think -- it may instead be  being able to walk through life knowing that what’s in the interest of others is what brings joy to us. Maybe it’s about being able to see that getting in touch with our prophetic anger at injustice is only a first step on the way to healing. We need to heal ourselves, too, by unifying our interests in justice, and, in joy.

To help supervisors work with issues of Jewish theology and practice, an ACPE workshop provided two important resources:
1) The top 10 theological issues to be aware of with Jewish students, and 2) Guidelines for Religiously and Culturally Respectful On-Call Scheduling. CLICK ON abayye.blogspot LINK ON THIS PAGE TO READ THIS PAPER.