tishkofetLife’s Door (called “Tishkofet” in Hebrew) is an organization that helps people facing serious illness and loss. They sponsor individual counseling, support groups, workshops and seminars which offer spiritual and emotional support to those in need. Life’s Door programs encourage participants to find meaning, hope and opportunities for growth within their painful situations.

Life’s Door is partnering with Barkai to provide a course in spiritual counseling that will train rabbis according to professional standards recognized by the National Association of Jewish Chaplains (NAJC) of America and other national and international bodies. Life's Door's programs are supported by the UJA-Federation of New York. The course will give Barkai students the skills to better support congregants dealing with loss and serious illness. “Nobody should have to face these situations alone, and often terminal illnesses awaken many spiritual issues in people. Frequently, they’ll turn to a rabbi and that rabbi needs to know what to say, when to just listen and how best to help,” says Dvora Corn, M.Sc., OTR, and Executive Director of Life’s Door-Tishkofet. “This course will show them just how to do that.”