Jewish Hospital is getting ready to celebrate Purim, a holiday based upon the biblical book of Esther, which celebrates how the Jews were saved from destruction thanks to the heroic efforts of Esther, who disguised her identity to rescue her people.
The word “Purim” means “lottery.” It refers to the method by which the day was initially selected to kill all the Jews in the kingdom. Once the evil plot was foiled, it instead became a day of joyful celebration.
This year, Jewish Hospital, along with the Jewish Hospital and St. Mary’s Foundation, will host a special Purim celebration, where we will have an opportunity to “gamble for good” with card games and dice games and prizes benefiting two special funds – the Patient-Family Assistance Fund and the Adath Jeshurun Pikuach Nefesh Fund.
The event will be held on March 9 at the Rudd Heart and Lung Center, Wagner Conference Center at 6:30 PM. We hope to kick off a weekend of celebrations culminating in the actual date, the evening of March 11.
The Patient-Family Assistance Fund provides financial assistance for patients and families’ medical needs such as lodging, medicine during their hospital year – often ensuring that miracles are possible for the patients we serve.
For example, a young man located in northern Kentucky was informed that medical maintenance was going to be removed from his mother. The young man’s grief was compounded by the fact that he had no transportation to see his mother before the care was removed or to comfort her as she left this world.
Sobbing, he told the nurses there was no way he would be able to make it to the hospital. Thanks to the Patient-Family Assistance Fund, a transportation company picked him up and brought him to the hospital. He spent a precious hour with his mother before she passed away – an hour he would have missed had it not been for this important fund.
The Adath Jeshurun Pikuach Nefesh Fund was created two years ago, thanks to the dedication and generosity of Rabbi Robert Slosberg and Cantor David Lipp. They helped Jewish Hospital employees raise money, through a wonderful concert, in order to facilitate pikuach nefesh (the saving of a life).
The fund also provides financial support for Jewish Hospital employees who are refugees from war-torn countries and are trying to bring their families to the United States. This fund is working with two employees currently, and we look forward to being able to celebrate their safe arrival in this country soon.
These funds represent the many ways in which we continue our mission of bringing wellness, healing and hope to all, including the underserved – by doing tzedakah (justice and righteousness) and tikkun olam (healing the world).
Whether you support the Jewish Hospital & St. Mary’s Foundation (kentuckyonehealth.org/waystohelp) or come to celebrate Purim (a little ahead of the actual date: http://www.kentuckyonehealth.org/purimcelebration), we are grateful for all your community support that helps us continue to make miracles possible in our hospital.
(Rabbi Nadia Siritsky is vice president of mission at KentuckyOne Health.)
