Director, Hiddur: The Center for Aging and Judaism
215-576-0800 X256
dfriedman@rrc.edu

Rabbi Dayle A. Friedman, director of Hiddur: The Center for Aging and Judaism at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, has long pioneered spiritual work with the elderly. As founding director of chaplaincy services at the Philadelphia Geriatric Center, she oversaw the Jewish life and pastoral care of the Center's 1,000 tenants and residents. In 12 years as director of the program, Friedman created the first clinical internship program to train rabbinic and cantorial students in aging, and mentored clergy from the Reform, Conservative and Reconstructionist movements. As editor of Jewish Pastoral Care: A Practical Handbook From Traditional and Contemporary Sources (Jewish Lights, 2001), a groundbreaking compilation of theory, theology and practice, she helped lead the professionalization of Jewish chaplaincy and the Jewish healing movement.

A founding member of both the National Association of Jewish Chaplains and the Forum on Aging, Religion and Spirituality, she has published widely on aging, spiritual care and healing in popular publications, such as The Philadelphia Inquirer and the Brandeis Review, as well as in professional journals and anthologies. Friedman received rabbinic ordination from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, where she also earned master's degrees in Hebrew literature and Jewish communal service. She holds a master's in social work from the University of Southern California and a bachelor of arts in Near Eastern and Judaic studies from Brandeis University.