Miami Hospitals See Surge in Jewish Resources Thanks to Chabad

Chabad of Miami’s hospital chaplaincy initiatives is in the midst of a significant expansion. It has given hundreds of Jewish hospital employees, patients, and their family members new avenues for connection and spiritual support during challenging moments.

Emanuella Rabaev, 26, works at Mercy Hospitalin Miami, Florida. The nurse practitioner, a native of Israel who moved to Miami several years ago, knew that working in a hospital would present some challenges to her Jewish interests.

So Rabaev was thrilled when she walked into the lobby at Mercy Hospital this past Chanukah and was greeted by Rabbi David Gold, who was handing out donuts and menorah kits for Jewish patients and staff. 

Rabbi Gold’s work is part of an initiative launched by Chabad of Miami and headed by Rabbi Mendy Fellig to provide Jewish resources to local hospitals including Mercy Hospital, Jackson Memorial — the largest hospital in the city — the University of Miami Hospital, the VA hospital and others. Gold’s patient and hospice chaplaincy initiative joins the Healing Hearts organization led by Rabbi Yochanon Klein, which offers medical referrals and religious resources for families in hospitals across Florida.

Healing Hearts operates a network of thirteen “kosher rooms” — and counting — which provide Jewish resources to families whose loved ones are hospitalized. Each week, Healing Hearts produces hundreds of Shabbat meals, as well as well over 1,000 other ready-to-eat kosher meals. Volunteers from local schools and summer camps, as well as local families, offer their time to pack the meals, which are then delivered to these kosher rooms. The rooms are also stocked with prayer books and other Jewish literature, electric “candles” for use in hospitals, and resources for Jewish holidays. 

In advance of Passover, Healing Hearts will pack and distribute hundreds of Seder-to-Go kits for the families of patients, including all the foods and accouterments needed to celebrate the holiday. 

Rabbi Gold has been distributing matzah to patients and hospital staff, as Chabad of Miami continues to ensure that Jewish people are able to live Jewishly in any circumstance. “Thanks to Rabbi Gold, I am able to enjoy my Jewish identity at my workplace,” said Rabaev.