Author: Miriam Ribiat

May 8th, 2023

How would you do family therapy for three adult siblings who lost their oldest and most respected brother? As I moderated this podcast, I felt like I was in a room where so much healing was taking place. Each sibling had a chance to talk and share their experiences and their pain. Although I have done a lot of reading and I have spoken to many people, I am still not a professional. I am not pretending to be one. But on this day, I got a glimpse i …
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Author: Miriam Ribiat

April 26th, 2023

Rabbi Y.Y. Rubenstein is a Scottish-American rabbi who inspires and encourages the countless people who reach out to him for guidance. He is also the author of many books and a sought-after speaker His wife lay on her death bed. Rabbi Rubenstein knew that barring a nes as great as Yetziyas Mitzrayim, his wife was dying. Yet when she said to him, “Promise me that you will remarry – and I even know who you should remarry,” he want …
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Author: Miriam Ribiat

March 27th, 2023

The therapist is sitting in a dim cozy room aross from a client who is in so much pain. You discuss the feelings, tools to deal with them and any practical suggestions that may help. But what happens if the script changes and the client says, “Why? Why me? Why was I chosen?” Your response may be that you are not equipped to address those questions. But Rabbi Ben Tizon Shafier has answers. Why was this person chosen?  That he can& …
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Author: Miriam Ribiat

March 13th, 2023

There is a widely held belief that a therapist can only be effective if they themselves experienced something similar to their clients’ circumstances. There may be some truth to that. But it isn’t so black and white. Just because a therapist went through an event or trauma in their life doesn’t give them an automatic ticket to becoming a good therapist. And a compassionate and well-trained person who hasn’t experienced tha …
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Author: Miriam Ribiat

February 9th, 2023

Could I ever have imagined that at twenty years old I would be standing with my family at my fourteen-year-old brother’s bedside, watching as he took his last breaths? For some reason I have strong images of my mother during those last few moments but none of my father. What is etched into my memory is my father’s face after the petirah. It was almost impossible for him to articulate that first kiddush a few hours after he lost his so …
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Author: Miriam Ribiat

January 16th, 2023

What is it like to lose one parent and then the other shortly after? What happens if in between the death of your two parents, your beloved in-law also dies? When Mrs. Ruchy Rosenfeld, already a life coach, experienced the consecutive losses of her father, mother-in-law, and mother, the pain was deep and unrelenting. Yet she took that pain and used it as a catalyst for continued advancement in her qualifications to help others. Mrs. Rosenfeld is …
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Author: Miriam Ribiat

December 20th, 2022

For years I didn’t really appreciate that Nechama Avigayil was really an orphan. True, her father died before she was even born, but her mother remarried shortly afterward. Nechama Avigayil grew up with two loving parents and a houseful of siblings. Yet her refrain is, “If a person loses a hand at the age of six months, is it fine because they grow up without ever knowing what it is like to have two hands?”  Yes, it is true …
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Author: Miriam Ribiat

December 5th, 2022

We were five siblings. We are now three. Our sister and brother died.  So did our parents. We traveled the journey of loss together. But we have each taken different paths to healing. Rabbi Elimelech Goldberg, Founder and Global Director of Kids Kicking Cancer and Clinical Assistant Professor at Wayne State University School of Medicine, has been close to our family for years and continues to be supportive to all of us. On this podcast, Rabb …
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Author: Miriam Ribiat

November 23rd, 2022

He didn’t live long, but he will always be my child.  Estie’s story gives listeners a first-person view of the experiences and feelings of a mother who has lost a child. What she shares is truly eye-opening.  When Estie began feeling abdominal pains early in her third trimester, her sisters urged her to check out what sounded to them like labor pains. Estie laughed at them. After all, she was a long way from her due date. Wh …
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Author: Miriam Ribiat

November 8th, 2022

I am an avid reader of Rebbetzin Feigy Twerski’s writing. Her articles depict overflowing love for her children and grandchildren. So how did she handle the pain when her daughter, the mother of a large family, lost her husband so tragically?  I knew that I had to hear what she would say. When we spoke on this podcast, she couldn’t even answer about her pain. She was so focused on her daughter and her grandchildren – so man …
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Author: Miriam Ribiat

October 27th, 2022

On that Friday morning he was a regular yeshiva bachur sitting and learning. But that changed at about 11 am.  People that weren’t usually in that beis medrash were suddenly coming in and out. Something seemed off. But never could young Aron Litwin imagine that he was the one whose life was about to become atypical. There was no reason to think that his father had suddenly collapsed and died. Why would that happen to his young, healthy …
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Author: Miriam Ribiat

September 29th, 2022

What is it like to name a baby after a deceased parent? If the deceased went by an English name, should the child be called that name even though it isn’t typical or accepted in some circles today? What is it like to bury a loved one? How do I know they’re not cold, wet or lonely? What if I feel happy at a simchah and everyone else feels so sad that the deceased isn’t here? Should I also be feeling sad? What should I say to peop …
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Author: Miriam Ribiat

September 19th, 2022

  When tragedy strikes, we all feel it.  We feel the horror, and we likely feel the family's anguish as well.  We think: what would happen if we were in their shoes?  How will the family go on now?  How can they carry on under such tragic circumstances? Of course, we feel for them and worry about how they will go on.  Depending on how empathetic we are, this person or family might frequently be on our minds. I was th …
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