This is the first of an ongoing series on volunteering at the Ina and Jack Kay Hospice at Hadassah Hospital Mount Scopus.

“Life, though precious, is a gift to be relinquished and returned. Sooner or later, we must bid farewell to the persons and things that we love.” – WHY ME? Coping with Grief, Loss and Change by Pesach Krauss and Morrie Goldfischer

When I retired this year from teaching, I was looking for a meaningful volunteer experience. I decided to volunteer at the Hadassah Medical Organization’s Gandel Rehabilitation Center, working with soldiers who had been injured in the latest war. (I blogged about my experience in December 2024.)

My job was to help those patients who wanted to improve their English, since I had spent the last 23 years in Israel as an English teacher. Then my husband got sick and I had a recurrence of a hip infection.

Thank God, my husband is in remission, and my infection is being suppressed with antibiotics. I was ready to return to volunteer work. I spoke to the volunteer coordinator at Hadassah Hospital Mount Scopus, Michal Fleisher, a wonderful young woman. The Gandel Rehabilitation Center didn’t have a current need for English teachers, but there was an opening at the hospice.

Michal said, “I don’t know if this is for you. Not everyone can volunteer or work in hospice care.” I told........

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