ROSH HASHANAH APPEAL
For those grieving, the sound of the shofar can echo with everything they are missing.
As we approach Rosh Hashanah and the High Holy Days, many of us will hear the shofar as a call to reflection, renewal and hope. But at the Jewish Bereavement Counselling Service, we know that for those living with grief, the sound of the shofar can resonate in a deeply personal way.
For Abigail and people like her, the shofar echoes with everything they are missing.
Abigail was a young mother whose husband had died unexpectedly, leaving her to raise their young children alone. Overnight, she had become both a grieving wife and the person holding together a family shattered by loss.
While trying to cope with her own devastating grief, she was also helping her children make sense of theirs, answering difficult questions, comforting them through tears, and finding words for feelings she was struggling to understand herself.
She sees their grief in the moments that should be filled with joy: a school achievement their father will never celebrate, a birthday he will never attend, the questions they ask about what Dad would have said, thought or done.
Alongside the pain of losing her husband was the anguish of knowing her children would grow up without their father.
No parent should have to carry such a burden alone.
At a time when she was struggling to navigate her own grief and support her children through theirs, Abigail turned to JBCS for help. Like many people facing bereavement, she needed a safe space where she could talk openly about her loss and its impact on her family.
Every day, JBCS helps people navigate the complex realities of grief.
Through specialist bereavement counselling, support groups, children and family services, workshops and guidance, we provide compassionate support to people of all ages across the community.
We could not bring back the husband Abigail had lost or restore the future her children had imagined with their father. But we helped her find the confidence, understanding and support she needed to face the future, one day at a time.
As the New Year begins, many people will be facing their first High Holy Days without someone they love. Others will be carrying losses that remain as painful today as they were years ago.
When the shofar sounds this year, please help ensure that nobody facing bereavement has to cope alone.
A donation today will help provide specialist bereavement support to individuals, children and families facing some of life’s most difficult moments. Your support ensures that when someone reaches out to JBCS, we can be there for them.
Thank you for your generosity and for helping ensure that nobody has to face grief alone. With best wishes for a happy, healthy and peaceful New Year.