Arielle Friedtanzer joins Beth El on Wednesday September 23 at 7:00 PM on Zoom presenting the topic, “Reaching Through the Screen: Comforting Mourners from a Distance.”  Arielle brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to not only Beth El, but to the greater Omaha community.  Human instinct is to be there for each other.  The element of face-to-face community has all but disappeared from mourning due to quarantining because of Covid-19.  This class is intended to offer our community concrete techniques and guidance for how to appropriately and authentically comfort mourners, and how those tools can be adjusted to meet the needs of our current virtual setting.   

Arielle Friedtanzer received an individualized Master’s degree at NYU in May 2018, concentrating in Judaic Studies, Bioethics, and Social Work, and has completed 800 clinical hours with the goal of becoming an interfaith chaplain.  Arielle focused on engaging communities face-to-face in conversations about advanced care planning, death, and grief.  Once the Covid-19 pandemic started, Arielle shifted these in-person workshops into virtual events, including her weekly Facebook Live series, ”Millennials and Mortality Mondays”.  She believes that some of the stigma and fear around aging and death can be alleviated through early and frequent conversations.  She strives to help individuals compose the endings to their own stories by starting the conversations now.

Arielle has understood the importance of being present for community in times of mourning.  She explains, “at a young age I learned many of the traditional do’s and don'ts that Judaism prescribes in the aftermath of a death, and I found comfort in this guidance.”  Arielle explains further “many people are uncomfortable with death, and although they know they're supposed to show up for those in mourning, and they genuinely want to, they don't always know how to manage their discomfort.  They usually say or do the wrong thing, or they do nothing at all.  Both of these can be tremendously painful or isolating to the already devastated mourners.”   

Arielle hopes this class will allow attendees to become a little more comfortable with death and mourning, and to enable them to offer enhanced comfort to those who are grieving at a distance.

Sign up for this meaningful class below.  For all questions contact Robby Erlich, Engagement Coordinator at rerlich@bethel-omaha.org.