Raquel
Certified Member
What makes supporting the human spirit more than just a job?
For me, supporting the human spirit is not a job. It is a sacred calling. It is the place where my soul meets another’s in the vulnerable, unvarnished truth of being human. It is where I get to walk barefoot on holy ground, beside those facing illness, grief, trauma, or the quiet ache of loneliness. As a Jewish chaplain and psychospiritual therapist, I do this work because I believe with every fiber of my being that each human being carries within them a Divine spark, a sacred story, and a soul yearning to be seen
What makes this work meaningful is not only the presence I offer others, but the transformation it stirs within me. I enter rooms where time slows down, where words become unnecessary, and where tears, touch, silence, or prayer open up space for healing that is beyond what any treatment plan can offer. Supporting the human spirit isn’t about fixing or solving, it’s about witnessing. It’s about holding space for mystery, for resilience, and for the flicker of light that still lives within even in life’s darkest valleys.
This is a path I chose not because it is easy, but because it is holy. It is how I live my faith, not in dogma, but in devotion to the sacredness of every person I meet.
What makes this work meaningful is not only the presence I offer others, but the transformation it stirs within me. I enter rooms where time slows down, where words become unnecessary, and where tears, touch, silence, or prayer open up space for healing that is beyond what any treatment plan can offer. Supporting the human spirit isn’t about fixing or solving, it’s about witnessing. It’s about holding space for mystery, for resilience, and for the flicker of light that still lives within even in life’s darkest valleys.
This is a path I chose not because it is easy, but because it is holy. It is how I live my faith, not in dogma, but in devotion to the sacredness of every person I meet.
Share an example of when spiritual care made a meaningful impact
I once sat with a woman at the end of her life who had long since stopped speaking. The medical team believed she was unresponsive, lost in the fog of advanced dementia. But I saw something in her eyes, a flicker, a presence. I brought a small stone with the word “שָׁלוֹם/Shalom” (peace) engraved on it and placed it gently in her palm. I began to softly sing the Shema, a prayer declaring the Oneness of God and our love for the Divine with all our heart, all our soul, and all our might.
As I recited, “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might,” I gently reflected aloud that even in illness, even in silence, her soul was still capable of that love. That love is not measured by what we can do, it’s measured by the purity of our being.
A tear formed in the corner of her eye. She squeezed the stone.
Later, her daughter told me it was the first time in weeks she saw a trace of peace on her mother’s face.
Supporting the human spirit means remembering that even when someone can no longer speak, walk, or respond, their soul is listening. And love, especially the love between a soul and the Divine, never fades.
As I recited, “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might,” I gently reflected aloud that even in illness, even in silence, her soul was still capable of that love. That love is not measured by what we can do, it’s measured by the purity of our being.
A tear formed in the corner of her eye. She squeezed the stone.
Later, her daughter told me it was the first time in weeks she saw a trace of peace on her mother’s face.
Supporting the human spirit means remembering that even when someone can no longer speak, walk, or respond, their soul is listening. And love, especially the love between a soul and the Divine, never fades.
Why is spiritual health important?
Because we are more than bodies. We are stories. We are questions. We are longings. We are wounds and wonder wrapped in skin. To care for a person’s spirit is to see them beyond their diagnosis, beyond their confusion or fear, beyond their roles. It is to remember and to remind, that they are still someone’s child, someone’s love, someone’s miracle.
I believe spiritual care is an act of justice. It restores dignity. It says: you matter not because of what you do, but because of who you are. And in a world where people are often reduced to charts, numbers, or beds, this kind of care is radical, necessary, and profoundly human.
Jewish tradition teaches that to save one life is to save an entire world. I would add: to touch one soul, to witness one person’s truth, to bless one moment of connection is also to redeem a world. One sacred encounter at a time.
I believe spiritual care is an act of justice. It restores dignity. It says: you matter not because of what you do, but because of who you are. And in a world where people are often reduced to charts, numbers, or beds, this kind of care is radical, necessary, and profoundly human.
Jewish tradition teaches that to save one life is to save an entire world. I would add: to touch one soul, to witness one person’s truth, to bless one moment of connection is also to redeem a world. One sacred encounter at a time.