Pastoral Care: Loneliness, Addiction & Mental Health in Our Communities | SRC 2026

Recorded live at the Sephardic Rabbinic Conference 2026, “The Art of Leadership,” on Tuesday, August 18, 2026, at UJA-Federation of New York. Mental health crises, addiction, isolation, and loneliness affect congregants and clergy alike — often invisibly, and often for years before anyone asks. This panel takes up what rabbis and communal leaders actually need to know: how to recognize distress early, what support a rabbi can and cannot provide, and how to build the referral relationships that save lives before an emergency, not after one. Panelists Rabbanit Dr. Devorah Halevy — Co-Founder of Shiviti and Co-Spiritual Leader of Kehillat Shaar HaShamayim, San Diego. She holds an MSW and a PhD in Social Welfare from the Wurzweiler School of Social Work at Yeshiva University, where she teaches as an adjunct professor, and maintains private clinical practice at a mental health facility in San Diego. Rabbi Yoni Rosensweig — Founder of Maaglei Nefesh, a center for halakha, community, and mental health, and community rabbi of Netzach Menashe in Beit Shemesh, Israel. Moderator: Rabbi Dr. Ari Soussan — Magen David Sephardic Congregation, Rockville, MD Closing remarks: Ike Dweck — Found