Exploring Social Connectedness and Mental Wellness with JFS Jewish Disabilities Advocates (JDA)

Each year as we enter the High Holy Day season, we begin to prepare — for reflection, planning and celebration. Our preparation and celebration have looked different over these past few years as we adapted to the Covid-19 pandemic. As we enter the new year, we are thinking yet again about what this year will look like. In May 2023, the U.S. surgeon general released a new advisory on the public health crisis of loneliness, isolation and lack of connection in our country. With the holidays approaching and this public health crisis at hand, we must ask what our responsibility is to support ourselves and each other in fostering meaningful connection. The Jewish value, or middah, kol Yisrael arevim zeh la zeh – כל ישראל ערבים זה לזה, all Jews are responsible for one another, is a reminder of our responsibility. It helps us understand we are interconnected and must be invested in the mental wellness and overall well-being of others. We must be willing and prepared to help one another, because when we connect to and support others, we all benefit.