With every patient there are stories of hope, pain, fear and peace. All of them are amazing in their own right, but the word "Beshert" takes on new meaning when you work for Hospice. So often we are humbled by the unexpected treasures that happen with our patients and their families. 

There are countless stories...Last year, just before Pesach, one of our patient by all medical standards, appeared to be eminently dying. Surrounded by family, he suddenly opened his eyes and said he wanted to be at the family seder. His family tells that it was a gift beyond measure when he actually lead the seder. There was no way that the Hospice staff expected him to be present at the seder much less find the strength to lead it. It must have been "Beshert."

Just recently we began serving a Spanish-speaking patient. That same week, a new part-time social worker began with Weinstein Hospice. On the day of his admission, she was the only social worker available and was sent out with the nurse to complete the initial assessment. It turned out that the patient and the social worker were born two days apart in the same town in

We are privy to stories that both surprise and move us. There are volunteers who have been randomly assigned to patients whose families knew each other in other cities and other lifetimes. How do you explain these chance occurrences? Whether or not we see death as a part of life, a potentially spiritual experience, perhaps even an opportunity, we can never deny its mystery and be humbled by it. 

The Weinstein Hospice is an independent agency affiliated with The William Breman Jewish Home, one of Federation's local beneficiary agencies. The William Breman Jewish Home received an allocation of $762,754 in FY04.