From Illness to Exodus

Being sick, especially being chronically ill, can feel like being trapped in a narrow place, with no way out. Even professional healers can feel trapped, not knowing how to lift that person up. One of the oldest stories in the world, the exodus, is a tale of escaping that kind of trap. This book uses the story of the exodus to help understand illness and healing--the narrow space, and the way out. From Illness to Exodus asks hard questions about illness, loss, and suffering--questions that literally keep people up all night--using the traditional Passover seder and its text, the Haggadah, as a template. It invites the ill person and healer alike to address these questions with compassion, curiosity, and a mature faith that can handle the uncertainty of being human.

About the Author :
Jonathan Weinkle is a primary care physician and chief medical officer of a community health center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His patients speak dozens of languages, hail from over a hundred countries, and tell myriad stories of human trials and triumphs. From those patients, he has slowly been learning how to transform the stereotype of "nice Jewish doctor" into a concrete way of practicing medicine that respects the Divine in all humanity.

Review :
"Had Jonathan Weinkle shared the depth of his Jewish insights about the Passover Haggadah we might say dayenu (it would have been enough). Had he applied those insights to the healing work of the medical profession, we might also have said dayenu. Had he compassionately reminded us that we all are on journeys from illness to recovery, we might also have said dayenu. That he instead followed the wisdom of the book of Proverbs that a braided threefold chord (in this instance of healing, knowledge, and applied medical ethics) is of greatest value accounts for why we are the beneficiaries of this remarkable book From Illness to Exodus. The 'dance' of these three sources moving in and about one another is dazzling." --Jeffrey Schein, senior consultant for Jewish education, The Mordecai Kaplan Center for Jewish Peoplehood "Jonathan Weinkle describes his Haggadah as a 'Passover Meditation on Empathy, Health, and Healing.' In actuality, Dr. Weinkle offers reassuring and insightful 'Passover Medication' for the souls of all those who are (or will be) patients, as well as for caregivers, and for our social fabric. This significant work provides a powerful illumination of the seder journey from degradation to dignity and shows how its lessons are directly applicable to each of our lives as we strive for wholeness within the reality of our mortality." --Danny Schiff, Gefsky Community Scholar, Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh "Dr. Jonathan Weinkle shares deeply of himself in this profoundly personal reflection on the meaning of the Haggadah. While this collection is framed through the lens of a medical provider (and dare I say healer), even non-clinicians will find plenty of food for thought. After all, sooner or later we are all touched in some way by illness and the healthcare system, whether it be personally or vicariously. I am sure that the thoughts collected here will provide ample fodder for hours of discussion around the seder table, to be enjoyed by all!" --Elisha Waldman, MD, attending physician, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, NHS Foundation Trust "Dr. Jonathan Weinkle is an incredibly well-read, thoughtful and reflective physician who brings to life the seder in an engaging, interactive book that the reader will pick up again and again, finding new gems and learning more about oneself each time." --Lynne Williams, MD, executive director, Southwest PA Area Health Education Center