Moments That Matter offers a fresh perspective on life’s later chapters, transforming them into opportunities for personal growth, meaning, and renewal. With warmth
and wisdom, Rabbi Laura Geller and Rabbi Beth Lieberman explore the unique challenges and joys of midlife and beyond, from launching children to launching
oneself anew, navigating retirement, downsizing and moving, facing illness and caregiving, and embracing love at any age. The chapters weave Jewish wisdom
with practical rituals, interspersed with personal stories and ways to adapt each ceremony for a communal setting. Moments That Matter empowers readers
to embrace these milestones with creativity and intention, offering tools to craft personalized and deeply moving rituals that honor the complexity of this rich stage
of life.

Rabbi Laura Geller, rabbi emerita of Temple Emanuel of Beverly Hills, was the third woman in the Reform Movement to become a rabbi. Named one of Newsweek’s 50 Most Influential Rabbis in America and by PBS’s Next Avenue as a 2017 Influencer in Aging, she was a cofounder of ChaiVillageLA and is the chair of the Synagogue Village Network. She served on the Corporation of Brown University, from where she graduated in 1971, and on the board of the Jewish Women’s Archive. Currently she serves on the boards of CoGenerate (CoGenerate.org; formerly Encore.org), and the Active Aging Resource Network (ActiveAgingNetwork.org; formerly B3/The Jewish Boomer Platform). She was featured in the PBS documentary Jewish Americans, is the author of numerous articles in books and journals, and was on the editorial board of The Torah: A Women’s Commentary. Her book Getting Good at Getting Older, coauthored with her husband Richard Siegel, z”l, was named a National Jewish Book Award finalist in the category of Contemporary Jewish Life and Practice. She is the mother of Joshua and Elana Goldstein, the stepmother of Andy and Ruth Siegel, the grateful mother-in-law of Janelle Goldstein, Zach Rausnitz, and Will Swanson, and the very proud savta of Avery, Levi, Phoebe, and Nell. Please visit her website at www.rabbilaurageller.com.

Rabbi Beth Lieberman is passionate about growth and innovation in Jewish life. She has served both the Reform and Conservative Movements, organizing and building multigenerational faith communities, and her work in the literary world in the areas of Jewish scholarship, culture, and practice has received national acclaim. She serves as adjunct faculty at the Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion, School of Rabbinical Studies, in Los Angeles, mentoring the next generation of communal leaders. She serves on the editorial board of the CCAR Journal. Her writings have appeared in numerous publications, and she has written and taught widely about her role as literary editor and a revising translator of The JPS TANAKH: Gender-Sensitive Edition (Jewish Publication Society and Sefaria.org, 2023). She lives with her family in California, dividing her time between Los Angeles and New York. Please visit her website at www.rabbibethlieberman.com.  

Foreword
   Casper ter Kuile
In Gratitude 
Introduction 

PART ONE : Becoming an Elder
1 Celebrating a Milestone Birthday
2 Committing to a Purposeful New Focus 
3 From Retirement to Renewment 
4 Embracing the Joy of Facing Finitude 

PART TWO: Loved Ones
5 Launching Children 
6 Relaunching Ourselves 
7 Celebrating Friendship 
8 Renewing Partnership Vows 
9 Becoming a Grandparent/Grandfriend 
10 Finalizing a Separation or Divorce 
11 Moving Forward After the Death of a Partner 
12 Beginning a New Relationship 

PART THREE: Bodies Changing, Caregiving, and Caregetting
13 Needing Something to Lean On 
14 Coming Out with Memory Loss
15 Becoming a Caregiver or a Caregetter 
16 Starting or Ending Medical Treatment 

PART FOUR: Community
17 Saying Goodbye to a Parent’s Home 
18 Decluttering or Downsizing Your Home 
19 Leaving Your Home 
20 Moving into a New Community and a New Home 

A Concluding Thought 
Notes 
About the Authors