Over the years, the most important source for refining my teaching has come from people who have trusted me with their stories, concerns, fears and joys; who have asked questions that took me deeper into my material.

They are friends, family, and neighbors. They are strangers with whom I have found a heart connection. They are workshop participants and audience members from:

  • Faith communities and inter-faith gatherings
  • Retirement communities; senior living residences
  • Healthcare and non-profits
  • Philanthropic organizations
  • Financial advisors and their clients; elder law and estate attorneys and their clients
  • Conferences: financial and estate planning; elder law; aging; hospice; personal growth
  • Public and private schools and universities

The venue can be a conference or retreat center, business office, or private home.

Selected Themes for Scholar-in-Residences, Speaking & Workshops

Friendships

Forgiveness and Repair

Aging

Legacy

End of Life

Gratitude

Compassion

Listening

The Courage to be Vulnerable

The Creative Call

Illness and Healing

Grief and Mourning

MESSAGE ELANA

Selected Themes for Scholar-in-Residences, Speaking & Workshops

Friendships

Forgiveness and Repair

Aging

Legacy

End of Life

Gratitude

Compassion

Listening

The Courage to be Vulnerable

The Creative Call

Illness and Healing

Grief and Mourning

MESSAGE ELANA

“Rabbi Zaiman’s humanity, scholarship, and down-to-earth-ness make her feel like she is speaking directly to you. The immediacy of her presence is augmented by the depth of her intellect.”

Arthur J. Magida, author of
 Opening The Doors of Wonder: Reflections on Religious Rites of Passage

“Rabbi Zaiman is an amazing and generous person. Those qualities shine through in everything she does. As a teacher, scholar and writer, she’s brilliant and engaging, a pleasure to study and learn with; she has the ability to inspire you to see things anew.”

Sandee Brawarsky, award-winning journalist and author, New York, New York

“I find it hard to imagine that there are many other people who can be so “on”–high energy and passionate–in front of groups and yet so present and compassionate one on one. Elana is a rarity–a naturally gifted teacher with real wisdom to share and an ability to connect to with people of all ages. She is both inspired and inspiring.”

Rachel Brodie z”l, Writer and Educator, San Francisco, CA

“Elana demonstrates in her speaking, teaching,and writing the transformational power of an ancient wisdom: we cannot value the meaning of our lives without confronting the inevitability of our deaths. Elana choreographs an interactive process that enables people from divergent religious perspectives to travel where they once feared to tread and to return from the odyssey with renewed hope in an enduring future.”

Dr. Christopher M. Leighton, Founding Executive Director, Institute For Christian & Jewish Studies, Baltimore, MD

“Elana’s workshop was excellent. It got me thinking. And combined with her confidence, positivity, and engaging personality inspired me to write a couple of letters! As an estate planning lawyer, I am encouraging my clients to write Forever Letters to their family members as part of their overall legacy.”

Karl Flaccus, Flaccus Law, Seattle WA

“Elana is a gentle and authentic guide, who invites courage, patience, and creativity in expressing our deepest hearts. Writing my first forever letter was like building a nest of everything I wanted to relay to my daughter: my love for her, my vulnerabilities as a mother, my wishes of strength and beauty and a smoother road ahead. It’s a truth-tellers love letter ~ not always easy to craft, not without wavering and tears, but the finish line is like no other.”

Ann Teplick, Writer, Workshop participant, Seattle, WA

“My husband and I just wanted to send a note to the ‘powers that be’ about how fantastic the Forever Letter workshop at Seattle Cancer Care Alliance was. We got so much more out of it than we could have imagined. Elana Zaiman was fantastic, the length was just right and the room/food were really nice touches. I can’t believe it was all free-we would have gladly paid for it! I hope SCCA can offer this workshop again to other families. We learned so much, and it was also a great way to connect with other families going through a terminal illness with love and support.”

Hillary Miller, workshop participant, Seattle, WA