The Tal­mud recalls that after Moses shat­tered the first set of Ten Com­mand­ments, destroy­ing them with the Gold­en Calf, Moses did not dis­card those tablets’ bro­ken frag­ments. Although he returned to Mount Sinai to replace the tablets of the Ten Com­mand­ments, the shat­tered shards of the ear­li­er set also were retained. From this the Tal­mud teach­es, ​“Respect the aged, because the frag­ments of the orig­i­nal tablets were pre­served in the Ark with the new ones” (Baby­lon­ian Tal­mud, B’rachot 8b).

Alzheimer’s dis­ease rep­re­sents a human set of bro­ken frag­ments. Amer­i­cans – and espe­cial­ly Amer­i­can Jews – are liv­ing longer, and with aging comes a greater risk of Alzheimer’s dis­ease and relat­ed demen­tias. Is there a Jew­ish response, or a response among Jews, to this wor­ri­some ill­ness?

Bro­ken Frag­ments: Jew­ish Expe­ri­ences of Alzheimer’s Dis­ease through Diag­no­sis, Adap­ta­tion and Mov­ing On includes the sto­ries and teach­ings of Jew­ish cler­gy, physi­cians, social work­ers, and fam­i­ly of peo­ple with Alzheimer’s dis­ease, weav­ing rich Jew­ish texts through each chapter’s nar­ra­tive. It offers the com­fort and the wis­dom of our ancient tra­di­tion to pro­vide mean­ing for the Alzheimer’s wor­ry of today.