world focuses on other crises, the conflict in syria continues to displace millions from their homes. we look at how faith-based groups are trying to help. and bob faw on the late rabbi zalman schachter-shalomi's conversations with author and skeptic sara davidson about spirituality and preparing to die. >> announcer: major funding is provided by a private family foundation dedicated to its founder's interest in religion, community development and

education. additional funding also provided by moutual of america. retirement products. that's why we're your retirement company. welcome. i'm kim lawton, sitting in for bob abernethy. thank you for joining us. people of faith around the world continue to pray for a permanent truce between israel and hamas. during this week's pause in the fighting, groups were able to deliver aid to people in gaza. many decried the humanitarian impact of the conflict. a catholic relief services official described the situation as quote "a complete catastrophe." many religious leaders continued to protest the large number of civilian casualties. in washington, on tisha b'av, the jewish day of mourning, activists held a vigil for those on both sides who were killed. the gathering urged an end to the war. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu said hamas should be held accountable for what he called the tragic loss of civilian lives.

he said israel's actions were justified and proportional. in west africa, authorities raced to contain the ebola virus amid news that another christian missionary, a spanish priest, was infected. the priest was airlifted to madrid. the world health organization said it would convene a group of medical ethicists next week to discuss whether experimental drugs, including the serum used on the two infected american missionaries should be given to others who have contracted the virus. the serum had not yet been tested on humans, but there are no other approved and effective treatments for ebola. meanwhile, leaders from dozens of african nations came to a summit in washington this week where they discussed health challenges, security and economic development. president obama called for more joint partnerships, saying the us has a moral obligation to support africa's progress. with all the headlines about ebola and other problems, former

vatican diplomat j. peter pham, director of the atlantic council's africa center, told me he believes it's time for a different narrative. >> there is an emergent africa, an increasingly confident africa politically, economically and religiously and hopefully, we begin to take a look at the new africa beyond our usual lens of africa with its hand out in need of rescuing by outsiders. two senior leaders of cambodia's khmer rouge were sentenced to life in prison this week, more than three decades after their brutal rule. the two were convicted of crimes against humanity committed during khmer rouge's reign in the 1970s. at least 1.7 million people died under the regime. the men are now in their 80s, and they are the last two surviving leaders to stand trial. they are expected to appeal the verdict. a deteriorating situation in iraq as islamic state militants continued seizing control of the

northern part of the country. extremists pushed into territories controlled by kurdish forces, causing thousands of civilians to flee. many of those fleeing were religious minorities, including christians and members of an ancient sect called the yazidi. the u.s. authorized airstrikes and air drops of humanitarian aid for tens of thousands of yazidi trapped with little food or water. officials say they are in danger of being wiped out completely. with the world focused on humanitarian crises in so many places, officials are also urging that the conflict in syria not be forgotten. syrians are the largest single refugee group worldwide. more than 9 million syrians have been displaced since 2011. that's more than 40% of the pre-war population. many have ended up in neighboring countries, including jordan. earlier this year, my colleague patti jette and i traveled to jordan to see how faith-based groups are trying to help.

>> reporter: this is one of jordan's largest cities. there's a bustling main street, dubbed the champs elysees, where almost anything can be bought and sold. there are schools, hospitals, and some 30 mosques. tens of thousands live here. but this sprawling compound just five miles from the syrian border is really not a city at all. it's the za'atari refugee camp, where syrians have fled from the unrelenting conflict in their homeland. almost two and a half million people have left syria, in what the united nations has called "the greatest humanitarian catastrophe of modern times." many have ended up here, in neighboring jordan, in refugee camps and in communities across the country. >> you see our brothers and sisters, our neighbors, the syrians, everywhere, not only the north, you see them in every city, in every street, in every town. and this has created a big

burden on the jordanian economy. >> reporter: the un and international aid agencies have been working to meet the dire needs. faith-based groups are actively mobilizing as well, and many religious leaders say they provide a unique contribution in the midst of the crisis. >> many international organizations are doing great jobs. there are millions that are spent to help those people. but what is absent is the, is the human touch, is the love. >> reporter: wafa goussous, director of the orthodox initiative, says this is what the religious groups do. >> make the giving, the material giving, make it with love. so those people will, will feel the difference in their exile. >> reporter: some religious groups, including international orthodox christian charities, iocc, have been working here in za'atari, the largest camp for syrian refugees.

the za'atari camp was established in july 2012 to deal with the huge influx of syrian refugees flooding into jordan. it's difficult to get exact numbers, but about 100,000 refugees are estimated to be currently living here. and between 300 and 500 new refugees are still coming in every day. syrians who don't have a jordanian to sponsor them end up here, and are forbidden to leave, unless they choose to return to syria. some still live in tents, although many have now been moved to small trailers or "caravans." >> these refugees used to live much better life in syria. and coming here they, they, they lost everything. >> reporter: on this chilly day, we met seham, who invited us into her caravan, where seven family members sleep in one room, including her son who was wounded in the war. it's cold and drafty inside, but better than the tent they had before. she tells us rats and mice run around freely and asks iocc for a bag to help protect her few possessions.

iocc tries to meet needs not covered by other agencies. the group distributes donations from outside partners, including many u.s. churches. they give out things like hygiene kits, quilts, space heaters, kitchen supplies and blankets. in december, the group distributed 12,000 school uniforms and track suits to children in the camp. >> according to the jordanian law, for someone to attend the school he has to have certain things such as school books as well as the school uniforms. so in order for all the children residing in the camp to attend the school, they were supposed to have school uniforms and this is what iocc did for them. >> reporter: qusay's daughter proudly shows off her uniform. her baby brother was born in the camp 14 months ago, just a month after they arrived. qusay used to work at a syrian government office. now he's dependent on international donations. he says they left syria because they were afraid of the shelling.

now he says he's afraid they'll die of hunger instead. while za'atari gets much international attention, the vast majority of syrian refugees, between 75% and 80%, actually live outside the camps. many religious groups are currently shifting their efforts to help these "urban refugees," who are more difficult to reach. multiple families cram into small, unheated apartments paying high rents. they can't get jobs here, so many are using up what savings they brought with them, supplemented by a small u.n. stipend. bashir, fadiya and their three children live with two other families, a total of 10 people, in this three-room apartment with little furniture. bashir says they couldn't survive without help from groups like iocc. his dream is to get back to syria as soon as possible, but he says, only if it is a syria at peace. the catholic group caritas jordan has centers across the country where refugees can come for help.

this caritas center in zarqa serves about 200 people daily, and has been logging in some 100 more new families every day. here, refugees can get medical assistance, emergency aid supplies and referrals for other help. every center has a counseling program as well. in child-friendly spaces, children do art and play therapy. their parents can receive individual counseling and group therapy sessions. >> reporter: one of the caritas volunteers is bassam zarrour, himself a syrian refugee. zarrour owned an electronics store in homs, and says he had a "beautiful" life there until the violence exploded. he and his family left syria last march. he heard right away about caritas' help for refugees and then became a volunteer, acting as a liaison between caritas and his fellow syrians. like most of the syrian refuges, zarrour is muslim. he told me helping others gives

him a sense of purpose here. caritas' work is supported by international partners, including the u.s. based catholic relief services. crs president carolyn woo came to see some of the projects. she says it's crucial to work with local groups. >> they're the ones who know the local culture, they have the infrastructure, they are very committed themselves, so our job is really to enable them to be as successful as possible because they could really serve people in the best way. >> reporter: as she toured several sites, woo says she was deeply moved by the stories she encountered. >> you look at the little children, they're so wonderful but yet behind each of these wonderful people is a life that is completely disrupted. we see god in all of these people. we see that these are brothers and sisters like us. they're all part of this human family. >> reporter: jordan has made the decision to keep its borders open as long as possible.

the flood of syrian refugees is the latest in a long line of people coming here, from palestinians in 1948, to iraqis, egyptians and sudanese. >> the nature of jordanians are very generous and always open to receive guests, respect them, and host them. still it's a big burden. it's a big burden on the country, it's a big burden on the government, on the infrastructure, on the resources of the country. >> reporter: father nabil haddad is executive director of the jordanian interfaith coexistence center. he says hospitality and helping others are strong parts of jordan's religious tradition. >> they are christians and muslims, they believe in mercy and they believe in love, and our lord teaches us to love our neighbors, and our neighbors they are in desperate need. >> reporter: still, there are rising tensions between syrian

refugees and vulnerable jordanians, who say they need help as well. >> in the beginning the jordanian people, they open everything for syrians, of course it's a kind of solidarity. they start collaborating, supporting, you know, but i believe that today it's -- it became -- a big problem for the jordanian people. >> reporter: the jordanian government now requires that at least 30% of aid for syan refugees is given to help needy jordanians. wafa goussous says jordan's small christian population is doing what it can to help both. representing the greek orthodox patriarch theophilos iii in jerusalem, the orthodox initiative has partnered with u.s. churches for several projects, including distributing food and other essential aid. >> it's our moral duty, it's our obligation, it's our christian presence, and our christian witness, they're both related,

and we cannot just close our eyes on a crisis that is happening to other people and say, "well, let the u.n. agencies deal with it, or the government." we are part and parcel. we are part of the fabric of this area. >> reporter: religious groups here are asking for more aid. many are also urging the international community to work harder to find solutions to the conflict inside syria, so the refugees can ultimately return. >> we have this ongoing hemorrhage of innocent blood in syria. i think it is the time now that we raise our voices. >> reporter: the situation may seem insurmountable, but faith leaders say it's not hopeless. >> i think sometimes it's easier to say, "this is too overwhelming. this is beyond me."

and i don't think compassion and assistance is ever beyond anyone. >> reporter: the most important thing, they say, is that the world not abandon the millions caught in the crisis. this week marked the second anniversary of the sikh temple shooting in wisconsin when a gunman opened fire, killing six worshippers. last week, a sikh man in new york was hit by a truck in another alleged hate crime. u.s. sikhs have been mobilizing to fight discrimination. the sikh american legal defense and education fund has created a new public service announcement showing members of their faith as part of the fabric of america. last month, one of america's most well-known rabbis, rabbi zalman schachter-shalomi, died at the age of 89. he was a founder of the jewish renewal movement. for two years, every friday, schachter-shalomi talked with

writer sara davidson, a secular skeptic, about spirituality and preparing to die. davidson chronicled those conversations in a book called "the december project." bob faw had spoken with both davidson and schachter-shalomi this past spring about wisdom and accepting death. >> reporter: despite all her success as a best-selling novelist, a hollywood screenwriter, and a journalist working in dangerous places, nothing she did, says sara davidson, ever prepared her for the prospect of dying. >> i would feel terror and nausea because i had no certainty that there is an afterlife. the idea of everything ending in nothing was terrible. >> reporter: in 2009, though, davidson was lucky enough to meet this remarkable man, rabbi zalman schachter-shalomi, then 85, a founder of the jewish renewal movement. appearing recently at a boulder, colorado, book signing he

remembered that when they met he wanted someone to pass along all he had learned about dying. >> i felt that what i needed to share with people at this time is just stuff that i didn't hear from any of my teachers. >> he said, "there is something i want to do with you. i want to have a series of talks about what i'm calling 'the december project.' when you feel you're coming to the end of your tour of duty, what is the spiritual work of that time, and how do we prepare for the mystery?" >> reporter: it was an unlikely collaboration. after a lifetime of scholarship and meditation, the faith of the rabbi was profound. davidson, who considers herself a secular jew, calls herself "a spiritual mutt" and a skeptic. >> i've got this very cynical mind that's always poking holes in whatever theory or theology is presented to me. and he said, "i don't want to convince you of anything.

what i want is to loosen your mind." >> reporter: the rabbi and the skeptic met every friday for two years, with him teaching her that death is a mystery which need not be feared if she would trust her intuition more than her intellect. >> feeling and intuition, it has to do with the right hemisphere and with the heart and anything that has to do with knowing the presence of god and preparing for dying, you know. the left hemisphere would say you should fight it, you don't want to die. the right hemisphere and the heart would say surrender to it. it's taking you to another place that's also real. >> he said you need to create an inner space, an inner sanctuary, a place where you can go that it will be like a home base in the midst of all the humble and rumble and tumble of life, that you can go inside and there's a

place there that's quiet and still, and it's in that place that you can be most open to intuition. >> reporter: what she learned from all those sessions is now chronicled in this book, "the december project," about getting in touch with what the rabbi calls "that sacred inner space." >> i want to cut myself off from all the other outside influences so that i can catch my breath and find my center. that is already creating the sanctuary, sanctuary in the sense of i flee to the place where i feel safe. >> now the big question is how do you know something is genuinely intuition or guidance or wisdom and not just a random thought popping in your head? and i asked him that, and he said there is no litmus test, unfortunately, to tell you this is authentic wisdom, this is a real intuition, or it's just a thought.

but when it happenso me, if i feel like i can do something with it, then i have a sense that it's the real juice. >> reporter: only at that point, the rabbi taught her, is one able to "let go" and accept death. >> really letting go is the ultimate message of "the december project," and of, i think, all spiritual traditions, and it's something you do moment by moment by moment. you let go as things arise. you start with small things. somebody cancels a lunch date that you were really looking forward to and you built your whole day around it and suddenly it's gone and, you know, you're disappointed, but can you let go of that disappointment? it really is about acceptance. can you accept what is? and then you move on to bigger things, ultimately to "i'm a mortal, and like every mortal i will leave this earth one day." >> reporter: davidson said she learned that everything he

taught stems from his unshakeable conviction that in all things there is a touch of the divine, that god is as close as the vein in one's neck. >> what he means is whatever that force is that causes my eyes to see and my heart to beat and the blood to flow through my body, whatever that source of kindness and love and oneness, whatever that is i'm so grateful it's there. >> when i say god i don't mean necessarily an old man, but i mean a center of awareness, volition, and compassion and grace, and that i can make a space for if i spend time in my inner sanctuary. >> reporter: if all this sounds too touchy-feely or impossibly dense, davidson and the rabbi assured that boulder audience that their friday sessions were also filled with laughter and music.

>> it's a very meaningful melody for me as a way of getting into that space in which one can say goodbye to the body and to this world and to move on with a kind of hope and gentleness. >> reporter: here the rabbi, now 89, married four times with 11 children, reveals himself not only as a philosopher, but as an irrepressible showman, directing his listeners to act as a back-up chorus as the rabbi sings the spiritual "travelin' shoes," which is all about getting ready to meet one's maker.

♪ >> you mean you're ready to go? you've got on your travelin' shoes? >> reporter: yes, says rabbi zalman. i'm now ready. >> i just would like to be like a drop in the ocean and dissolve in the divine being. that's enough. >> reporter: and while sara davidson concedes she's not quite that far along, she says she's come a long way from that "terror and nausea." >> having the gift of spending two years in intimate conversation with reb zalman has changed the way i approach life. >> reporter: so are you more comfortable now with the concept of death? >> yes, i am more comfortable. but i'm not where he is at yet, but i'm definitely getting there. >> reporter: that notion of getting ready by letting go was

imparted once again when the rabbi gave a benediction to his audience in boulder. >> god, i thank you for keeping me in the light, and i let go and let go and let go. amen. >> reporter: the spiritual heavyweight and the skeptical seeker confronting the mystery and the marvel of death, together. for "religion and ethics newsweekly," this is bob faw in boulder, colorado. finally, pope francis heads to south korea this coming week, where he'll participate in several events, including asian youth day. this week, he met with some 50,000 young german catholics in st. peter's square. many of them were altar servers. francis urged them not to waste too much time on the internet and smart phones, saying those things can distract people from

what's really important. presumably, he didn't mean to include his twitter account, which currently has more than 4 million followers. that's our program for now. i'm kim lawton. you can follow us on twitter and facebook, where i have a fan page as well. watch us anytime on the pbs app for iphones and ipads. and visit our website, where there is always much more, including more of my interview with j. peter pham. you can also listen to or watch each program. join us at pbs.org. as we leave you, scenes from a solemn ceremony in belgium marking the 100th anniversary of world war i. >> the son and the holy spirit be amongst you and remain with you always. amen.

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>> rose: welcome to the program. i'm charlie rose. the program is "charlie rose: the week." just ahead, the fight against ebola. president obama's summit of african leaders and award-winning filmmaker cam takes us on a deep dive. >> it's suchap internal drive for him. he has to do it. >> we're so far from ready it's not even funny. >> we have to pit ourselves against the elements. >> we've got to dive. and here we go. >> moment of truth. >> uh-oh. that's not good. we have a lot of fairlz here. we have a problem. >> rose: those stories and more on what happened and what might happen. >> there's a saying around here: you stand behind what you say. around here, we don't make excuses, we make commitments. and wyo