Weekly News & Updates
Caring for Older Adults Since 1907
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NORMA JEAN & EDWARD MEER APARTMENTS |
Contact Jackie Rosender
248-444-2430 jrosender@jslmi.org
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“A man is born gentle and weak; at his death he is hard and stiff. All things, including the grass and trees, are soft and pliable in life, dry and brittle in death. Stiffness is thus a companion of death, flexibility a companion of life. An army that cannot yield will be defeated. A tree that cannot bend will crack in the wind. The hard and stiff will be broken; the soft and supple will prevail.” Lao Tzu
I ask our JSL residents how they stay strong. What is it that brings them joy during periods of difficulty? And what they share is that real strength lies in being able to yield, when necessary, while staying true to your core values.
Many explain that their life journey is filled with ups and downs but what gets them through it all, is their capacity to lean into core values that bring strength, even when times are terrible. Aging can bring blindness, disability, hearing loss and pain. Survivors rarely give up and teach us to focus on life as a road trip - an apt metaphor. Find the humor even though it can be challenging, painful, annoying, and difficult. Keep on driving because hope and experience have shown us the idea of silver linings. Rather than being hellbent on reaching our destination, this would mean enjoying what you can and singing along with the radio, admiring a patch of wildflowers growing by the roadside, or stopping off for a bite to eat. The road at times can be rocky and seemingly endless. The traffic gets in our way. The scenery can be bleak and unchanging. The car makes noises and sometimes we don’t even know where we’re going, but we can endure just about anything, if we have hope.
In terrible times we try to keep the faith because a glimmer of hope keeps us going. People have astonishing ability to carry on, even in the deepest and darkest of times. Because, focused on the hope of a positive outcome, there is an inherent understanding that all experiences, positive and negative add layers of meaning to life. We acknowledge the yin and yang, the balance of opposites. We know that it’s difficult to appreciate what it’s like to feel joy unless we have experienced a sense of desolation and emptiness. That even in the darkest of times, there are specks of light, even if they aren’t apparent at the time, they may become clear later. Long periods of difficulty might demonstrate strengths previously unrecognized. Devasting events draw people together, the heartbreak of caring for an ailing relative might bring unexpected moments of joy and togetherness. Being housebound for weeks with an injury might result in long, and ultimately worthwhile, hours spent reading, learning or developing a new skill, even it if turns out to be patience. The combination of ups and downs over the passage of time, is what makes life rich, varied, and meaningful. No matter how counterintuitive it may feel, it’s important to value the painful experiences as much as the happier ones. Gratitude is instilled, it teaches empathy, shores up resilience and fosters compassion. Hold onto the glimmer of hope realizing that pain experienced is possibly laying the foundation for a life that flourishes later.
Sway like the oak, while remaining strong and rooted.
I hope you enjoyed a bountiful Thanksgiving filled with gratitude. I wonder how many served latkes with a side of cranberry sauce this novel year. BE THE LIGHT and light the darkness with blessings and joy in celebration of a very Happy Hannukah!
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WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM OUR FRIENDS! |
Dining: Need volunteers to set dining room tables at Hechtman and Meer from 12-3pm Monday – Friday
Dining: Need volunteers to roll silverware at Hechtman and Meer from 12-3pm Monday – Friday
Dining: Need volunteers to pour beverages at Hechtman and Meer for dinner time service from 4-6pm Monday-Friday
Dining: Need volunteers to pour beverages at Fleischman for dinner time service from 5-6pm every day
BINGO: Need BINGO callers for evening activities
Entertainment: Can you play an instrument or sing? Do you have 30-45 minutes of musical selections that you can offer residents? We have a beautiful piano to offer musical recitals to entertain residents.
Gift Shop: Looking for volunteers to help work in our beautiful boutiques Tuesday from 1-3pm and Wednesday from 11am-2pm
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WAYS TO BE GRATEFUL THIS HANUKAH |
While it’s not the Thanksgivukkah of 2013 which brought so many great culinary mash-ups and the menurkey, this year’s Thanksgiving-Hanukkah weekend convergence offers an opportunity to make connections between the two holidays.
When we think of Hanukkah’s big ideas — miracles, courage, freedom — it could feel like gratitude is an add-on, a forced connection because of the timing of the Western calendar and our Jewish lunar calendar.
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LILLIAN & SAMUEL HECHTMAN II APARTMENTS |
Contact Jackie Rosender
248-444-2430 jrosender@jslmi.org
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Please join us as a sponsor or friend of JSL for our annual Lives Well Lived fundraiser!
Your support provides our residents:
- Health & Wellness Programming
- Diverse & Exciting Speakers
- In-house Entertainment
- Art Supplies
- Large Print Books
- Gardening Supplies
- Seasonal Floral Arrangements
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Looking for a fun and rewarding place to work…. Look no further!
Jewish Senior Life is hiring servers for the Dining Rooms on the West Bloomfield Campus!
Flexible schedules and great hours!
Great opportunities for teens after school!
If interested, please call or email
Jodi Panter 248-592-1104 or jpanter@jslmi.org
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WEST SIDE STORY: HANUKAH PARODY |
We just met a new parody by Six13 and now Hanukkah will never be the same!
The Jewish a cappella group, who last year gave us the Passover sea shanty we never knew we needed, never disappoints around Hanukkah season, and this time they’re bringing us a medley of one of the best musicals of all time — “West Side Story.”
The hit musical and 1961 film — with iconic music written by Steven Sondheim and Leonard Bernstein — is being revived by Steven Spielberg with a new screenplay from Jewish theater maven Tony Kushner, which will hit theaters this December. To celebrate the 2021 film, Six13 has taken four of the musical’s most memorable songs and turned them into Hanukkah jams.
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Chanukah Gelt Surprise Cookies
Special Equipment
Cookies
1 batch of sugar cookie dough (we like this recipe)
For Assembly
about 1/2 cup chocolate chips
chocolate gelt (the smaller ones are best)
sprinkles (optional)
Bake the Cookies
1) Roll out your dough about one-fourth-inch thick.
2) Cut out dreidel cookies and transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
3) Using the small cookie cutter, cut out the center of every third cookie, keeping the dreidel cookie cutter around the cookie while cutting, so that the shape doesn’t spread.
4) Bake cookies according to recipe directions and allow to cool.
Assembly
1) Melt chocolate and place in a piping bag – I like to do this by placing the chocolate in a ziptop bag and pouring hot water over the bag. Once the chocolate melts, snip off the tip of the bag and you’ve got a piping bag!
2) On a whole (non-hollow) cookie, pipe chocolate along the edge. Place a hollow cookie on top. Fill it with one piece of gelt and sprinkles if desired. Pipe chocolate along the edge of the hollow cookie and top it with a whole cookie.
3) You can decorate the cookie if you’d like. Put it in the fridge to set.
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Dance off that Thanksgiving feast with this 30 minute dance routine that includes Doo Wop, Big Band, Disco, Latin and Pop! |
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Will you be ALL IN for our community? Support Federation and Jewish Senior Life this Giving Tuesday on November 30th. Join us and help to secure the health and welfare of the community for the year ahead. All donations will be matched, dollar for dollar, up to $180.
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And be sure to check out the online magazine nu-detroit.com for a JSL article coming out with gratitude to our donors, in celebration of some very special residents.
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Rabbi Dovid S. Polter, JSL Community Chaplain
Possessions and Prize Possessions
We are in the joyful season of Thanksgiving. Aside from its history, it is also one of the busiest travel times of the entire year.
Which two places allow the living to bid farewell?
An airport and a post office.
Although we now cannot accompany our loved ones inside, the airport hello and goodbye impart nostalgia, memory, and sentiment. We wish well, hug and embrace our friends and family as we greet or part from one another. At the post office we part with our more external possessions, a package, a parcel, or the return of the inaccurate Amazon order.
During this holiday season as some of us take to the roads or clouds, let us remember the respect, fondness and love we have toward our living prize possessions, namely our family and friends. Even the strangers among us need our respect.
Hope you enjoyed the Thanksgiving holiday.
Nightly Chanukah Celebration and Candle Lighting by Phone
Sunday, November 28th through Monday, December 6th, you will enjoy the Menorah lighting, traditional blessings and melodies along with a Chanukah story.
Call in nightly Toll Free conference line 1-605-313-4107
Access code: 270368#
Ignore reference number
Dial # to hear most recent message
A nightly Chanukah trivia question will be asked. Be a winner of one of eight prizes by calling 248-592-5039 in exchange for the correct trivia answer.
Rabbi Dovid S. Polter Jewish Community Chaplaincy Program Jewish Senior Life
248-592-5039 • dpolter@jslmi.org
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This newsletter was created by Jo Rosen and Amanda Martlock
We’re human, prone to mistakes, so if we erred in our newsletter, please forgive us!
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L’Chaim!
We are so grateful for your financial contributions.
Please continue your engAGEment with JSL.
Your support enhances the lives of our residents.
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Nancy Heinrich, Chief Executive Officer
Jennie Klepinger, Chief Financial Officer
Barbra Giles, Executive Director, Strategic Initiatives
Jo Strausz Rosen, Executive Director, Development
Dianne Azzopardi, Executive Director, Human Resources
Ron Colasanti, Executive Director, Dining Services
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People of all faiths and beliefs are welcome. |
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