Weekly News & Updates
Caring for Older Adults Since 1907
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By Jo Strausz Rosen
Even though this year's festivities were different, I hope everyone enjoyed Thanksgiving with loved ones in some capacity. Either you served turkey around the firepit outdoors in the cold, or you were one of the lucky ones who lives in a pod and gathered indoors. Maybe you became sentimental, noting who was no longer at the table, then played some games with the family. However you celebrated, I hope you took time for a conversation about your family’s charitable giving.
Instead of writing checks to various causes and charities haphazardly, or in response to their outreach, you talked to your kids about the causes you support and why, and then helped them identify their passions and focused their giving on two or three causes they are excited about. Not only will they have more fun, but their gifts will have more impact. These conversations become important every year and you may have found that behind the masks around the table (or on the Zoom screen) are some incredibly caring humans. Perhaps you brought up the sometimes-touchy subject of your estate planning. You let them know that the gratitude and appreciation you have in your heart for their lives moved you to make provisions for their futures, in addition to setting aside a portion for charities you care about to provide a better life for others.
Live by example, give with your heart this season.
“It’s not how much we give, but how much love we put into giving” -- Mother Teresa
"Tzedakah and acts of kindness are the equivalent of all the mitzvot of the Torah" – Jerusalem Talmud, Pe'ah 1:1.
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#GivingTuesday
We have reached the Season of Giving, but if you’re like many, it’s a year-round activity. Here is an informative blog from the Giving Tuesday Organization offering some ideas and insights about 11 Causes You Can Impact From Your Couch on GivingTuesday December 1, 2020
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Planning Your Estate
Advice from a variety of estate planning and financial professionals in our community offer all of us many learning opportunities to protect our estates and insure we have enough through retirement.
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Eight Over Eighty Nominations
Think of the many wonderful gems in our community who were chosen to receive the Tikkun Olam Award over the past 27 years. If you would like to nominate someone 80 years of age or over, please submit your nomination online or download the form at the link below. For questions contact Beth Tryon, btryon@jslmi.org 248-592-5026. Last day we are accepting nominations is December 3.
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SHOP JSL'S ONLINE BOUTIQUE |
Stay cozy and fashionable during the colder months with this wine puffer vest! Shop this look and more at:
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By Betty Gold
From hygge, gezellig, and lagom to the perfect-for-a-pandemic lifestyle trend, friluftsliv, Scandinavian culture has refined the art of savoring cozy, relaxed, and balanced living.
Something else Scandinavians—specifically the Swedes—have perfected is the art of the coffee break. Meet fika, the Swedish tradition that involves setting aside quality downtime for drinking coffee slowly. (It often also includes a kanelbulle, the deliciously sweet Swedish cinnamon bun, and bonding with good company.) Fika is tied to the appreciation of coffee and pastries, yes, but it’s really meant to be a way to hit the pause button on work and life stress and just enjoy the moment.
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JEWISH TEEN HELPS SENIORS FEEL LESS ALONE |
By Lior Zaltzman
Jacob Cramer founded his nonprofit, Love For Our Elders when he was just 13. Cramer’s grandfather had passed away three years prior, and that devastating loss led him to want to connect with other senior citizens.
After volunteering at senior homes and writing letters to residents, Cramer realized that there was a “loneliness epidemic” in these facilities. According to a recent study from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, more than one-third of adults aged 45 and older feel lonely, and nearly one-fourth of adults aged 65 and older are considered to be socially isolated. That loneliness can often carry mental and physical health risks for older people. With the aid of letters and care packages, Cramer sought to do something to fight that “epidemic” and to bring brightness and connection to seniors around the country.
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HAVE WE STOPPED TALKING ABOUT HAPPINESS? |
By David Suissa
In all of the anxiety and chronic seriousness and righteous pursuits of 2020, I’ve noticed that very few people are talking about happiness.
We’re talking about getting through these bewildering times, about resilience, about systemic racism, about how we’re right and anyone who disagrees with us is wrong.
We’re talking about continuing our fights, about gaining power, about changing our country. We’re talking about pain and job losses and lives lost, and, above all, the need to stay safe.
But who’s talking about happiness?
A perfect storm of crises has hit us in 2020 to make the search for happiness the last thing on our minds. After all, how can anyone be “happy” while our country is mired in such “systemic racism?” Who’s got time for happiness when there’s such a broken world to fix?
Indeed, it feels positively selfish to think of happiness when there’s so much darkness and division around us.
But is happiness really a selfish idea? I’d like to suggest another view.
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KEEPING OUR COMMUNITY CONNECTED |
Special thank you to our staff for putting together lovely Thanksgiving gift bags for all of our residents! These bags of cheer are sure to make everyone’s Thanksgiving a little brighter.
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Shout out to our dedicated staff that spent their Thanksgiving this year working to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our beloved residents. Staff at Coville Assisted Living got in the holiday spirit with these turkey-tastic headbands! To see more photos or stories like this, visit "Keeping Our Community Connected: Stories From Residents, Staff and Volunteers" on our website.
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BAGELS, SCHMEAR, AND VOLUNTEERS |
We have held several weekly Zoom meetings for volunteers and it has been so great to see you! Are you a JSL volunteer who wants to reconnect? Please join us Mondays at 11:00 AM where we will discuss the latest JSL news, crockpot recipes, creative home exercise, and Netflix suggestions. If you have some topics or ideas for the group to discuss, send them to us. Until we can invite you back to do what you do best at JSL, let’s spend some time together and heal our loneliness. See you on Zoom or call in so we can hear your voice!
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New Meeting Info!
Meeting ID: 949 2936 8991
Passcode: 257970
Meeting ID: 949 2936 8991
Passcode: 257970
Looking forward to reconnecting!
In friendship,
Leslie Katz
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Shawarma-Spiced Braised Leg of Lamb
Ingredients
- 1 6-pound bone-in leg of lamb, shank attached, frenched
- Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
- 2 tablespoons cumin seeds
- 2 teaspoons caraway seeds
- 2 teaspoons coriander seeds
- 2 Thai chiles, very finely chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, finely grated
- ½ cup olive oil
- 1tablespoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
ASSEMBLY
- ½ teaspoon caraway seeds
- ½ teaspoon coriander seeds
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 large onion, thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon ancho chile powder
- 1 tablespoon chipotle chile powder
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
- 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- Kosher salt
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Herb Salad with Pickled Red Onion and Preserved Lemon (for serving)
SPECIAL EQUIPMENT
A spice mill or a mortar and pestle
Preparation
RUB
Step 1
Trim excess fat from lamb and remove any membrane. Lightly score flesh with a knife and pat dry with paper towels. Season lamb very generously with salt and pepper; place on a wire rack set inside a rimmed baking sheet.
Step 2
Grind cumin, caraway, and coriander seeds in a spice mill or with a mortar and pestle to a powder. Transfer to a small bowl and stir in chiles, garlic, oil, paprika, and cinnamon; rub all over lamb. Chill uncovered on wire rack 12–24 hours.
ASSEMBLY
Step 3
Let lamb sit to come to room temperature, about 1 hour.
Step 4
Preheat oven to 450°. Roast lamb until well browned all over, 20–25 minutes. Remove from oven and reduce oven temperature to 250°.
Step 5
Meanwhile, grind caraway and coriander seeds in a spice mill or with a mortar and pestle to a powder.
Step 6
Heat oil in a large Dutch oven or other heavy pot over medium (if lamb doesn’t fit in the pot you have, set a roasting pan over two burners instead). Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, 5–7 minutes. Add ancho chile powder, chipotle chile powder, turmeric, black pepper, cinnamon, and ground seeds and stir to coat onion. Cook, stirring, until spices are fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add tomatoes and broth and bring liquid to a simmer; season lightly with salt.
Step 7
Carefully place lamb in pot and add just enough water to cover if it is not submerged. Cover pot and braise lamb in oven until meat is very tender and bone wiggles easily in the joint, 4½–5½ hours. (If using a roasting pan, add water as needed so liquid comes halfway up side of leg, cover with foil, and turn lamb once during braising.) Transfer lamb to a platter and tent with foil to keep warm while you make the sauce.
Step 8
Increase heat to medium-high and bring braising liquid to a boil; cook, stirring often to prevent sticking, until reduced by half, 25–30 minutes. Taste sauce and season with salt if needed. Spoon over lamb. Serve with Herb Salad alongside.
Step 9
Do Ahead: Lamb can be braised 2 days ahead. Keep in braising liquid; cover and chill. Reheat, covered, over medium-low until liquid is simmering and meat is warmed through.
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Follow JSL on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube for the most up to date and inspiring JSL content. Leave a like while you're there too! |
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Martin Hollender
2013 Eight Over Eighty Honoree
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Rabbi Dovid S. Polter, JSL Community Chaplain
A Woman’s Gratitude
A prominent and dynamic woman who overcame many trials and tribulations in life dedicated herself to spreading healing and inspiration. Esther served as a columnist for a well-known newspaper and was a prolific author and articulate orator, giving pleasure to so many.
After hip surgery, she began her daily therapy of walking down the hallway. The nurses loved and admired her as they began cheering. One of the nurses called out, “You’re our Ballerina!”
“Ballerina? Some ballerina I am, with this robe and a turban on my head. What kind of ballerina looks like this?” Yet she continued repeating the word over and over to herself: “ballerina, ballerina…”
And then she suddenly uttered the word in a whole different way, emphasizing it from another angle. “Baal rinah, baal rina.” (meaning in Hebrew, Master of (your own) happiness). This was a gift she could give to herself.
She was suddenly triumphant, seizing the silver lining in a dim situation, as she had done throughout her life.
Life is most enjoyed and appreciated when we are grateful, express our deep gratitude and react as this woman did, giving to herself some inspiration she had always provided to others, – “I am a baal rinah.”
Adapted from The Rebbetzin, Author Rabbi Nachman Seltzer
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Be inspired. Call Shabbat Shalom by Phone
Dial Toll free: 605-313-4107
Access code: 270368# (Reference number not needed)
Dial # to hear the most recent recorded message
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 contributions.
Please continue your engAGEment with JSL.
Your support greatly impacts our residents and their lives well lived.
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Nancy Heinrich, Chief Executive Officer
Jennie Klepinger, Chief Financial Officer
Barbra Giles, Executive Director, Strategic Initiatives
Dianne Azzopardi, Executive Director, Human Resources
Ron Colasanti, Executive Director, Dining Services
Gregg Leshman, Executive Director, Residential Operations
Jo Strausz Rosen, Executive Director, Development
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People of all faiths and beliefs are welcome. |
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