Shabbat Shalom!

Weekly News & Updates

Caring for Older Adults Since 1907

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SUKKAH

By Jo Strausz Rosen

We can’t always get what we want. And what all Jews want during this season is to enjoy some quality time with family in our sukkah. According to the Mishnah, in Sukkah 2:9, we’re allowed to leave the sukkah when it’s raining hard enough that the water would spoil our food (the specific example used is porridge, a food that’s easily spoiled). As one who enjoys her morning porridge, our rainy weather puts me in a bad mood when I think of our community indoors.

This Mishnah position was expanded on in the Shulhan Arukh (Orah Hayim 639:2) which ruled that if it’s too cold to eat in the sukkah, or if eating in the sukkah would cause you discomfort, then you are exempt from performing the mitzvah (commandment) of eating in the sukkah.

I have a high pain tolerance, but a rain tolerance while eating outside is another thing all together. “What constitutes discomfort? How cold is too cold? We erected our temporary Sukkah dwellings on the campuses of JSL and sadly they sit empty during this lousy weather. It could be worse. I recall many years sitting in a chilly sukkah, crowded around a cozy table wearing gloves, hat and coat, extra sweaters, warm socks, and boots. At least we got to cuddle with the person next to us. But then COVID… Ugh! How to socially distance in a sukkah is the challenge.

These irritating circumstances should remind us to think about others who are less fortunate, other people in horrible conditions, whatever they may be. We remember those who survived the Holocaust and those who did not. We remember those who have lost everything in hurricanes and tornados and floods and survived by constructing makeshift shelters, depending on others for food, or just foraging, and who suffered extreme hardships while mourning lost family and friends.

The roof made of s’khakh, or greenery, provides excellent shade, but during a downpour or worse, with our tables and chairs, soaked, our dinner ruined and our guests indoors… we are still the lucky ones with a dry and safe place to continue the mitzvah.

According to the Mishnah, the most important night to sit in your sukkah is the first night, so if it’s cold or rainy on the first night, we dress accordingly. We recite the special blessing "layshev b'Sukkah" – "Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the Universe, who sanctified us with His mitzvot, and instructed us to sit in the Sukkah."

When the rain stops, step outside, eat some bread and say the blessing for sitting in the sukkah. On all the other nights of Sukkot, go outdoors long enough for the Kiddush and some bread, but if that’s not possible, be patient. There are seven glorious days of Sukkot, and we will get a chance to enjoy our temporary dwelling. May you and all those you know and love be safe and find joy during 5782.

Thinking of our older adults at JSL, the isolation they must endure, thinking of the surrounding community and in particular journalist, Danny Fenster who languishes in a prison in Myanmar, wrongly accused. We send loving thoughts and continued prayers to him and to his family and to all our loved ones during this holiday and always. Happy Sukkot. #BringDannyHome.

SUKKOT STORY

Enjoy this meaningful Sukkot story told by Lord Rabbi Jonathan Sacks z’l

SERVERS WANTED

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 [email protected]

11 HEALTHY FALL FOODS

By Leslie Barrie

The autumn harvest includes a variety of root vegetables and crisp fruits — perfect for creating comforting meals to enjoy as the weather begins to cool. And good news for you: Those same delicious fall vegetables and fruits come loaded with health perks, so you’ll want to eat up.

According to the Cleveland Clinic, a diet that’s full of vegetables and fruits, along with healthy proteins, grains, and legumes, supports a healthy heart.

What’s more, a study published in March 2020 in the journal Neurology found that vegetarians who ate a diet rich in nuts, vegetables, and soy had a lower risk of stroke compared with nonvegetarians who ate meat.

ANNA & MEYER PRENTIS APARTMENTS

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POETRY CORNER

Arthur Lipsitt z’l” resided at Borman Hall for almost twenty years. In his lifetime he penned more than 400 poems – beginning at the age of 15 until just before he died at the age of 94. As a poet and a writer, he used words to express his deepest thoughts and his perceptive observations of life, as a young person, then as a husband, a father, a grandfather and as a resident of the Jewish Home for Aged. He lived with a positive attitude and was an inspiration to many.

Where Have All the Grandmas Gone?

In the dim and distant past

When Life’s tempo wasn’t fast

Grandma used to rock and knit

Crochet, snooze and babysit.

When the kids were in a jam

They could always call on “Gram”

In the days of gracious living

Grandma was the gal for giving.

But, today she’s in the gym

Exercising to keep slim

She’s off touring with the bunch

Or taking a client out to lunch.

Going North to ski or curl

All her days are in a whirl

Nothing seems to stop or block her

Now, that Grandma’s off her rocker.

Arthur Lipsitt

MAINE'S OLDEST LOBSTER HARVESTER

When Virginia Oliver started trapping lobster off Maine's rocky coast, World War II was more than a decade in the future, the electronic traffic signal was a recent invention and few women were harvesting lobsters.

Nearly a century later, at age 101, she's still doing it. The oldest lobster fisher in the state and possibly the oldest one in the world, Oliver still faithfully tends to her traps off Rockland, Maine, with her 78-year-old son Max.

Oliver started trapping lobsters at age 8, and these days she catches them using a boat that once belonged to her late husband and bears her own name, the "Virginia." She said she has no intention to stop, but she is concerned about the health of Maine's lobster population, which she said is subject to heavy fishing pressure these days.

"I've done it all my life, so I might as well keep doing it," Oliver said.

THIS WEEK'S RECIPE

Succulent Chicken with Squash

Ingredients

1 whole chicken, cut into 1/8ths

2 large shallots

1 butternut squash

2 tablespoons stone-ground mustard

2 tablespoons Red Wine Vinegar

1 tablespoon raspberry vinegar

3 tablespoons Gefen Maple Syrup

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon dried rosemary

2 teaspoons crushed garlic or 2 cubes Gefen Frozen Garlic

salt, to taste

pepper, to taste

fresh parsley, for garnish

Directions

1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

2) Dice the shallots and the butternut squash. Place in the bottom of a large roasting pan. Place the chicken on top and season with salt and pepper.

3) In a mixing bowl, whisk the mustard, vinegars, maple syrup, olive oil, garlic and rosemary. Pour over the chicken and squash. Cover the roasting pan and cook for two hours.

4) Uncover after two hours and baste the chicken with the juices. Continue to cook for 45 minutes uncovered, or until the chicken is glossy and well-done. Enjoy!

This recipe is from kosher.com