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JULY/AUGUST 2013 |TAMUZ/AV 5773 inside At JCC’s Silver Sneakers: 3 seniors find right ‘start point’ Strawberry pie makes impression – 5 so does planned giving The View from Ha’aretz: Hands across a void 6 Cycle to stay fit, see world 7 Remembering Jackie Robinson’s fight 8 with black nationalists over anti-Semitism Syman says ‘make some money’ 9 Jewish Destinations: Odessa, Ukraine 12 SeniorLink provides loved ones 13 with needed services Allentown native travels there and back: 14 Q-and-A with David Weiner

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Page 1: HAKOL - Senior Living 2013

JULY/AUGUST 2013 |TAMUZ/AV 5773

insideAt JCC’s Silver Sneakers: 3seniors find right ‘start point’

Strawberry pie makes impression – 5so does planned giving

The View from Ha’aretz: Hands across a void 6

Cycle to stay fit, see world 7

Remembering Jackie Robinson’s fight 8with black nationalists over anti-Semitism

Syman says ‘make some money’ 9

Jewish Destinations: Odessa, Ukraine 12

SeniorLink provides loved ones 13with needed services

Allentown native travels there and back: 14Q-and-A with David Weiner

Page 2: HAKOL - Senior Living 2013

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Page 3: HAKOL - Senior Living 2013

By Jennifer LaderEditor, HAKOL

On a recent Monday morning, 20 men and women gathered in the auxiliary gym at the JCC, each with handheld weights, exercise ball and water bottle. Their reason for gathering: Silver Sneakers, a fit-ness program especially designed to help seniors with a wide range of physical abilities, under the guidance of JCC fitness instructor and personal trainer Clarence Cook.

The program is a result of a partnership be-tween Healthways and Blue365, two private com-panies that together offer Healthways Fitness Your Way – a fitness program available to individuals through participating Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies. Those who qualify are able to enroll at the JCC or other approved fitness locations.

Even though the JCC participants on this Mon-day morning spent a large portion of the class time sitting in chairs, they didn’t get too comfortable. Instead, they were lifting modest weights in bicep curls.

“Fifteen curls on the right side … Great job, ev-erybody -- control it on the way down!” Cook said from his chair at the front of the room. He kept ev-eryone’s mind off the work with a varied dialogue: “It’s been raining in Florida for seven days in a row … Now 15 on the other side.”

When it came time to stand for additional exercises, Cook reminded everyone that this kind of movement is “so important for our hips!” From here, he launched into a discussion of the “Man of Steel” movie, just released, adding “I love all the superheroes, but we’re all superheroes in our own right.”

In this manner, Cook facilitated a workout that could hardly have been more full of encourage-ment and socializing.

“You can count on a good workout and a lot of laughs here,” he said after the class. Yet there is a serious purpose: “You might have someone coming in here, 70 years old with osteoporosis or diabe-tes, fibromyalgia. I’ve always stressed … having the right start point [for your exercise level] is so important. If we find the right point for you, you’ll do the exercises!”

Cook has the experience to help people get started with a fitness program. Thirty-five years ago, he responded to an advertisement in the news-paper and joined the JCC staff as a fitness instruc-tor working two to four hours per week.

“It wasn’t at that time what it is today,” he recalled. “There was no [specialized] equipment, Nautilus was in its early stages. It’s grown, so now it’s conducive to everyone at every level.

“We’re doing more with bands and balls,” he said of Silver Sneakers. Forty minutes into the class, each of the participants reached for a colorful bouncing ball. They started with arm and finger strength exercises, then moved to bouncing and tossing the balls to support coordination.

“Technique is the most critical component,” Cook said, perhaps referring both to the class and to exercise in general, “and knowing how to work [within] boundaries or around obstacles. Maybe you had bypass surgery, or if you’ve never done this before. It’s at your own pace.”

He encourages seniors in the class to “hold to where you feel comfortable, that’s the key. You want to feel it, then improve from there.” Tightness hap-pens, he said, when you’re not moving around, so “that’s why it’s important for us to keep moving.”

In all these ways and more, Cook takes into account individual abilities. Even he has a limit, although not necessarily physical: “If you say [to me], ‘I don’t have time [to exercise],’ I can’t accept that,” he said. “There are 168 hours in a week. Everyone has two hours.’”

Cook is the father of two grown sons and a 7-year-old grandson who, according to Cook, “trumps everything,” and no doubt keeps Cook pushing himself to be his best even as he encour-ages others to do the same.

“Our health’s not promised,” Cook concluded. He encourages even more seniors to join the Silver Sneakers class, because, he said, “I have a lot of strength to give.”

The JCC offers three land-based Silver Sneakers classes, dubbed Classic, that meet on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 10 to 10:45 a.m., and two aqua classes, dubbed Silver Splash, that meet on Mondays and Thursdays from 12 to 1 p.m. Participants may also use the fitness, gym and aquatic facilities an unlimited number of times per month. For more information on the benefits of Silver Sneakers and on qualifying for the program, call the JCC at 610-435-3571, or contact Healthways Fitness Your Way at 888-242-2060 or at www.fitnessyourway.healthways.com.

SENIOR LIVING | HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY | JULY/AUGUST 2013 3

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AT JCC’S SILVER SNEAKERS

Above, Mary McVeigh and the rest of the Silver Sneakers class keep up with instructor Clarence Cook (pictured at right).

Below, Silver Sneakers participants march at their own pace.

seniors find right 'start point'

Page 4: HAKOL - Senior Living 2013

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Page 5: HAKOL - Senior Living 2013

SENIOR LIVING | HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY | JULY/AUGUST 2013 5

Strawberry pie makes impression –

By Jim MuethJFLV Director of Planned Giving and Endowments

Although many religions and cultures remember past events, remembering and being remembered are very Jewish activities.

Every Passover we re-member our time as slaves in Egypt and our first steps toward becoming a free people. Other holidays also direct us to remember. For-tunately, like Passover, most of them also involve eating. The delectable hamantashen and latkes that we eat help us remember our past. In fact, a popular description of Jewish holidays goes as follows, “We were oppressed, we fought back, we won and we ate.”

All humor aside, how-ever, we are commanded to remember.

Being remembered is also important. Names that I know are fondly remembered in the Lehigh Valley are Hess’s and Hess Brothers. Although the wonderful flagship store is no longer at 9th and Hamilton Streets, the 97-year run of one of the premier depart-ment stores anywhere is still remembered fondly.

One need not go far to find someone whose mouth might begin to water at the mention of the Patio Restaurant and its famous mile-high straw-berry pie. It must have been quite an experience for young and old alike to shop and eat amongst the spectacular mod-els who roamed the restau-rant in the latest fashions. One might also see celebrities such as Johnny Carson, Zsa Zsa Gabor and Rock Hudson.

Hess’s was quite a phe-nomenon locally and beyond. And it was not just an experi-ence; it was quite a business as well. At one time, it is re-puted to have had the highest per capita sales in the world; $50 million in annual sales in a town with a population of 100,000 people. How could such a place and experience not be memorable?

Fortunately, one does not need to own a wonder-ful department store to be remembered. Anyone can be remembered. The Lehigh Valley Jewish Foundation provides many ways for

anyone to make a planned gift and be remembered as a philanthropist into perpetu-ity. The possibilities are as varied as the people who want to make a difference and be remembered. The question is, how do you want to be remembered?

Do you want to be re-membered as someone who came to the aid of people who could no longer drive? Your perpetual gift could open the world for people by provid-ing funds for their transpor-tation, thus helping them to remain vital to themselves and our community.

Or would you rather be known as a benefactor of chil-dren? Your perpetual fund could help pave the future for them with scholarships so they can become artists, nurses, teachers, factory own-ers, rabbis or any other calling that speaks to them.

Or would you prefer to provide for the most basic of human needs? Food. Per-haps you want to help feed the world or maybe our little corner of it. Your perpetual fund could feed the hungry in Israel, Easton or anywhere in between.

Or perhaps your desire to help is expansive and, with so

many alternatives, it is diffi-cult for you to choose. In that case, your perpetual gift can be unrestricted. It can be used to provide assistance wher-ever assistance is needed.

What is the next step? It begins with a conversation with the Foundation to deter-mine the best way to achieve your goal. Planned gifts come in many shapes and forms. The most common is a bequest in your will. Or, if you wish to generate income for yourself or a loved one in the meantime, you can create a charitable gift annuity or a charitable remainder trust. Various assets can be used, including appreciated stocks and real estate, retirement assets and insurance policies. The right method and the right assets are the ones that work for you.

To learn more about planned giving or to initiate the process, please contact me at 610-821-5500 or [email protected]. Together we can find a way to be remembered in the best possible way … by help-ing others.

so does planned givingThe Lehigh Valley Jewish Foundation (LVJF) provides many ways for anyone to make a planned gift and be remembered as a philanthropist into perpetuity. Here are just a few:

GIFT OF APPRECIATED STOCKYou could use appreciated stock to provide senior transporta-tion. Donating stock would establish your legacy, help broaden people’s worlds while avoiding capital gains and receiving an income tax deduction.

CHARITABLE BEQUEST IN WILL OR TRUSTYou could make a charitable bequest to fund educational scholarships. It is a popular way to achieve your goal and create your legacy. The next time you update your estate plan, include a charitable bequest. You can provide scholarships forever while still receiving an estate tax deduction.

CHARITABLE GIFT ANNUITY (CGA)A CGA would allow you to feed the hungry forever and still earn a steady income stream. An added benefit is that a portion of your income would be tax-free. It can be funded with stock, cash or other assets. You receive income for life and the bal-ance of the annuity is used to create your lasting legacy.

LIFE INSURANCE POLICYPerhaps you have an insurance policy you no longer need. You could donate it to a charity to create a healthy community and receive an income tax deduction for its cash value. The pro-ceeds from the insurance policy would leave your estate and instead they would create your lasting legacy.

IRA ROLLOVERAn IRA charitable rollover gift is an excellent way to make a perpetual unrestricted gift. Once you reach the age of 70½, it is an easy process to create your legacy and avoid taxes on your mandatory IRA distribution.

Page 6: HAKOL - Senior Living 2013

6 JULY/AUGUST 2013 | HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY | SENIOR LIVING

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By Charles TichoSpecial to HAKOL Editor’s Note: Charles and Jean Ticho are the parents of Ron Ticho, who lives in Allentown with his wife Pam Lott. Charles and Jean have been very supportive of the Lehigh Valley Jewish community. They spend about half their time in Israel.

Gil Karu, an accomplished chef and restaurant manager in Israel, was 47 years old when he suddenly collapsed and died without any apparent cause. The Karu family is a highly respected and successful family that had four equally respected and successful sons. Now, unexpectedly and tragically, they had just three.

Gil was well known to my family, as he had been the chef at my 85th birthday party. His sudden and totally unexpected death was a great shock to us, to the Karu family and to their wide array of close friends. Gil had died of a brain hemorrhage and, almost immediately, the family decided to donate the organs of this young man so that others may live.

Early one morning in May while in Israel, my wife and I set out to join a caravan of seven or eight cars headed for Ixcel, an Arab village near Nazareth. We had been invited to meet the man who had received one of Gil Karu’s lungs. It turned out to be one of the most remarkable days of my life.

The recipient of the lung, Omar Shauan, as it turns out, is a member of the most influential family in this community located just outside Nazareth. They told the Karu family “bring as many family members and friends you like -- we have room for 100.” So we were invited and were part of some 40 or 45 visitors.

When we arrived, we were welcomed by a large group of men who greeted us warmly and ushered us into the second floor of the four-story residence. We were presented with large bowls of fruit, nuts and fresh vegetables and, after a few minutes of awkwardness, the barriers came down and we felt at ease in this beautiful home.

There were welcoming speeches and responses and presentations of gifts. Members of the household and their friends made an obvious effort to make us feel “at home.” The patriarch of the family, Ahmed Shauan, shook my hand whenever I was in his vicinity, gladly posed for pictures and planted a warm kiss on my cheeks.

During this time Jamal, also an Arab Israeli, arrived to join the event. He was now being kept alive with Gil’s heart beating in his chest.

We noticed a film crew hovering around and videotaping just about everything. We learned that they had come to cover a horse show in town but, when they

learned that the lung of a Jewish man had saved the life of prominent member of the town, decided to cover this event instead.

The first floor, which covered the whole space under the house, had apparently been cleared and was now filled with tables and chairs. Approximately 80 people joined in a feast -- an endless parade of great varieties of meats, salads, vegetables and traditional foods. We were then advised that, before we visit the horse show, we are invited for coffee and dessert at a cousin’s house.

House? When we reached the top of the mountain we were greeted by a mansion -- a truly remarkable building both inside and out. Once again, we were invited to make ourselves at home while sweets and dark coffee were offered to us.

Then we were escorted as honored guests to the horse show -- actually the National Competition of the finest Arabian horses in Israel. There were perhaps 4,000 people assembled. We were ushered into the V.I.P. area and welcomed by the town’s mayor.

When the top prize was awarded, Gil’s parents and brothers were invited to join in the awarding of the trophy which was given in Gil’s honor by our hosts. It was a truly moving moment particularly when the whole crowd applauded.

It was hard to say goodbye because we had, in a few hours, developed a close relationship with the recipient’s family and friends. Suffice to say, there were many embraces and warm handshakes.

Just a week later, a very large crowd gathered at Gil’s graveside to mark the first anniversary of his passing. The ceremony was quite moving and when I saw Omar, his father and his family among the many assembled mourners, my eyes filled with tears.

I, and surely everyone who attended either of these events, walked away asking myself: “Why can’t we learn to live in peace?”

Ahmed Shauan, center, with Charles Ticho and his wife Jean at the Shauan home near Nazareth in Israel.

The View from Ha’aretzHands across a void

Page 7: HAKOL - Senior Living 2013

SENIOR LIVING | HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY | JULY/AUGUST 2013 7

By Jeff Blinder, M.D.Special to HAKOL

I've always loved bicycling, and have cycled in the Lehigh Valley since my family and I arrived in 1981. I still remem-ber the view from the top of South Mountain when I drove up here from Virginia in November of 1980 for my interview at Sacred Heart Hospital. “Nice area for cycling” was my immediate reaction.

I am grateful to the Jewish Community Center for my introduction to the back roads of our area. In the early 80s, the JCC organized a weekly Sunday morning ride with our wonderful leader, Ken “Coach” Moyer, a retired Muhlenberg College basket-ball coach and cycling safety instructor. He guided us all over the area and encouraged us to branch out even more and explore on our own.

When “class” wasn't in session, a group of guys got together on Sunday mornings to ride together. I recall Art Sosis, Bob Post, Harold Krei-then and Doug Blake as some of the regulars. I am so happy to see these activities re-creat-ed by the Maimonides Society with Billy Markson as our tour guide. I am impressed with the patience of this group as they wait for one particular older rider -- yours truly -- to catch up on Apple Hill Road, although my speed and endurance are improving through spin classes offered at the JCC.

Over the years and over the hills, I've come up with my own back road routes, stretching between Kutztown and Easton, Slatington and Nockamixon. I've also been privileged to bicycle all over the United States, including Alaska, and in Europe, the Caribbean and Israel. There, I have the routes worked out between Yamah v'Keidma, Tzafona v'Negba.

There are many things I love about bicycling, espe-cially as I get older. Here are just a few:• It is a great cardiovascular activity, enabling me to get older in relatively decent

health. • With my bikes fitted cor-rectly, there is no damaging impact on my joints and spine.• Riding can be done safely but, as with any sport, there are still some inherent risks, and I correctly remind myself to ride within my limits. I no longer jump logs on my mountain bike, and don't care what the kids on their BMXs think about the old guy walking his bike over the log. Downhills on my road bike no longer exceed 40 miles per hour.• I generally ride alone, with the beautiful scenery, gentle motion and my own thoughts to keep me company. But I also enjoy the camaraderie of group rides, especially when I'm not too out of breath to carry on a conversation.

I like to follow the obser-vation of Sir Isaac Newton: ‘A body in motion stays in motion.’ I encourage every-one, especially over age 60, to stay in motion, keep moving, to the best of their ability. Even if I'm considered, by virtue of my age, as “over-the-hill,” I still love going over the hills of our beautiful Lehigh Valley.

Cycle to stay fit,see world

Jeff Blinder sees the world over the handlebars of his bicycle: Clockwise from upper left, at Mt. Adams in Oregon; with daughter Elana in 1977; in Brooklyn; crossing the Jordan River.

Page 8: HAKOL - Senior Living 2013

8 JULY/AUGUST 2013 | HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY | SENIOR LIVING

By Ami EdenJewish Telegraphic Agency

Moviegoers who caught “42” saw the story of how Jackie Robinson displayed legendary courage, class and talent in the face of immense pressure and racial hatred as he broke down baseball’s color barrier.

Less well known is Robinson’s role in a controversy that erupted just a few blocks away, at Harlem’s most famous theater, and underscored his commitment to fighting all bigotry, including prejudice emanating from his own community.

It was 1962, a decade-and-a-half after Robinson first took the field for the Brooklyn Dodgers and just a few years after he retired. Day after day, an angry crowd marched outside Harlem’s legendary Apollo Theater protesting against its Jewish owner, Frank Schiffman, and his plan to open a low-cost restaurant with prices that potentially would threaten the business of a more expensive black-owned eatery.

The demonstrators carried anti-Semitic posters and hurled racial epithets. Schiffman turned to several black leaders for help, but despite the increasingly hostile acts of anti-Semitism that were taking place, they all remained silent -- except for Robinson.

“I was ashamed to see community leaders who were afraid to speak out when blacks were guilty of anti-Semitism,” Robinson wrote in his 1972 autobiography, “I Never Had It Made.” He continued, “How could we stand against anti-black prejudice if we were willing to practice or condone a similar intolerance?”

Never one to back down from a cause he believed in, Robinson used his syndicated newspaper column to condemn the protesters’ blatant use of anti-Semitism and compared their actions to events that had occurred in Nazi Germany, drawing the ire of many black nationalists in the process.

The nationalists, who had adopted a separatist agenda, retaliated by protesting in front of a nearby Chock Full O’ Nuts coffee shop -- Robinson had worked for the chain after his 1957 retirement from baseball -- and outside a dinner honoring Robinson’s induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

In turn, several mainstream black leaders -- including Roy Wilkins, the longtime leader of the NAACP -- quickly came to the defense of Robinson and Schiffman.

“In their fight for equal opportunity, Negroes cannot use the slimy tools of anti-Semitism or indulge in racism, the very tactics against which we cry out,” Wilkins wrote in a telegram to Robinson. “We join you in your straight statement that this is a matter of principle from which there can be no retreat.”

Other leaders, including the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Philadelphia Tribune publisher Dr. E. Washington Rhodes, also offered their support, according to Robinson. Major League Baseball’s first black player also managed to pry a condemnation of anti-Semitism from Lewis Micheaux, the owner of Harlem’s National Memorial African Book Store, though Micheaux had sympathized with the marchers and denounced Robinson’s initial criticisms.

Soon after, the protests ceased.Roger Kahn, whose “Boys of Summer” chronicled

Robinson and his teammates’ multi-year road to winning the World Series in 1955, would write later that Robinson’s actions during the Apollo protests should not have come as a surprise.

“He hated anti-Semitism just as he hated prejudice against blacks,” Kahn wrote. “Without qualification and from the gut.”

This piece was adapted from an article that first appeared in The Jewish Exponent.

Remembering Jackie Robinson's fight

JEWS, BASEBALL AND MOREA baseball signed by Sandy Kou-fax is displayed in the National Museum of American Jewish His-tory in Philadelphia, one of many exhibits highlighting Jewish con-tributions to American society. For museum hours and informa-tion, go to www.nmajh.org. For more about the exhibits, see the story on the Pom Lion spring trip, main section, page 4.

CO

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with black nationalists over anti-Semitism

Page 9: HAKOL - Senior Living 2013

By Lauren EpsteinJFLV Marketing Intern

In the late 1990s, when Syman Hirsch’s wife Anita gained access to a computer through work, Syman decided to somehow use computers to make money. Anita laughed; since neither of them were especially tech-savy at the time, the idea had an element of humor. Ironically, it was humor that enabled Syman to reach his goal and to reach out to many readers in the Lehigh Valley -- where they live -- and beyond.

Syman grew up in a traditional Jewish home in Plainfield, N.J. As a kid, he loved sports, especially basketball and baseball, particularly Yankee baseball. As a high schooler, he met Anita at Allentown’s “old JCC” when his family moved to the Lehigh Valley for two years, and they later married.

After attending college

at Seton Hall University, Syman embarked on a career in teaching. He took pride in his ability to teach students as well as coach them in playing the sports he always loved. He even had the privilege of coaching alongside Joe Black, the first African American pitcher to win a World Series, and later got his own baseball card -- just for fun.

During those early years, Syman noticed that humor made all of the students he taught or coached more engaged and allowed them to better identify with him.

Syman took to posting jokes and other humorous tidbits on one of the black boards in his classroom. This board – which he preferred to spell b-o-r-e-d – was a precursor to the “Syman Says” newsletter that Syman now distributes by email. In both cases, readers can take a moment to read clever puns, one-liners and jokes. Syman

encourage readers to take the jokes and spread them around their communities and homes. His days as a newsletter-writer began in 1999, after his retirement from teaching. Syman started small, printing and distributing newsletters to family, friends and neighbors.

The newsletter started off small, consisting mostly of one-liners based on the many books on humor in Syman’s library. He was then “discovered” by another newsletter writer, Janice McNair, who went by the pseudonym Spike the Wonderdog. She was an elementary school teacher from Augusta, Ga., who put together a newsletter called “Kids Clicks” that circulated via e-mail and the Internet. McNair proposed incorporating some of Syman’s material into her newsletter.

Syman was excited at the prospect and adapted certain jokes to be more appropriate for her younger readers. At that time, Sodamail was publishing McNair’s newsletter. After receiving a lot of positive feedback regarding Syman’s excerpts in the “Kids Clicks,” publisher Sodamail contacted him with an offer to distribute the newsletter around the world. Syman was excited about this offer and even more excited to make money off of the newsletter and, in turn, off of his computer. While $25 per month was less than ideal, Elliot assured Syman that this profit would grow, and it did.

Watching these developments from the sidelines, Anita felt sure the whole thing was a scam. It was not. From “Kids Clicks” to “Syman Says,” things went smoothly for Syman, McNair and Sodamail. Syman’s partnership with Sodamail lasted four years, during which he gained 2,500 subscribers. Although the publisher went out of business, Syman continues to distribute “Syman Says,” now in its 13th year.To subscribe to “Syman Says,” write to Syman at [email protected] and ask to be put on the mailing list.

SENIOR LIVING | HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY | JULY/AUGUST 2013 9

BY SANDI TEPLITZ

FOR THE DUMPLINGS:

Pastry for 8-inch two-crust pie4 large Rome Beauty apples, cored,

pared and left whole1/3 c. sugar

1 t. cinnamon1/2 t. nutmeg

Roll out pastry and cut into four squares, 1/8-inch thick. Fill apple centers

with nutmeg and cinnamon. Bring the four corners over each apple.

Overlap and seal. Arrange in a glass baking dish. Bake at 425 degrees for

50 to 55 minutes, until pastry is browned. Serve warm with warm butterscotch sauce.

FOR THE SAUCE:

In a saucepan, combine 1/3 c. light brown sugar, firmly packed; 1/4 c. light corn syrup;

dash of sea salt; 2 T. unsalted butter; 1/2 c. light cream. Bring to a boil, stirring.

Simmer 10 minutes, until thickened. Remove from heat.

Stir in 1 t. pure vanilla extract.

Apple Dumplings

with BUTTERSCOTCH SAUCE

SYMAN SAYSuse computers!

If so, we're looking for you! HAKOL is seeking

VOLUNTEER SPORTS WRITERS to cover stories of interest to the Lehigh Valley Jewish community.

Prior writing or journalism experience preferred. If interested, send an e-mail to [email protected].

DO YOU LOVE TO WRITE?

Page 10: HAKOL - Senior Living 2013

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Page 11: HAKOL - Senior Living 2013

SENIOR LIVING | HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY | JULY/AUGUST 2013 11

By Gwen JacobsSpecial to HAKOL

Way back in 2006, an appeal was sent out from Warren Hospital for some comfort lap blankets for the patients who came into the oncology department for chemotherapy infusions. During that process, many patients would experience some chilling. A group of women from Temple Covenant of Peace and B’nai Abraham Synagogue responded to the call.

I represented Covenant of Peace and Jessica Ytkin represented Bnai Abraham in organizing an [almost] monthly meeting in the style of the “floating crap game” from the Broadway show, “Guys and

Dolls.” There were even some dollars that floated around to buy yarn. Those who could not knit or crochet responded with cash, and did so most heartily.

The result: Some 25 women managed to knit and donate over 600 blankets.

There were some women who did not belong to either congregation, but wanted to join our endeavors. The resulting blankets came from as far away as California, Arizona, Tennessee and Wisconsin, as well as locally. No two blankets were alike. All were made with love, were machine washable and received a label “Made with love by B’nai Abraham Synagogue and Temple Covenant of Peace.”

The hospital staff was

overwhelmed -- both emotionally and physically. At this juncture, the need has been satisfied, including a reserve supply. We hope that this is an indication the number of patients in need has diminished. In the interim, some of the blankets have been distributed to the Warren Hospital’s Day Care Unit and, on occasion, to the patients in the emergency department.

Wherever the need was the greatest, these dedicated women have answered the call. It is their desire to broaden the outreach by offering the blankets to other nonprofit organizations in the area. We have been contacted by Meals on Wheels for lap blankets for their clients who are unable to get around, and who have need for additional warmth, whether physically or emotionally. If there are other such organizations, we would be delighted to share our largess. We will keep knitting and crocheting, and looking for others to join our ranks.

Currently we are now 30 strong and range in age from over 80 to almost 40. Soon we will have donated over 650 blankets. Our newest member is Rabbi Melody Davis of Temple Covenant of Peace.

If you are interested in joining our group by knitting or crocheting, whether learning how or sharing your expertise, please call me at 908-859-6509 or Jessica Ytkin at 610-749-2449. We will gladly supply patterns, directions, help, friendly advice, a couple of jokes, plenty of laughs and delicious noshes to go with the tea and coffee we serve at 10:30 a.m. on the first or second Wednesday of the month (the rotating hostess usually decides).

The August 14 meeting will be at the home of Cindy Daniels. For information, call Cindy at 610-559-5536. Please join us!

PHO

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Knitters respond to hospital’s call

Some of the 30 knitters who make blankets for hospital patients and others who need warmth, “whether physically or emotionally.” Front row, right to left: Ann Rider, Ruth Schutzbank, Liz Cartine, Sue Zlotnick, Becky Civjan and Doris Lifland. Back row, right to left: Rabbi Melody Davis, Gwen Jacobs, Cindy Daniels and Diane Silverman.

By Ed SpitzerSpecial to HAKOL

Bridge is a partnership game. My parents taught my sister and me to play bridge when I was about 12 years old after they had stopped play-ing with another couple. They taught us so they could still play. I con-tinued to play off and on until 27 years ago when I joined the American Contract Bridge League and started going to a club on a weekly basis.

Many people learned bridge in college, years before there were computers. With the advent of computers, there are fewer young people learning bridge, which is a shame. Bridge players have an ana-lytical mind. They have to strategize when bidding and playing each hand, and that’s what still draws people to the game. The question then becomes, how to learn to play. So after I retired, I took a teaching course and started teaching bridge. I have taught over 100 people in the Lehigh Valley.

I love bridge because of the challenge and camaraderie, and never more so than when playing duplicate bridge. This version of the game is played the same way as party or contract bridge with one major difference: When playing bridge at home there are two pairs sitting at a table competing against each other. In duplicate bridge, there are anywhere from five to 18 tables in play.

Though you are playing at one table against the other pair at your table, you are really competing against all of the other pairs at the oth-er tables sitting in the same direction as you are. You play anywhere from two to four boards (hands) at one table, then the pair sitting East and West moves to the next higher table and the boards move to the next lower table and are played by the pairs at that table. Your final score is determined by how you did against each pair sitting in the same direction as you on each board.

The Lehigh Valley is home to four duplicate bridge clubs. The Bethlehem Bridge Club has a game at 11 a.m. on Mondays and at noon on Wednesdays at Congregation Brith Sholom in Bethlehem. On Tuesdays at 11:30 a.m., there is a game at Temple Covenant of Peace in Easton. On Thursday evenings at 7 p.m., the Easton Bridge Club also has a game at Temple Covenant of Peace.

The Lehigh County Senior Center hosts four games: On the first and third Wednesdays of each month, there is a beginners game (0-49 masterpoints) at 9 a.m. On Thursdays at 12:30 p.m., there is an inter-mediate game for players with 0-199 masterpoints. They also have a game on Fridays at 12:30 p.m. and Saturday morning at 10 a.m. The Lehigh Valley Bridge Unit hosts one or two games per month at either Congregation Brith Sholom or the senior center.

As you can see, there are lots of opportunities to play, and the game helps keep the player’s mind sharp. After I moved to the Lehigh Valley in 2004, most of my friendships developed through bridge. There you have it, yet another benefit of bridge.

Edward Spitzer is an accredited bridge teacher and offers lessons to groups of four or more people. For more information, email Ed at [email protected]

camaraderieBridge offers challenge,

Page 12: HAKOL - Senior Living 2013

12 JULY/AUGUST 2013 | HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY | SENIOR LIVING

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- Caroline Malmad, Traditions of Hanover resident

By Eva LevittSpecial to HAKOL

Friends kept asking us “Why travel to Ukraine?” We ex-plained that my husband Larry's family roots are there and he had always wanted to go for a visit. We traveled to Odessa, Ukraine, recently with our dear friends, Judy and Alan Morrison of Allentown, and there we met the Harrises of San Diego and the Gorogs of Melbourne, Australia. We were not disappointed and would highly recommend the trip.

We were impressed with the scenery and rich farmland, with the beautiful Dnieper Riv-er and the Black Sea. We saw the White Palace of Lavidia in Yalta where Churchill, Stalin and Roosevelt met in 1945.

We were reminded that 1.4 million Jews were murdered in the Ukraine by the Nazis and their Ukrainian and Roma-nian collaborators during the Holocaust. We visited Babi Yar, a ravine in Kiev where 30,000 of our Jewish brethren -- men, women and children -- were slaughtered within a 48-hour period of time.

As we stood there, someone commented that if you listen carefully you could still hear the screaming.

The last day of our trip was very poignant in a different way and has been permanently

imprinted in all our minds. Mark Goldstein, executive di-rector of the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley, arranged for us to visit the various pro-grams that the Joint Distribu-tion Committee (“The Joint”) runs and that are funded by the Federation and other organizations. We visited the Jewish Cultural Center (JCC), which runs a daycare center for children ages 18 months to six years, as well as several programs for the elderly.

While at the JCC, we heard a senior choir sing Yiddish songs, one of many cultural offerings there for the Jew-ish population at large. Larry recited a Russian poem that he had been taught by his mother and that was welcomed by the group. It was clear to us that the the Jewish community there is trying to reconstitute itself.

We also visited Larisa Rakovskaya, an 87-year-old woman who will forever be re-membered by us. On our way to her apartment, we stopped at a supermarket, where we purchased groceries for her for about €15 or $20. This total is her allowance paid by the Joint for an entire month.The bag consisted of a bottle of oil, a box of strawberries, a package of hard cheese, a chicken and a few other things. Not much food for four weeks.

In addition to the support from the Joint, Larisa gets a state pension of approximately $100 per month, half of which goes to pay her rent and utili-ties. Larisa also gets assistance from a caregiver for two hours per day. She has no bathroom in the apartment, only a shared one in the hall. There is no hot water, no window in her room and just a small one in the kitchen. She was happy to have guests because, she said, “I am all alone in the world.” Her husband and two sons have passed away.

Larisa said that without the help from the Jewish com-munity, “I would die.” We were touched by that visit and proud to see what the extended Jewish community through the Joint is doing to help.

We then visited a “warm home,” likewise run by the Joint, where elderly Jews gather several times a week to social-ize, reminisce and share experi-ences. These gatherings make these lonely people feel, as one said, “that I have a family.”

If any of you would like to help in this noble effort by the Joint in Odessa, please send $100, or whatever amount you choose, payable to the Jewish Federation of Lehigh Val-ley and labeled “JDC Odessa program,“ and Mark will make sure that it gets into the proper hands.

JEWISH DESTINATIONS:

Travelers to Odessa. Front, right to left: Alan Morrison, Judy Morrison, Jenny Gorog, Eva Levitt, Inna Vdovychenko of the Joint Distribution Committee. Back, right to left: Tom Gorog, Gloria Harris, Jay Harris, Larry Levitt.

Odessa, Ukraine

Page 13: HAKOL - Senior Living 2013

SENIOR LIVING | HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY | JULY/AUGUST 2013 13

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By Jewish Family Service

*To protect privacy, identifying details have been changed.

As families tend to do, Mr. W.’s family has scattered with the passage of time. Out of a large clan originating in Allentown, only Mr. W., age 80, still resides in the city. His three children have moved to other regions of the country. He is long divorced, although he has a few friends and neighbors who look in on him. Determined to stay in the house he’s lived in for 44 years, Mr. W. has steadfastly declined his children’s’ urgings to move closer to them.

Over a holiday, Mr. W.’s oldest son came to visit him and spend some time with his father. The son grew concerned about the changes he noted in the older man. Always a talkative person, Mr. W. now spoke little. He had trouble remembering what he’d done the day before. He’d lost interest in his favorite baseball games and other sources of

enjoyment. Worried, Mr. W.’s son called Jewish Family Service’s (JFS) SeniorLink geriatric care management service.

JFS’s SeniorLink care manager visited Mr. W. He found the home to be safe and barrier-free and the kitchen to be adequately stocked. Mr. W. had been diagnosed with depression, but was found to be taking his medications incorrectly. The care manager referred Mr. W. for an evaluation at Lehigh Valley Hospital’s Healthy Aging Program, where a medication reevaluation was done along with evaluations of Mr. W.’s physical, emotional and cognitive health.

Mr. W.’s medications were readjusted, and as a result his cognitive skills improved and his depression came under control. Upon the advice and consent of Mr. W.’s doctor, the JFS care manager recommended some gentle exercises to boost Mr. W.’s stamina and senior social programs to enhance his opportunities for personal interaction. The care manager

also arranged for friendly visitors from JFS to visit him regularly and suggested a home health aide to help him maintain his independence. With the help of SeniorLink, Mr. W. is now more alert and feeling better. He is aging in place, at home, as he wants to do.

Caring for an older family member or friend can be overwhelming at times, and often those closest to the individual do not live geographically nearby. SeniorLink was developed to provide a link between seniors, those caring for seniors, and the supportive services needed. The program offers flexibility and you may choose from a selection of services which can be individualized to accommodate your needs.

When you contact SeniorLink, you will speak with an experienced, licensed clinical social worker who will gather information about your current situation. The services may include development of a comprehensive individualized care plan which assesses

psychological, social and physical needs and includes recommendations for supportive care. Additional services may include ongoing monitoring through in-home visits and telephone calls, and referrals for services such as home health aides, transportation, companions, meals-on-wheels, homemakers and other services. The care plan can be implemented by family members themselves or by the care manager, who will keep the family informed of their relative’s progress.

Sometimes, it may not be possible for an older adult to remain safely at home. SeniorLink can help you or your family member make the decision to change living arrangements and to then choose a senior care

community. If the family desires, the geriatric care manager can continue to visit the senior in the nursing home or assisted living facility. This was the situation with Mrs. E., age 94. When she could no longer live in her apartment, even with assistance, she moved to a nursing home. SeniorLink’s geriatric care manager, who had worked with Mrs. E. and her family prior to her move, continued to visit her there. He also arranged for her to attend programs of Jewish interest brought to the nursing home by JFS so that she could nurture her intellectual curiosity and connection to the Jewish community.

For more information on SeniorLink and fees for service, call Jewish Family Service at 610-821-8722.

provides loved ones with needed servicesSeniorLink

By Steecia KofskySpecial to HAKOL

For half a century, Friendship Circle has hosted weekly luncheon meetings at the Jewish Community Center followed by a variety of programs for a few relaxing and enjoyable hours. This is the place where those 50 and older have the opportunity to greet old friends and to make new ones.

Notwithstanding the above, every few years we re-invent ourselves to meet the changing needs of our diverse population. Today we dedicate ourselves to inviting more audience participation and to offering additional programs that will awaken our minds, our hearts, and our spirits:

We’re planning a quiz that will awaken your mindto tidbits both old and newand somewhere on the glamorous sidea fashion show’s planned for you.

We’ll offer you an operaand a movie sweet as candy.Voila! A game of bingoto make your day just dandy ($$$).

Some speakers from both partieswill express their points of view.When it comes time for electionsyou’ll learn what they’ll say they’ll do.

The new Friendship Circle Players are preparing for you a playthat will keep you at the edge of your seat and will truly make your day.

Fiddlers and dancers and singers, and morewill entertain and delight youwith pleasures galore.

If you are new to us, and would like to see for yourself what we are all about, we cordially invite you to join us as our guest for a Monday luncheon followed by a delightful program.

Starting in September, on Wednesdays at 1 p.m. you can join us gratis for fun and games, including mah jong, Scrabble, bridge, knitting, crocheting, needlework, etc. (During the summer, we meet on Mondays).

Broaden your horizons and your circle of friends! Dues are only $25 for the year if you decide to join us and become a member of Friendship Circle. We look forward to meeting you soon.

Friendship Circle open to young at heartFRIENDSHIP CIRCLE’S OPENING MEETING FOR THE NEW SEASON

Date: Monday, September 16, 2013Time: 11:30 a.m. – 2 p.m. Place: JCC of AllentownCouvert: $6Catered by: Boscov’sRSVP: Betty 610-395-6282

Page 14: HAKOL - Senior Living 2013

By Jennifer LaderEditor, HAKOL

Q. You are an Allentown

native; how did your family come to the Lehigh Valley?My grandfather came here at the age of 14 with the clothes

on his back. He opened the first garment store – Dobnoff’s on Hamilton Street. My mother was Alice

Dobnoff, born and raised in Allentown. My dad was Edward Weiner from Philadelphia, one of the youngest graduates of dental school; they accepted him after just a year in college. He was an oral surgeon with an office at 17th and Walnut.

Q. You contributed to “Knights Over the Delta: An Oral History of the 114th Aviation Company in Vietnam, 1963-72” and we’ll refer readers to that book for information about your life there. What was it like for you to look back on the experience after all these years?Wonderful. We have a reunion every two years. I was the youngest guy to serve legally – there were others who lied about their age, but in 1963, my father signed me in. I turned 17 in March; I was there in August.

Q. What did it mean for you when you returned?My brother was going to medical college in Philadelphia; they had a military science department at the University of Pennsylvania and they told me, ‘Go back and re-enlist and you’ll be a teacher here.’ I said, ‘All I have is a G.E.D!’ But they told me to go ahead, so I was an R.O.T.C. instructor for three years, starting at the age of 19. The colonel told me he didn’t have any cadets and I should build it up. So I looked into it and went out and talked to the Jewish students. If they enroll for the freshman and

sophomore years, they’d get a 1-D deferment and would not be drafted. They wouldn’t have to decide until their junior year whether to enlist, and after that they’re technically in the army.

Q. Did any of them enlist?Usually the way it goes is, if you have 150 students, 40 to 50 of them enlist. They became officers.

Q. What about you?As bad as they were treating army people here, I never did have any trouble. Mr. Knefsky, the associate editor of the Jewish Exponent, also owned Stanton Theatre -- now the Milgram -- and he hired me to be the manager on weekend nights.

Q. Tell me about your career?I had 31 years at Levitz Furniture Store, working all over the country, ending at South Whitehall. I worked in Wilmington, Boca Raton and Allentown. My nickname was Hot Dog because my last name is Weiner. When I was in the South Miami store, it was Perro Caliente in Spanish. There were many wealthy people at that time from Venezuela.

Finally, the store got held up and I said, ‘I’m going back to Allentown.’ I got out just in time because Hurricane Andrew, the worst hurricane ever, struck two months later and a boat ended up in the middle of the store.

Q. And now you are involved with the Jewish War Veterans.I’m commander of Post 239. My wife, Cynthia, is a patron member because she is in the process of converting. Her mother had been a war bride from Germany, so Cynthia enlisted in the army at the age of 18. She spoke German, so they sent her over to Germany where she served several years.

Q. The two of you just married in June. Tell us about the ceremony.Major Nathan Kline, an amazing man who is famous in Allentown, is liaison to the military for the city and president emeritus for the Lehigh Valley Military Affairs Council. The mayor only does a few weddings per year and Nathan contacted him. The next thing we knew, the mayor’s office called and said, ‘The mayor will marry you.’

14 JULY/AUGUST 2013 | HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY | SENIOR LIVING

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Allentown native travels there and backA Q-and-A with David Weiner

David and Cynthia Weiner at a Jewish War Veterans meeting at the Jewish Community Center. The photo was taken a few weeks before they married.

Page 15: HAKOL - Senior Living 2013

SENIOR LIVING | HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY | JULY/AUGUST 2013 15

Jewish Telegraphic Agency

The winning word in the 2013 Scripps National Spelling Bee was not spelled correctly, according to the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research.

Arvind Mahankali, 13, of Bayside Hills, N.Y., defeated 10 other finalists on May 30 in National Harbor, Md., after spelling the Yiddish-derived

word “knaidel,” a traditional Jewish dumpling.

But the New York-based YIVO, recognized by many as the authority on all things Yiddish, said the preferred spelling historically has been “kneydl,” The New York Times reported after the event.

The spelling contest uses Webster’s Third New International Dictionary as

its final say in word spelling. The dictionary’s publisher told The New York Times that the knaidel spelling is the most common variant of the word.

Mahankali won $30,000 in cash, a $2,500 U.S. savings bond from Merriam-Webster and $2,000 worth of reference works from Encyclopedia Britannica, as well as a trophy.

Confetti falls over Arvind Mahankali of Bayside Hills, N.Y., after he won the 2013 Scripps National Spelling Bee in Oxon Hill, Md., May 30, 2013.

Ugly dumpling:

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: ALE

X W

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ES

By Murray Bonfeld and Chet RingelSpecial to HAKOL

Twenty-five years ago, Ralph Weiner, z’l, formed The Yiddish Group and it still meets today.

The group originally met at the Jewish Community Center, but now meets at the Jewish Family Service building at 20th and Allen Streets. We meet on Tuesdays between 1:30 and 3 p.m. All people interested in Yiddish, from those who speak it well to those who know only a few words, are welcome.

Many come to experience the nostalgia of the rich Yiddish past and its future. We use a number of reference materials. We have fun and discussions, all in a nonjudgmental manner. In addition to our meetings, we have organized trips to the Folksbiene Theater in New York for Jewish plays.

Yiddish is a colorful, expressive language. Therefore, it’s not surprising that many Yiddish words

have been incorporated into general usage among English-speakers in America. For example: kibitz, chutzpah, yenta, mentch, nachas, shmeer, etc.

The language includes words from Hebrew, German, Polish, Russian and even English in varying degrees. At the meetings, we use and discuss Yiddish phrases, some cursing, some loving.

For example: “Zolst farlirn alle tseyner akhuts eynem, un der zol ton dir vey.” (You should lose all of your teeth except one, and that one should give you pain.)

Or, “Zolst leben biz a hundret un Tzvontzik.” (You should live to one hundred and twenty.) And “Zolst leben mit mazel.” (You should live with good luck.)

We learn hundreds of such expressions as well as conversational Yiddish. Some of us are fairly good with Yiddish and some know little or none, but we all have fun. All are welcome to learn “a bissel oder a zach” (a little or a lot) of Yiddish.

'a bissel oder a zach 'With The Yiddish Group, learn

By Sandy WrubleSpecial to HAKOL

Perhaps the newest social group for Jewish seniors in the Lehigh Valley is the Simcha Club. This is a group that originated with Rabbi Allen Juda from Congregation Brith Sholom and Cantor Ellen Sussman from Temple Shirat Shalom, who felt there was a need to provide another social group for the “over 70” crowd -- although we don’t check birthdates.

Simcha Club meets quarterly at Congregation Brith Sholom in Bethlehem. A catered meat luncheon (usually deli) is provided by Boscov’s at a minimal charge of $5, thanks

to the supplemental funding provided by Congregation Brith Sholom with the assistance of the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley.

Following lunch, a musical program is presented. Past presenters have included Rabbi Melody Davis, Cantor Jennifer Duretz-Peled, Rabbi Moshe Re'em, Rabbi Daniel Stein, Cantor Ellen Sussman and Cantor Kevin Wartell. Everyone enjoys the opportunity to socialize, learn about the approaching holidays and meet other seniors in the Valley. We always welcome residents from Atria and Country Meadows.

We would like to invite other seniors to join us in this group. The next Simcha Club will be on Wednesday, September 18.

Yiddish institute says winning bee word is ‘kneydl’

Simcha Club delights seniors

Page 16: HAKOL - Senior Living 2013

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*Skilled nursing is available at our Bethlehem campus only.

“Live each day to the fullest.”

Life advice from Betty Y., Resident and Life Enthusiast

Call to set up a personalized visit or learn more at CountryMeadows.com.

Seems like the more time we spend with our residents, the more we learn about life.

We have something for everyone, from independent living and personal care to rehabilitation services and specialized memory care. All on a vibrant campus with activities, social events, day trips and individualized services. At Country Meadows, we think you’ll find our community is full of life.