Los Angeles Jewish Home

Everyone knows the Jewish Home celebrated its Centennial last year. But did you know the Home’s resident newsletter – the Chai Journal – also celebrated a milestone? That’s right…2012 was the 10th anniversary of the Chai Journal, a quarterly newsletter written by residents of the Home’s Eisenberg Village (EV) campus. The Chai Journal also features original art by artist-in-residence, Suzanne May, whose talent often graces the cover.

You’re probably wondering how the newsletter came to be…One day, residents Ellis Simon and Jules Berlinsky (of blessed memory) were enjoying a meal in the EV dining room. Ellis wondered aloud why the Home didn’t have a newsletter to let residents know what was going on. He was surprised when Jules responded that, indeed, there had been one in the past, which had unfortunately fallen by the wayside. The two gentlemen decided to try their luck at getting the newsletter started again. Each wrote a few articles, made 50 copies, and circulated them among the residents. The response was so positive, they took the idea to the Home’s administration. It was decided a committee of interested residents would be formed, and a staff person would participate. The residents would write the articles and the Home would print and distribute. The publication would be called the Chai Journal…and, more than 10 years later, it’s still bringing all the latest news from around the EV campus and the Home straight to the residents’ doors. Covering special events, holidays, and other activities, the Chai Journal also includes profiles of residents and Jewish Home staff, plus there’s a little bit of “did you know” in the Around the Village column.

Facilitated by RCFE activity director Jacqui Lewinter, the Chai Journal currently has 7 writers: Helen Bragar, Nettie Freeman, Alice Kulick, Rhoda Levinson, Jeanette Schlesinger, Ellis Simon and Joy Snyder. According to Jacqui, the Chai Journal is a great activity because it provides residents with a responsibility – and a creative outlet - while at the same time being fun. “Basically acting as reporters, our writers do research, which is mentally stimulating, and get to know people they are interviewing at a deeper, more thoughtful level, which is emotionally stimulating,” she explains.

At a recent meeting of the Chai Journal editorial staff, the group talked about their experiences. Here are just a few of their comments:

• “I enjoy doing interviews…sometimes people tell me more than I ask them for!” ~ Helen Bragar
• “It’s been a great joy working with Jacqui and the group." ~ Nettie Freeman
• “I find it very inspirational to be a part of the Chai Journal." ~ Alice Kulick
• “Fish gotta swim, birds gotta fly….I gotta write! Doing interviews gives me an opportunity to ask questions I would never ask in polite society!" ~ Rhoda Levinson
• “It’s a challenge, and it’s good to be challenged as we grow older.” ~ Jeanette Schlesinger
• “I love the Home so much that I want everybody to know what a great place this is.” ~ Ellis Simon
• “Basically it’s a fun thing, and I’m all for fun at this stage of the game!” ~ Joy Snyder

Each issue of the Chai Journal includes articles that run the gamut from heart-warming and touching to entertaining and just plain funny. Many are reprinted on the Jewish Home’s blog or posted on our Facebook page – They’re just too good to keep to ourselves!

For more information about the Chai Journal, please contact Jacqui Lewinter, RCFE activity aide, at (818) 774-3236 or Jacqui.Lewinter@jha.org.

Labels: Around the Home, Around the Village, Chai Journal, Eisenberg Village, Jacqui Lewinter, Journalism, News

The act of becoming a bar mitzvah, a public acknowledgment of a young man’s obligation to fulfill the commandments, is a traditional part of Judaism. In today’s society, the spiritual commitment of young women is often celebrated as well. For most of the Jewish Home’s female residents, becoming a bat mitzvah was unheard of when they were twelve or thirteen.

This was true for Jewish Home resident Marilyn Matty. As a young girl, she and her sister attended Sunday school, but not Hebrew school. As a married woman, she learned to keep a kosher home. Marilyn became involved in a Conservative synagogue and, as a pianist, worked with the choir. As life brought its share of challenges, her connection with Judaism was loosened. One day, about three years ago, she realized she wanted to go back to her community and began attending synagogue again. “That was the beginning of my feelings of getting back to Judaism,” Marilyn recalls.
After moving to the Jewish Home in February 2010, the feeling became even stronger, leading her to become a bat mitzvah on November 5, 2011, at age 85. View photos of Marilyn here.

Rabbi Anthony Elman, the Jewish Home’s Director of Spiritual Life, worked closely with Marilyn for 1 ½ years in preparation for her bat mitzvah. He regards this as a valuable part of the overall work of the Home’s rabbis in enhancing the spiritual life of residents and of the Home itself. “We try to respond to the desire of individual residents to develop further in their spiritual tradition,” said Rabbi Elman. “We also provide learning opportunities to a range of resident groups and meaningful prayer services. Our goal is to create a climate for the whole community where the spiritual dimension of life is valued and respected.” In Rabbi Elman’s view, the Home’s rabbis are here not just to allow observant Jews to continue their religious practice, but to give an opportunity for all residents to live spiritually rich lives.

When he addressed Marilyn after she had read from the Torah, he said: “You, Marilyn, are truly worthy of being called to the Torah as bat mitzvah. You achieved the necessary learning and read from the Torah beautifully. Kol hakavod for that – all honor to you. But becoming a bat mitzvah is much more than learning and reading. In my eyes, it is who you are as a whole person who merits this honor today. Walking in the footsteps of our father Abraham, you exhibit the principle of chesed – loving kindness. It is a giving from the heart – not just on a whim, but in a solid, robust, long-lasting kind of way. I have been truly moved by how you have gone out of your way to help and support others, and to practice bikur cholim – visiting the sick.”

Here, in her own words, is Marilyn’s story of accomplishing this great spiritual achievement.

This week’s parsha, Lech Lecha, is the story of Abraham and Sarah. It tells the story of leaving your present home and going toward the unknown. God told Abraham to leave his land, his birthplace, and go to a place God will show him, and he will become a great nation. Abraham took his wife, Sarah, and started on a journey to a new, and unknown, life.

Leaving your familiar home to go to the unknown is scary and uncertain. Like Abraham, I believe a message from God gave me the choice to stay in my home or search for another place to live, with no guarantee of a great nation. With the able assistance and guidance of my daughter, Tina, we found the Jewish Home, Grancell Village. This was the unknown to me, a new place, new room, and new faces, and maybe not a great nation, but a lot of love. Abraham headed west to Canaan and I headed east to Reseda.

After Abraham and Sarah lived in Canaan for 10 years, we are told that Sarah was barren, she had no children. Commentators have suggested that this repetition means she physically had no children, but spiritually she had so many as she inspired so many people.

I in turn find this inspiring. I will talk later about a woman at the Home who inspired me so much, and changed my life.

Sarah decided that the best way for Abraham (and perhaps her) to start a family was for Abraham to take Sarah’s servant, Hagar, as a concubine, with Sarah’s blessing. I see this as a great act of giving, of generosity. I think it was a mitzvah from Sarah’s heart.

Like Sarah, doing something for someone else is very important to me: visiting residents who are ill, seeing new residents or seeing someone who needs company. I have made reaching out to others a part of my life at the Home, and it gives me great pleasure. But if we go back to the story of Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar, we see that there might sometimes be a downside to giving.

When Hagar became pregnant with Abraham’s child, she scorned Sarah, and this was very painful for Sarah, who perhaps had hoped that her relationship with her servant Hagar wouldn’t change.

Sarah told Abraham how badly Hagar was treating her, and he said she should do whatever she wished. Sarah was horrible to Hagar and made her life miserable.

Hagar ran away from her mistress, and, in the desert, she met a stranger in her path. Unknown to Hagar, this was an angel, a messenger from God. He asked her what she was doing and Hagar said that her mistress was unkind and she ran away. The angel of God told Hagar to return back to Sarah and that she, Hagar, would be granted many descendants, so many descendants that they would be uncountable. So Hagar returned home and had a son whom they named Ishmael – “God heard” – that is, God heard Hagar’s pain.

Why did Sarah do such a generous thing as give her servant to her husband for them to have a child? She hoped this would be like a child to Abraham and herself (so that Sarah would bring up the child), and fulfill God’s promise that Abraham would become father of a great nation. Sarah gave, but then it seems she regretted giving; she became filled with bitterness. This makes me question: can giving sometimes go too far?

A true mitzvah is one of giving unconditionally. But I also know that too much giving can deplete one’s resources. As well as giving, I’ve learned the importance of balance in my life. I personally find pleasure particularly in playing blackjack, bridge, reading, and allowing time for hair, nails and chit chat – things that are about fun rather than suffering. These allow me to go on being a person who can be with others in distress.

As we get older, we have to make choices and changes, especially when we are no longer able to be independent. It’s a big adjustment for everyone, but I believe God had pointed the way for me. The Jewish Home has given me a place and I’m finding communal living both beautiful and challenging. My choice to come to the Jewish Home’s Grancell Village was not at first an easy one, but it soon filled by heart and soul with joy. I adjusted, met a lot of people, and satisfied myself with love from the new feeling of community.

Being part of the Jewish Home community brought me back to Judaism, which had become misplaced from my life. I became aware of my hunger, so I started studying Hebrew and Torah, which led on to this exciting moment in my life.

When I first arrived at the Jewish Home, I met a woman who changed my life. She was a young 96 years and always eager to learn. We started reading the Torah weekly and asked questions of the Rabbi. Spending regular time with May Blank inspired me to fully understand and appreciate life. Like Sarah was to countless others, May was an inspiration to me. We developed a great friendship, so that at the end of her life she called me her “sister.” Memories of May will me daily and help carry me through to my Bat Mitzvah. May her soul rest in peace.

There was another woman who became important to me – a wonderful, brave person, Miriam, was part of a “learning threesome” with May and myself, and we became known as “The Three Ms.” Miriam was blind, and had lost a leg, but was active with us, learning and contributing her knowledge and wisdom, until her end.

There are so many wonderful people here at the Jewish Home, that my life is blessed with friendship and love.

I would like to thank Rabbi Elman for being my teacher and guide, helping me to take my place more fully as a Jewish woman. The story does not end here: I plan to continue studying Torah so as to learn and deepen my understanding of our beautiful Jewish heritage. I would also like to thank Rabbi Wendy for her support.

As I look out to the congregation and see my loving family, which include my devoted children and their spouses, grandchildren (and their spouses), sister, two nieces and a nephew, I feel such love for you all. Thank you all for being here with me today as witnesses – and my special gratitude to those of you who are participating in this service this morning. I am intensely proud of my family.

I know that my mother is giving me her blessing because this is the anniversary of her death. Rest in peace, Mom.

Finally, I wish to thank my entire Jewish Home family for their love, and for making this a wonderful Jewish community in which to live.

Once again, I am THIRTEEN!

Labels: Abraham, Around the Home, Bar Mitzvah, Bat Mitzvah, Bible, Elman, Feature Articles, Jewish Home, Jewish Home Residents, Judaism, Marilyn Matty, Remarkable Residents, Sarah, Staff, Thirteen, Torah

Each year, the Jewish Home holds its annual Sarnat Symposium for Geriatric Care. Social workers and caregivers from across Southern California converge on the Jewish Home to hear experts in various fields relating to senior care. In that past, the only way to obtain the valuable information our experts imparted was to attend the Symposium. This year, those who work in geriatrics can now get hold of our expert lecturers’ presentations online!

In our Resources section, you’ll find a new page: Resources for Social Workers & Geriatric Professionals. Check it out to see the presentations and handouts from the 14th annual Sarnat Symposium!

Labels: Around the Home, Caregivers, Geriatric Care, Handouts, Presentations, Resources, Sarnat Symposium, Senior Resources, Social Workers, Staff

Jewish Home resident David Glicker, 82, is hilarious! Check out the video we posted on YouTube last week of a joke he shared with us. A bit of English humour to brighten your day. :)

Labels: Around the Home, David Glicker, Englishman, Funny, Guillotine, Humor, Humour, Irishman, Jewish Home Residents, Jokes, Scotsman, Staff, YouTube

by Shelly Ryan

Ok! So many of you can relate to your alarm clock going off and wanting to hit the snooze button a few times! Although I'm not a morning person, I got to work earlier than usual, not knowing what I would face! As luck would have it, I went to JEK 4 to speak to an employee and got off the elevator to find an amazing sight! One of our sweet CNAs was talking to a resident about the resident's son, and this was how the conversation went!

"My son doesn't get to visit me that often because he's always working". The response from our CNA was "That's what's fun about my job, because when I'm working I get to see you"!

The resident welled up with tears and said, "But with your job you HAVE to see me."

And our CNA responded, "That's the beauty of my job! I don't HAVE to see you, I GET to see you!"

The resident then hugged our CNA and said, "You're like my daughter."

The CNA said "You're like my Grandmother—sorry, but I'm younger than your daughter," and they both laughed! And then hugged!

These are the kind of sweet moments I get to see every day! The interaction between our staff and our residents is why I've been here for almost 30 years. Our staff treat our precious residents like family. And the feeling is mutual! Our residents feel the love and care from our staff and it's a bond that is hard to break. At the Home, our staff go beyond "work" and care for our residents as they would a member of their own family. It's truly remarkable! Every consultant and surveyor that comes here, whose job it is to find what we're doing "wrong" versus what we're doing "right", ends up remarking about the relationship between our staff and our residents! To say we're a Jewish Home family is not just "words" here.

There is a strong bond that will forever be imprinted on the hearts of both our staff and residents. If you want to experience the love, come and visit us at any of our buildings. We truly have a unique environment where our staff and residents are equally supportive and protective of each other. It's a heart-warming experience—one I would encourage all of you to experience. Are we perfect? No! But our hearts are in the right place!! There is truly no place like "HOME" and I'm blessed to see it day after day!!

I often joke that we're "chosen", and when I walk the floors I believe it's true!! Each staff member has been "chosen" to care for their residents in a unique and amazing way. When I've had an especially challenging day all I have to do is walk the floors and see what the Home has created. We are truly blessed, and I don't want to take it for granted!!

Thank you to our incredible staff, our families, our volunteers and our supporters for letting the Home be the special place that it is!!:)

Labels: Around the Home, CNA, Family, Grandmother, Mother, Residents, Shelly Ryan, Staff, Sweet Moments, Visiting

The other day, some of the nursing staff at our Eisenberg Village campus planned something really fun for our residents: they organized a luau!


The residents who participated live either at the Goldenberg•Ziman Special Care Center, which cares for seniors with Alzheimer's disease or age-related dementia, or the Max Factor Family Foundation Nursing Building, which provides skilled nursing to seniors who need extra assistance.

When the residents saw their nurses — who are normally in scrubs — enter in hula skirts, their eyes lit up! The entire room was laughing, clapping, and singing along.

In addition to being a fun, entertaining afternoon, events like these serve a profound therapeutic purpose. Happiness is known to have incredible life-lengthening health benefits; and the positive atmosphere, the music, and the dancing promotes both physical and cognitive strength.

Labels: Aging, Alzheimer's, Around the Home, Dementia, Eisenberg Village, Elderly, Factor, Goldenberg-Ziman, Healthy Aging, Hula, Luau, Nursing, Seniors, Skilled Nursing, Staff, Video, YouTube

One of my classes is called “Conversation with the Rabbi”, and the conversation last week was real and fascinating. Everyone knows the disadvantages of aging: the loss of mobility and other restrictions, the aches and pains, the fact that one is no longer looking forward to a long life of dreams and possibilities, and, in many cases, the lingering loneliness after the death of a husband or wife. But I wanted to know the other side of the coin. I asked each resident present to tell me if there were any advantages to old age. (It’s natural I should want to know, as that stage of my life gets ever closer!)

I expected to get laughed at. But instead, almost every resident in the class was able to talk about some of the blessings of being older. Some talked of being wiser. Others spoke of the joy of watching their families – their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren – and that this time of life was filled with the love they could give to their families, and the love they received from them. With less responsibility now, there was greater time and freedom just for the good things. Another theme emerged, too. There was time and opportunity to reach out and help others here at the Home. Many talked of living in the Jewish Home as a blessing: they received so much, and could also give so much.

None of these residents was being starry-eyed. None pretended that old age was just paradise, without real disadvantages. One woman said: there are good things about being older, but there are more bad things. But even she was happy to tell me about the blessings in her life.

Let me tell you about one of the Torah stories we read this month. The Israelites, on their journey towards the Promised Land, passed through a country whose king was so frightened of them that he called on Balaam, a foreign prophet, to come and curse them. But God made sure that all the words that came out of Balaam’s mouth were not words of curse, but instead words of blessing, telling of the Israelites’ future success.

Just as God turned curse into blessing, we too have the ability – if only we are willing – to turn curse into blessing. I often talk of recognizing God’s blessing in the events of our life – even seemingly negative events. This is not something magical, like kidding ourselves that dark is really light. But we do have greater power over our lives than we often think. Many years ago I was asked, how does one become blessed? I answered that if we feel blessed, then we are blessed. Changing our attitude towards life can actually change the way we experience life. That is the way we turn curse into blessing.

A resident who has recently changed location within the Home has been finding it so painful leaving behind familiar people – both residents and staff – that she can’t enjoy life where she is now. I know this can be painful, but I have also been suggesting to her that each day she try to find one good thing about her new surroundings, one little blessing. She tells me she is still finding it difficult, but I believe she is beginning to experience good, to find blessing in her new life.

Labels: Aging, Around the Home, Blessings, Blog, Conversation with the Rabbi, Elman, Family, For the Spirit, Israelites, Judaism, Letter from the Rabbi, Seniors, Transition

A decade and a half ago, a third grade teacher from Balboa Magnet School in Northridge teamed up with the Jewish Home activities staff. The goal was to bridge the intergenerational gap, pairing third graders with residents at the Home for a year. Once a month, the students would take a field trip to the Jewish Home, and participate in fun activities with their "buddy".

Labels: Around the Home, Balboa Magnet School, Buddy, Children, FOI, Friends of Ida, Friendship, Generation Gap, Ida, Inspiring, Olivia, Seniors, Staff, Students, Third Grade

From the Spring 2011 edition of The Chai Journal


By Esther Berlin

The best part of the week for me is Friday evening at the Jewish Home. I shall never forget my first Sabbath here, six and a half years ago. I walked in for dinner and was unprepared for such a change in the dining room. It was obvious that something special was about to happen. Tables were set with white linens and each place had a glass of wine, a small challah, and flowers. Seeing this beautiful sight, tears of joy ran down my face. I realized how much I had missed celebrating Shabbos. It had been a long time since I made the same preparations at my home on Fridays. Once my two children went off to school and I was alone, I stopped our family's tradition of reciting the prayers and lighting the Shabbos candles.

Now, each Friday that I am able, I go to the Synagogue to say a special prayer for my friends and family who are ill. The Mi Sheberakh seeks physical cures as well as spiritual healing, asking for blessing for all human beings. Celebrating Shabbos with Rabbi Rita Hertzberg is very special for me. Her soft, lovely voice is very soothing and I find myself relaxed, peaceful, and calm. I particularly enjoy singing the Kiddush Motzi when everyone joins in. It seems that all who participate are filled with joy. In the dining room, Rabbit Rita always provides a helpful explanation about the various Sabbath rituals. And then to top it all off, we have that wonderful big bowl of delicious matzah ball and chicken noodle soup! I feel so blessed to be living at the Jewish Home where we observe the traditions of our faith each week.

Labels: Activities, Around the Home, Berlin, Chai Journal, Cross Post, Friday, Hertzberg, Judaism, Kiddush, matzah ball soup, Mi Sheberach, Mi Sheberakh, Prayer, Sabbath, Shabbat, Shabbos, traditions

Passover is right around the corner! And what better food is there to eat on Passover than matzah brei? Last year, we made a video of a few Jewish Home residents showcasing their culinary talents to decide which matzah brei recipe was tastier: sweet or savory.

Labels: 2010, Around the Home, Contest, Matzah Brei, Passover, Pesach, Recipe, Residents, Seniors, Video, YouTube

The Los Angeles Jewish Home is celebrating a very special birthday today! Shirley Strozenberg, our oldest resident, just turned 108. Yes, she is older than the Home itself.


Originally from Poland, Shirley is a long-time resident of Los Angeles, and recently moved into the Joyce Eisenberg-Keefer Medical Center. 


Over the last 99 years, the Jewish Home has become world renowned for its quality of senior care. Our residents' average age is 90, and we're home to 31 centenarians. This is a testament to the Home's philosophy of caring for the whole person—body, mind, and spirit.

Labels: Aging, Around the Home, Birthday, Centenarian, Healthy Aging, Jewish Home, Oldest Resident, Poland, Remarkable Residents, Senior Care, Senior Living, Seniors, Staff, Strozenberg, Super Elderly

By Ellis Simon, 87...a ten year resident


The Jewish Home is my home and yours
So pick up the phone & arrange the tours
All the residents have a smile on their face
We're the luckiest people in the whole human race


The activities here, and there are quite a few
With over 300 a month, you'll find lots to do
The food's delicious, and plenty of it
You'll like it so much, you'll eat every bit


The doctors here are really the best
And our medical department will pass any test
The nurses, you'll love them, they are really great
And the best part, there's rarely a wait


The friends that you make, will forever be true
You'll love them, and they'll love you
Whether you're seventy, or maybe ninety seven
This is the closest that you'll ever get to Heaven


So give us a call, and get all the news
Then make your move, and then no more blues
To make you happy is the war we are waging
So come on in to the Jewish Home for the Aging

Labels: Activities, Aging, Around the Home, doctors, food, Friends, Friendship, Jewish Home, medical staff, nurses, Poems, Poetry, Residents, Simon, tours

Making his debut appearance on the Los Angeles Jewish Home's Comedy Corner, we present to you Ellis Simon, 87. A resident for 11 years, he was one of the first people to move into our Neighborhood Homes. And after all this time, he still loves it here.

Take a look at the first of many of Ellis's jokes to appear on the Comedy Corner! It's guaranteed to make you laugh.

Enjoy!

Labels: Around the Home, Comedy Corner, Humor, Jokes, Neighborhood Home, Simon, Social Media, Staff, Video, YouTube

Cross posted from the Daily News.


By Dennis McCarthy

The story goes that the rabble rouser was having breakfast with her husband one morning soon after arriving at the Jewish Home for the Aging when the wiseguy sitting at the next table came over and introduced himself.
"I'm Harry Schackman," the wiseguy said.
"I'm Dorothy Creager and this is my husband, Morty," the rabble rouser replied. "Nice to meet you."
Harry sat down and spent the next half-hour filling them in on their new digs and all the gossip. When he got ready to leave, he turned and said to Morty kiddingly, "Watch your wife, I'm madly in love with her."
Now most guys would have told the wiseguy where to go, making a pass like that, even kidding, but Morty just smiled.
If he had a buck for every time some guy told him his wife was a knockout and he'd better keep an eye on her, Morty would have been a millionaire.
"The guy's a nut case, Morty," Dorothy said, watching Harry walk back to his table.
Within days, though, the rabble rouser, her husband, and the wiseguy were fast friends. Their rooms at the home were right next door to each other.
After Harry would visit his wife of 70 years, Belle, who was ill and living in another section of the home, they would all hang out together.
One day, about six years ago, an ailing Morty asked Harry to make good on the wisecrack he made the first day they met.
"I'm going, Harry," Morty said. "Take care of my wife."
A month later, Morty died. Soon after that, Harry's wife, Belle, passed away.
"After a few months, Harry asked me out to dinner," Dorothy says, "I was so nervous. I hadn't dated in 62 years. We went to some nice restaurants. He wined and dined me. He was a real gentleman."
They'd eat and talk about their lives. Dorothy showed Harry an old column I had written about her 19 years ago when she was a 71-year-old student at Cal State Northridge working on a degree in psychology.
Dorothy wanted to start a fraternity/sorority for senior citizens on campus. Someplace they could go to blow off some steam after a hard day in class.
Why should the kids have all the fun, she said? Seniors needed a social life on campus, too.
"Morty and I went to one of the sorority dances and everyone thought we were the chaperones," Dorothy told me back in 1992.
Her Animal House for seniors never got off the ground, but Dorothy's reputation as a rabble rouser was born. After graduating, she began teaching classes at senior retirement homes for the Los Angeles Unified School District.
Harry's background, on the other hand, is a little shadier. His son, Ed Schackman, says his dad was "a street wise guy from Cleveland and later Detroit."
"He hustled for a living, knew guys in the Jewish mafia and spent a lot of time in Vegas in the early years. He drove a lot of guys around."
Let's just leave it at that, says Ed, who threw a big shindig recently for his dad's 100th birthday and Dorothy's 90th - inviting both families.
That's the short story on the rabble rouser and the wiseguy. The long story is that they're an item over at the home these days.
Harry had to move a block away to another section of the home for health reasons, but Dorothy visits him every day.
"We're company for each other, care for each other," She says. "Our families want us to be happy and we are."
So, in the end, the wiseguy turns out to be a stand-up guy - keeping his promise to Morty.
Watching out for his wife, the rabble rouser.
Dennis McCarthy's column appears in the Los Angeles Daily News on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. You can e-mail him at dennis.mccarthy@dailynews.com.


Read the original story here.

Labels: Aging, Around the Home, Couples, Creager, Daily News, Dennis McCarthy, Eisenberg Village, Love, Marriage, Residents, Romance, Senior Living, Sexuality, Staff

Hands down, resident Jerri Kane, 85, has one of the best senses of humor at the Los Angeles Jewish Home. She's been at the Home for about two years now, and brightens every room she walks into.

Labels: Animals, Around the Home, Comedy Corner, Farm, Humor, Jokes, Kane, Staff, Video, YouTube, Zebra

From the Winter 2011 edition of The Chai Journal.


By Ellis Simon


We see many of our residents walking around holding hands. We have many married couples and residents that have met and taken a shine to each other. This is the story of one of those couples. Their names: Irving Mandel and Genia Burman. Genia is a 90 year young lady, and Irving is a 92 year young gentleman. Both of them came here from Poland. Genia's mother's name was Freima, her father was Israel. Irving's mother was Sara, his father was Leiser. They both came into the Jewish Home sometime in 2004. They did not know each other at the time.


Both Genia and Irving were given rooms in the Weinberg Building. As Irving was walking down the hall one day, he passed by Genia's room. He saw the door was open, and since he had noticed Genia before, he walked into her room and they started to talk. As they say, "Irving was smitten." They started to see each other every day, and after about a year, Irving popped the question. (Genia made sure to tell me that he did not get down on one knee.) They then started to make arrangements to get married here at the Home. The big day arrived, and with the synagogue packed with family and residents, they said their "I Dos" under the chuppah. The wedding reception was held in their favorite place, the Arts & Crafts room. Both Irving and Genia spent many hours in this room, so it was an appropriate place for the festivities. 


They have five children between them, and five grandchildren. Irving's children live in California, and Genia's daughter and grand-daughter live in Arizona, and her two sons live in Northern California. Before coming to the Home, Genia was a dressmaker, and Irving worked for the government in the ballistic missile field. I really believe this couple was made for each other, but it took them a long time to find it out. They are a lovely couple.

Labels: Around the Home, Burman, Chai Journal, Couples, Cross Post, Eisenberg Village, Love, Mandel, Marriage, Residents, Romance, Simon, Staff

The Los Angeles Jewish Home's Annenberg School of Nursing graduated its fourth class of Licensed Vocational Nurse candidates on January 27th. The San Fernando Valley Business Journal covered it in their most recent 'Valley Biz Seen' section.

Congratulations again to our new graduates, and thank you to the San Fernando Valley Business Journal!

Labels: Annenberg, Around the Home, Events, Graduation, Licensed Vocational Nurse, LVN, Media, Nursing, Nursing School, SFV Business Journal, Staff

Labels: Around the Home, Humor, Love, Romance, Sexuality, Staff, Valentine's Day, Video, YouTube

If the Los Angeles Jewish Home were a high school, Jerri Kane, 85, would've been voted "Most Funny". She's always coming up with new jokes — both tame and risqué — and making people laugh. For your enjoyment, here is one of her jokes, "The Gorilla"...

Labels: Around the Home, Comedy Corner, Gorilla, Humor, Jokes, Kane, Residents, Staff, Video, YouTube

From the Winter 2011 edition of The Chai Journal


By Nettie Freeman


In 1986, I sold my art gallery and picture framing business. My first inclination was what meaningful volunteer task would I wish to venture into. Without hesitation I found myself at the Jewish Home volunteer office. My first assignment was visiting the residents who did not have any friends or family nearby. I spent many hours enjoying the company of so many itneresting people, sharing their life experience and family histories.


After some time, I was to become the buyer of apparel for the gift shop. Because of my personal contacts at the California Mart downtown, I was very happy to be helpful in that capactiy. After three years of volunteering in these very fulfilling tasks, I took on a new volunteering hat at my temple, Valley Beth Shalom. I became a counselor at our counseling office. I spent 20 years in that capacity, and must admit it was a most gratifying experience, helping my clients in their troubled situations.


Now let's fast forward to September 2009. Due to medical challenges, I had to relinquish my driving privileges. My first consideration was applying to the Jewish Home, my familiar landmark. So here I am, back at the Home, in a neighborhood home at Eisenberg Village with three fabulous roommates...and I couldn't be happier. What a great journey I have had with my wonderful experiences at the Home, and yes, I am volunteering again and a new member of the Chai Journal committee.

Labels: Admission, Aging, Around the Home, Chai Journal, Eisenberg Village, Freeman, Jewish Home Services, Neighborhood Home, Residents, Senior Living, Staff, Volunteer