Los Angeles Jewish Home

By Ellis Simon, 88
Jewish Home Resident

I don't know why, but I am sitting here thinking how lucky I am. I have a family that loves me, I have reached the age of 87 years old. Sure I have my aches and pains now and then, and sure I worry once and a while, but G-d has been good to me. I have many friends, I keep very active, I am very upbeat, and I love life.

I get up every morning and look forward to another day. I know I am going to eat three meals each day, and I know I have a place to lay my head every night. There are people here that are paid just to figure out how to keep me healthy and happy. There are people here that are paid just to figure out how to keep me active. There are people here that are paid just to see that I get three meals a day. There are people here that are paid just to listen to my concerns, and to help me get rid of those concerns. There are people here that are paid just to keep me healthy, and there are people here that are paid just to take care of any problems with maintenance and housekeeping of my living quarters. Also there are people here that are paid, and even some who volunteer, to provide transportation just so that I may shop, go to my doctor's office, or go out for some enjoyment.

So next time someone accidentally bumps you with their walker, or blocks your way, or disagrees with something you said, take it with a grain of salt. Just smile and remember how lucky you really are.

Labels: Aging, For the Spirit, Luck, Lucky, Positive Outlook, Senior Living, Simon

By Ellis Simon, 88
Jewish Home resident

During the summer months until the end of September, a lot of us residents looked forward to our Saturday Night Socials in Bagno Park hosted by the gracious Bea and Jack Kriger. The entertainment was great as was the camaraderie. Among the many diversified acts they provided were violinist Ellona Geller, vocalist Bernie Fisher, clarinetist Sam Glenn, comedian/singer Shalom Sherman, entertainers Larry & Brenda Shaw, and chanteuse Laurie Kamiel. The music ran the gamut from classical, semi-classical, popular, and show tunes. As one looked around, you saw many residents tapping their feet with big smiles on their faces as well as getting up and dancing. The weather was generally beautiful and warm, and everyone was sociable and having a great time. It’s one of the reasons we love the Jewish Home. We all owe a big THANKS to Bea and Jack, and look forward to their Saturday Night Socials next summer.

Labels: Activities, Bagno Park, Bea Kriger, For the Spirit, Jack Kriger, Jewish Home, Jewish Home Residents, Simon

By: Ellis Simon, 88, Los Angeles Jewish Home resident 
Originally published in the Chai Journal Summer 2012 issue.

Miriam Rothstein, 91, is a lovely, gentle lady who survived the Holocaust. There is not one shred of bitterness in her demeanor. Born to an observant, educated, and well-to-do family that owned a supermarket in Romania, Miriam was the ninth of eleven children. When she was four, her family moved to a village in the Carpathian Mountains to be with her mother’s family. After Hungary annexed Czechoslovakia in March 1939, Miriam’s prep school studies ended and the family supermarket closed. In August 1941, Jews lacking Hungarian citizenship were apprehended. By March 1944, Germans controlling their town rounded up all able-bodied Jews. Miriam and her older sister, Rachel, who looked more like her younger sister, since Miriam was taller and stronger, boarded a train for Uzhorod, then part of Hungary, where her older sister Margaret and her brother Baruch lived. In April, the Jews in Uzhorod had to report to the ghetto there, and Miriam and Rachel hid in a shed for three days. Miriam changed into a two-piece red silk dress, attaching her mother’s diamond ring to an inside button before the sisters entered the overcrowded and unsanitary ghetto.

At the end of May, they were squeezed into cattle cars headed to Auschwitz-Birkenau. Her red dress was tossed into a huge pile and her hair was shaved. Everyone slept on the floor and people were brought to the crematorium. With the Russian army approaching in 1945, two kind SS guards gathered up food and escaped with the girls and eventually left after rescuing them. In the bitter cold, they finally came to a farm where they slept in the barn until Russian soldiers liberated them. Eventually, Miriam and Rachel returned to Uzhorod where they learned their parents, sister Margaret, and youngest brother Yehuda had been poisoned.

While living in Czechoslovakia, Miriam met Herman Rothstein, a guard for the Czech president. In 1946, they married and he, too, owned a supermarket. Their daughter Vera was born in 1947. In 1949, they immigrated to Israel where their son, David, was born in 1953. A year later, Miriam had tuberculosis, prompting a move to Chicago where Herman had relatives. Their youngest daughter, Mindy, was born there in 1957. Vera and Mindy currently live in LA, and David, a university professor, now lives in Israel. Miriam and Herman retired and moved to Los Angeles in 1992.

Herman died in 2000, and Miriam lived on her own, assisted 4 hours a day by helpers who cleaned and took her shopping and on excursions. Her children eventually convinced her it would be wiser to move into a retirement community. In 2008, after checking out three other communities, Miriam chose the Jewish Home. She wanted to live in a warm, friendly Jewish setting with a built in social life and clinic. We are so pleased to have her as a part of our community. Miriam enjoys playing bingo, our entertainment and many special events, Rabbi Rita’s services and classes, and the Talking Yiddish Group with Murray. Miriam wishes she knew the names of the kind SS officers. Her three children, seven grandchildren, and nine great-grandchildren give her great pride.

When I asked Miriam how she survived such harrowing experiences, she said it was hard work (which included building trenches and laying cable), eating little (mostly bread with a little jam and margarine snuck to her by a kind cook), and living one day at a time. But mostly, it was her belief that she would survive that kept her going. Miriam’s story is truly a profile in courage.

Miriam’s story was also featured in an article by Jane Ulman in The Jewish Journal. Photo credit: David Miller

Labels: Biography, Chai Journal, Courage, History, Holocaust survivors, Jewish Home Residents, Miriam Rothstein, Remarkable Residents, Seniors, Simon

A Poem by Ellis Simon, 87
Jewish Home Resident

To all the ladies at the JHA
The time has come for you to say
Come on guys, get off your duff
Then take our hand, as you huff and puff

When you take our hand, don't squeeze too much
The arthritis we have responds to touch
The tenderness you show, helps ease the pain
As we walk down the hall, you, me, and my cane

We get to the library, and sit side by side
As the real good feelings a try to hide
You whisper in my ear, but your words seem to fade
The battery went out in my hearing aid

You ask me to dance, I'm happy as can be
When you take me in your arms, it's heaven for me
You start to cough, and stick out your tongue
I guess it's too much for your one lung

We both get up, and go back to my room
You give me a peck, and my heart goes boom
You walk down the hall, I watch as you go
You say, "I'm a very happy lady, I now have a beau!"

Though i joke around, this is my wish for all
Then we would all be happy, and have a ball
Then our troubles would disappear
And everyone would be happy, I say hear, hear.

Labels: Aging, For the Spirit, Original, Poems, Residents, Seniors, Simon, Sweethearts Day, Valentine's Day

The quote in the title line was said by Jewish Home resident Ellis Simon. Now 87, he's been living here for around 11 years! Granted, he's been saying that for quite some time now, but we finally caught it on tape.

Labels: Donate, Freedom, Gift, Jewish Home, Online Donation, Philanthropy, Residents, Simon, Social Media, Staff, Support, Video, Volunteer, Why We Give, YouTube

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

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