Handmaker Blog

Every time you turn around there seems to be “Breaking News”. News about the tax overhaul, healthcare reform, the “Me Too” movement, “DACA”, and school shootings can upsetting and overwhelming, and it is difficult for anyone to keep up. Our residents are not alone in wanting to stay current on events in the news. Close to 95% of Handmaker residents still get their news from the TV and the newspaper. And for the last 6 months or so, some get their news from our Current Events class.

While many people are familiar with the Jewish New Year of Rosh Hashanah, not everyone knows that there are actually four Jewish New Year celebrations, each with a unique set of traditions. This week we celebrated one of them, Tu b’shevat. Tu B’shevat is the New Year of the trees. It is observed on the 15th of the month of Shevat, which fell on January 31st this year. Tu b’shevat is the day that is used to determine the age of the trees. The 15th of Shevat is considered their birthday, no matter when they were planted. Why is it important to know the age of trees? Since the Torah says that fruits may not be eaten from trees that are less than three years of age, those who observe this practice must know the age of trees around them.

While the Jewish New Year of 5778 began several months ago, and Jews around the world participated in a period of self-reflection at that time, with the beginning of the secular New Year of 2018, many Jewish Americans will still join in the annual secular tradition of making New Year’s resolutions. The Marist Poll estimates that about 44% of Americans will be doing so this week, with most Americans focusing on self-improvement. I wondered how many of our Handmaker residents participated in this annual secular tradition.

Even though Hanukkah is considered a minor Jewish holiday, it is one that most Jewish people get great pleasure in celebrating. Perhaps its celebration has been magnified due to its close proximity to Christmas on the calendar, but it is also likely that it is because there are some great traditions associated with it that make it so enjoyable to celebrate. These traditions live on in the memories of our residents, and we continue them here at Handmaker as well.

If you have visited Handmaker recently, you may have seen a silver haired woman in a purple sweater buzzing around in her scooter. That is Gertrude Shankman. She recently had to slow down the speed on her scooter a bit due to a few speeding tickets, but nothing else about her seems to be slowing down. This remarkable woman was born in NY on October 26, 1914, and is celebrating her 103rd birthday this week. You would never guess that after spending any time with her. She is still unbelievably sharp, and fully engaged in life.

Handmaker residents joyously celebrated Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year of 5778, with beautiful festive meals and holiday services. This celebration was followed by the Days of Awe, the ten days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. This is a time for introspection. It is period of time to think about what you have done over the previous year, and to seek reconciliation with anyone that you may have wronged throughout the year.

When one of our Handmaker residents expressed an interest in converting to Judaism earlier this year, I was speechless. For nearly 18 months, Elaine had been attending Shabbat evening and morning services every week, came to all of the Jewish holiday services and programs, and was an active participant in our weekly Torah study sessions, so it really should not have come as so much of a surprise. But yet, it was. It is one thing to participate in Jewish services to expand your knowledge of the world around you, but it is another thing to want to change your faith, especially this late in life. I was surprised, but I was also delighted for her and for our community.

Irving Silverman is an expert in the art of aging. While most people at the age of 97 would be slowing down, Irving has just published his second book, Aging Wisely…Wisdom of Our Elders. It is a book about aging and longevity from the perspective of the elderly, as well as from many experts in the field of aging.

It is such an honor when one of our Tucson Community Rabbis comes to visit or speak at Handmaker. Imagine how blessed we felt to have three of our Community's Rabbis in the Great Room of Handmaker last month.

Jewish values and traditions have been passed along from generation to generation for thousands of years, and fortunately continues on today. Pictured in the above photo is Phil Bregman (on the right), his wife Dani, daughter Emily, and cousin, Sondra Koven. Phil’s Great Uncle Murf Handmaker started Handmaker in 1963, and Phil is currently the Chair of the Handmaker Board. Their daughter, Emily, was paired up with Brian Litwak (Handmaker resident also pictured above left) as part of a volunteer program at Handmaker. This is a beautiful example of L’dor V’dor.

The approach of Passover evokes many happy memories for our Handmaker residents. Here are just a few that involve memorable foods, the “Maxwell House Hagaddah”, special traditions and seeing favorite family members.

When Hazel moved into Handmaker, I invited her to try out our Yiddish class. She told me that she was not interested in learning Yiddish, but would love to practice her Hebrew. I thought that maybe she wanted to brush up on her prayer book Hebrew at the age of 94. But no, it turned out that she is fluent in Hebrew, and wanted the opportunity to speak with someone else who was too. Luckily, with the help of Oshrat Barel, our Tucson Shlicha, Hazel met Rina.

For the eighth year in a row, Handmaker residents have had the opportunity to participate in Project SOAR (Students and Older Adult Relationship). This is a program coordinated by Dr. Jenene Spencer, an instructor in the University of Arizona School of Pharmacy’s Practices and Science department, and is facilitated at Handmaker by Andrea Ramirez, our Administrative and Volunteer Coordinator.

Tikkun Olam is a Jewish concept defined by acts of kindness performed to perfect or repair the world. Sometimes a charitable or beneficial act toward another person is called a mitzvah. And doing a mitzvah is one step toward making the world a better place. Whatever it is called, any act of kindness can make a difference and can make you feel good.

We just finished celebrating the Festival of Hanukkah…for eight nights. Granted, there is a lot to celebrate. The Maccabees, a small army of untrained but determined Jews, defeated the larger, better trained and more powerful Syrian Army.

“My mom had not played piano since my Dad passed away 15 years ago, but since she has been at Handmaker, she plays regularly. It is part of her therapy.” So says Monica Weiss, whose mother, Thelma Weiss has been playing piano by ear since the age of 6, and is one of our residents at Handmaker.

With the celebration of Simchat Torah earlier this week, we (the Jewish People) just concluded the annual cycle of Torah readings. And now we begin the cycle anew from the beginning with B’reisheet, “in the beginning”.

The Jewish month of Tishrei, which began on the 2nd of October this year, is completely filled with Jewish holidays. It begins with Rosh Hashanah, a celebration of the Jewish New Year, followed about one week later by Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement or repentance. A few days after that we begin the celebration of Sukkot...

Every Friday morning at 9am about a dozen Handmaker residents gather in the Rubin Café at Handmaker for their weekly dose of Brain Games. Led by Handmaker’s Assisted Living Manager, Anne Lopez, this class brings smiles to the faces of residents, while also helping them to work on their memories.

Handmaker Residents, Beppie and Alex Lutgendorf celebrate 68 years of marriage on September 2nd, “the day the new Star Trek postage stamps come out,” says Alex. He has been a stamp collector since he was eight years old. They have been living at Handmaker since December 2013 with their rescued dog, Chey-Chey. Their advice to couples: Try to see each other’s way. You don’t have to be right.