VOLUME 2, ISSUE 12
from OY to JOY
DEC. 2009 KISLEV – TEVET 5770
FREE
A DEN VER JEW ISH SENIOR ACT IVI T Y GUI DE
Residents of Allied Jewish Apartments and Students of Community Talmud Torah Celebrate Simchat Torah The previous month Bob Dorfman partnered with Dov Hanssen, a kindergartener, in a crafts project. “He’s a sweet little guy,” Dorfman said.“I probably won’t get to be a grandfather, and I like working with kids. I’m pretty involved with my Judaism, and it gives me a good feeling to be celebrating the holiday with these children.” Azriel Hanssen, a 5th grader, has become “buddies” with resident Joel Ferber. Together, they helped to decorate the AJA sukkah and shared in the Torah roll experience. “I think it is a good idea to have this shared program because it helps us kids connect to seniors in our community and by getting to know each other, we both can learn
L to R: AJA resident Elis Spitzer, CTT School Director Robin Hanssen, and CTT 7th grade student, Zlata Komisarchik.
An evening during Sukkot saw students, aged 4–12 years old, from Community Talmud Torah (CTT), together with elders from Allied Jewish Apartments (AJA) in the Shul at AJA. Robin Hanssen, the school’s director, conducted a Torah roll where the students and elders were enveloped within the holy text. They shared the experience of identifying the Ten Commandments in the text and discussing the significance of Simchat Torah. AJA elders shared their childhood memories of the holiday and described their Jewish education experiences growing up. Hanssen and the CTT students and parents finished the evening by joining their senior friends for a delicious kosher dinner in the AJA dining room. Hanssen enjoys bringing her students to AJA to meet and get to know AJA’s senior residents. “It is important for me to provide my students with an opportunity to interact with the greater Jewish community and the seniors are some of our most precious community members. Watching the children and seniors delight in one another is wonderful.”
Residents of Allied Jewish Apartments and Students of Community Talmud Torah Celebrate Simchat Torah Continues on page 10
CONTENTS Senior Resources Directory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 02 Community Senior Activities • Allied Jewish Apartments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 03 • BMH/BJ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 03–04 • Congregation Rodef Shalom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 04 • Hebrew Educational Alliance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 04 • Jewish Community Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 05–07 • Jewish Family Services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 07–08 • Temple Emanuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 08 • Temple Micah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 09 • Temple Sinai. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 09–10 JCC & Network Activities Info . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Back page