JEWISH INTEREST
April 2021
Federation Star
25
Judge Judy’s advice to seniors Aging Jewishly — What our traditions tell us about growing old By Rabbi Barbara Aiello
T
he timer on the kitchen stove began its ding-ding-ding, reminding Iris to switch on the television and call to her husband. “Come on, Larry. It’s five minutes to Judge Judy!” That was enough for Larry to stop his cleaning binge, and in minutes, both Iris and Larry had tuned into to their favorite program. Watched by more than 10 million viewers daily, Judge Judith Susan Blum Sheindlin has dispensed advice for nearly 25 years, but for Larry and Iris, one admonishment really hit home. Larry recalls, “I heard her say it on a documentary about her life. Judge Judy was talking about becoming a senior citizen. And she said something that struck me. ‘To live a long life, don’t fall!’” At 78 years old, Judge Judy knows what she’s talking about. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports, “falls are the No. 1 cause of injuries in seniors, often resulting in hip fractures, cuts, and even serious head and brain injuries that can be fatal.” Many seniors who have tripped or tumbled have seen their independence evaporate and their longevity compromised as a result of the fall. So, Judge Judy, television’s queen of blunt, doesn’t mince words: “To live long, don’t fall.” For seniors 65 years old and older, one person in three will have had a fall,
so it is no wonder that a quick Google search of “fall prevention for seniors” nets more than half a million articles, websites and long lists of do’s and don’ts — information that prompted Larry to do some
I talked to my friends whose falls had caused them to move out of independent living and this is what I found.” Larry explains that for many seniors, a fall happens when they were doing two things at once. This is what Larry calls the Seven Steps to a Fall or the “I was walking and …” syndrome (see sidebar to right). In Proverbs, we read that, “A righteous person falls seven times and rises up again.” Rabbi Barbara Rabbi Andrea Steinberger (Wisconsin Aiello Jewish Chronicle) expands on those words research of his own. when she writes that “Seven is life giving. A statistician by trade, Larry studied a It is a number full of strength and health number of fall prevention recommendaand hope for the future.” tions that included common sense items, Larry’s Seven Steps to a Fall remind us such as installing bathtub handrails, elimithat there are things we can do — simple, nating throw rugs, powerful, life-affirmMany seniors who have cleaning up clutter ing tools — that offer and adding night tripped or tumbled have hope for us as we age. lights in the hall. But Like the Judge seen their independence it was the information says, “To live a long evaporate and their that Larry gleaned life, don’t fall.” from his anecdotal For 10 years Rabbi longevity compromised. survey that opened Barbara Aiello served his eyes and swayed his opinion about the Aviva Campus for Senior Life as resiseniors and falling. dent rabbi. Her most popular columns are “I live in senior housing,” Larry now published in her new book, “Aging explains. “And on our campus, we have Jewishly,” available on Amazon books. what they call the continuum of care. Rabbi Barbara now lives and works in That means that we can live indepenItaly, where she is rabbi of Italy’s first dently, in assisted living or even on the Reconstructionist synagogue. Contact her at nursing floor — whatever you need. So, Rabbi@RabbiBarbara.com.
SEVEN STEPS TO A FALL Step 1: I was walking … and fishing for my keys. Step 2: I was walking … and answering my cellphone. Step 3: I was walking … and putting on my coat. Step 4: I was walking … and checking my watch. Step 5: I was walking … and switching to my sunglasses. Step 6: I was walking … and scratching an itch. Step 7: I was walking … and blowing my nose.
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