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Much of my work has not been explicitly Jewish, or Jewish at all in nature. Long before I helped to create “Dear Evan Hansen,” I adapted “The Christmas Story” for Broadway. But I’ve been trying to figure out how to make meaningful Jewish content for a long time. I’ve done two previous reinterpretations of Passover seders, and also a reinterpretation of Sukkot. One of the issues I always had was how to bring that kind of work to more people beyond the 100 who could fit in the room. And then a broader question for Jewish artists — one that I’ve tried to tackle through my own work and by serving on the board of Reboot, a Jewish arts and culture innovation nonprofit — is how do you play with new forms to create content that’s meaningful and accessible? This moment has forced us to come up with answers. It’s forced us to figure out scalability — and also helped us realize that meaningful Jewish content is interesting for way more than the 100 people we happened to know. The coronavirus has forced people to reevaluate how they make things, and it has forced people not to rely on the traditional ways of how they produce content. There’s also no reason not to think about making your work resonant for a broader audience right now, because with all performances online, you’re able to reach them. For the Saturday Night Seder, we wanted to make something that was charitable — to center
Alzheimer’s Doesn’t Only Affect the Elderly Alzheimer’s disease is not just a disease of old age (“Forget Me Not,” Feb. 28). Approximately 5% of the more than 5 million Americans living with Alzheimer’s have younger-onset Alzheimer’s disease. As a caregiver and advocate for my husband who passed away from the disease seven years ago at the age of 52, I understand firsthand the impact this disease has on loved ones. Alzheimer’s is a devastating illness at any age, but it brings added difficulties when it strikes young. My husband — our household’s breadwinner — lost two jobs in the prime of his career as the result of his cognitive decline, resulting in lost income and health care coverage. Though we had saved wisely, we anticipated that costs for his care would derail our plans to pay for our daughters’ college educations. One university was responsive to our request for aid while the other did not consider it a reason to provide financial assistance. Many care facilities are ill-equipped or unwilling to manage difficult behaviors when they inevitably arise, and this can be especially so with younger-onset residents. Being otherwise physically healthy and active, my husband was not always treated as the ill person he truly was. One dementia care facility tried to prevent his return from the emergency room after an altercation with another resident; the nurse at that facility referred to the other party as “my patient” as though my husband was not also under her care. Those with dementia under age 60 have not been eligible
Making Jewish Art Accessible
Jeff Spicer/Getty Images via JT
By Benj Pasek | JTA
the event around tzedakah — but also fill a void created by the absence of a Jewish ritual people were missing. We bootstrapped it; we got some financial support from Reboot, and for the most part people donated their time. We raised $3.1 million for the CDC Foundation so far, and millions of people watched it. It definitely showed me that there is a hunger for that kind of content in the Jewish world, about things that are related to ritual and Jewish tradition. But I wonder if it would have been possible without the COVID-19 crisis: The access to talent and time right now is unique. So the question for the future is: How can we facilitate more Jewish artists doing this kind of work? What context can we create to help Jewish artists get the support they need, be connected to talent partners, get financing they require — basically, how do we help people get from point A to B to C to get projects out into the world? Reboot is investigating how to be a hub for content creation in the Jewish world, and there’s room for more innovation. The more we think about how to support a vast array of Jewish artists, the more we will be able to meet the needs of what people are looking for in this world — whatever it looks like. J T
Benj Pasek is half of the American songwriting and composition duo Pasek and Paul, known for “A Christmas Story,” “Dogfight,” “Edges,” “Dear Evan Hansen,” and “James and the Giant Peach”.
for benefits under the Older Americans Act, which since 1965 has provided support to seniors by organizing and delivering meals, in-home services, transportation, legal services, abuse prevention, and caregiver support. The Supporting Older Americans Act of 2020 — the law that reauthorizes the OAA — includes the Younger-Onset Alzheimer’s Disease Act, which addresses the gap in care and services for those with dementia under age 60, finally allowing them to access vital OAA. Miriam Lupien Baltimore
We Are Glad to Be a Part of This Story My name is Wayne Grooters, president of Sovereign Medical, Inc. Sovereign Medical is the medical sales distribution company referred to in this article (“Hagerstown Rabbi Helps Secure Ventilators,” May 1), and Michael Mendez is our clinical specialist that Rabbi Plost is working with, who will be providing the training education. We are very appreciative of the business, but more importantly, I was moved by Rabbi Plost’s story. Rabbi Plost’s research was the key. Percussionaire’s percussive ventilation technology is truly unique from any other. The TXP5 and VDR ventilators are ideally suited for patients suffering from this dreaded virus, as well as other diseased states. As Rabbi Plost and Michael pointed out, these ventilators break down the secretions, remove them while, at the same time, protecting the lung and providing additional ventilatory support. Wayne Grooters Hillsborough, N.C.
jewishtimes.com
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