65+ AND THRIVING

JEWISH FAMILY & COMMUNITY SERVICES

EXPERT SERIES: 65+ AND By Nicole Andrews, Jewish Family & Community Services Thriving Are you over 65 and fabulous? Do you know that people over 65 make up the fastest growing age demographic in the United States? People in this age group are living longer, better and younger than ever before. However, as with any life stage, late adulthood brings changes and challenges and this group is designed to explore them all. The monthly group will bring in the experts to educate, then together the group will break it down. The goal is to explore, empower, support and make the most of the retirement years!

The inaugural meeting of the “Expert Series” kicked off in the Chartrand Tolerance Education Center at Jewish Family & Community Services on March 8. Attendees (both in person and virtual) learned about the Psychology of Aging: 65 and Better with Jewish Family & Community Services (JFCS) therapist Karen Hanson, LMHC. The series is designed to be an informal presentation with attendee participation encouraged, but not required.

Karen educated participants in psychological theories surrounding the late adult stage to help our participants understand some of life’s expected changes. She also shared plenty of tips and tricks to empower and celebrate how wonderful aging gracefully can be and how to make the retirement years the best they can be.

In addition to introductions to mindfulness, meditations and gratitude, participants were taken on a visual trip to Okinawa, Japan, home of the greatest aggregate of centenarians in the world. Researchers have studied the aging population in Okinawa for decades and learned that while they seem to live the longest, they also live the fullest and happiest. This is due to the concept of Ikigai. Ikigai translates to “reason to live.” Researchers have concluded the Okinawan people have a strong desire to live because they have a strong sense of purpose and a strong commitment to doing what makes them happy. Okinawans avoid societal pressures and dial in on identifying and feeding their inner needs to reach peace and happiness. Karen provided an opportunity for participants to identify their own Ikigais and provided short and long-term strategies to implement them into the retirement years.

The next installment in this series, “Stress Doesn’t Have to Be Stressful: Incorporating Jewish Values and Cognitive Behavioral Methods to Diminish Stress and Amplify Happiness,” will be on April 10 at 10 a.m. in the Stein Boardroom located at JFCS’s 6261 Dupont Station Court, 32217. Rabbi Nadia Siritsky, BCC, RSW will be the guest speaker and will discuss all things stress-related and learn valuable practices and techniques based in Jewish tradition.

Rabbi Nadia is a Reform rabbi and psychotherapist, who has served at several synagogues, most recently Temple Bet Yam in St. Augustine, and has extensive experience working in capacities including community-based counseling, hospice and palliative care, community organizing, health care leadership and administration and education. Her doctoral research is in compassion fatigue and burnout for health care workers. Rabbi Nadia is a second-generation Holocaust survivor, and is committed to doing everything possible with fighting prejudice and injustice in all of its forms.

On May 10 at 10 a.m., the group will take a different approach and embark on The Debrief, led by Nicole Andrews, MS. The Debrief is designed to be a group-led conversation about the previous experts, but to also delve deeper into how to apply this knowledge to our day to day lives in order to ensure we are living our best lives while also building a toolbox to tackle life’s challenges. We recognize our peers can provide a great deal of expertise and understanding that cannot be offered elsewhere and we will use this opportunity for peer discussion and support. Attending previous sessions of the “Expert Series” is not a prerequisite for attending the Debrief. We will also devote some time to discussing the types of experts desired by the group for future sessions.

Please email Nicole Andrews at nandrews@jfcsjax.org or visit our website at www.JFCSJax.org/Expert-Series for more information on “The Expert Series."

CAPTURING STORIES BY Word, Roots, and Seeds

Searching for Identity Five years ago, Searching For Identity presented “Focus on the 2nd Gen,” an insightful and revelatory program that addressed topics germane to the experiences of Holocaust survivors’ children and grandchildren. The panel featured Dr. Serena Bloomfield and Kathy Triebwasser, LCSW.

In commemoration of 2022 Yom Hazikaron laShoah velaGvurah, the following essay offers you a glimpse of the works created in the workshop, designed and created for the 2nd and 3rd Gen -Stacey Goldring, Searching For Identity Founder (SFI).

Roots and Seeds by Naomi Chase

She turns to twist the key in the lock. She clumsily braces herself, one knee against the door, the other supporting the heavily laden bags she has packed with dinner. Her dog tugs at his leash wrapped dangerously tight around her wrist. The lock clicks, she backs away from it, adjusts her burden. Then she sees it.

Her breath quickens, her eyes sting with hot tears. She lets go of the bags, the leash, the keys. She bends to see the broken vine bearing one dying blue morning glory and she begins to weep in huge, gasping sobs of horror and shock. Her grief defies logic. Its ferocity exceeds the boundaries of this seemingly inconsequential loss. "Who would do this?" Her voice shrill and implausibly plaintive. It's a plant, after all.

She looks at the vine, its single dying bloom the color of a Florida May sky. Its limp, darkening petals transform into claws that scrape at her memories. She has planted this glorious flower in each of the gardens of the six homes she's made over the last decade; a gesture of staying put, if only for a while. Her precious, undemanding Blue Morning Glory, fit to thrive in the poorest of soils, even periodic neglect.

Someone had pulled her Blue Morning Glory right out of the ground.

Her grief turns to anger. She recalls sitting at her desk earlier in the day, irritated by the sound of the landscaper's weed-wacker. No. The vine had been singled out for removal. She sees no one about. She can't bring herself to rashly accuse. Her heart is beating wildly and she wants to flee.

Her composure restored by compassion and a glass of wine, she leaves for a session with her Second Generation Holocaust Survivors’ writers group. She enters the room where two psychologists sit primly in their seats. Their faces are anxious, despite their training, their professional composure taxed by the group they face. The panel discussion tonight is to explore questions prepared in advance for these experts.

The first question practically assails her. The moderator reads the question anonymously from a card, "Why do I keep looking for survivors, even now, long after the hope of telling my father I found them is gone? Will it ever end?"

The psychologists' lips form mirthless, pained smiles. One speaks. "It is the human condition to seek connection, to form roots, to know one's origin and to have a sense of belonging." She doesn't hear the rest, for the pounding in her ears. She closes her eyes and imagines the stealth and the cruelty of the Morning Glory killer. The magnitude of the crime against her garden now creeps and expands like a vine around her heart. Her plant's death is the death of her father's entire family, the seeds it will no longer produce gone, like their names and stories, stolen by evil and reasonless brutality.

Her chest heaves. The woman in the chair to her left reaches for her shoulder. Their eyes meet. And in that single beautiful exchange she knows what she will do. She will start over. She will buy new seeds. She will leave this garden and plant a new one. It will never be the same, but what it represents will never die. Life goes on.

©copyright Naomi Chase and Searching For Identity 2022

“Roots and Seeds,” is an excerpt from SFI’s upcoming book, 2nd Gen Anthology. SFI’s work is made possible in part by Jewish Federation & Foundation of Northeast Florida allocation funding. For more info contact info@searchingforidentity.org or call (904)419-9915 35

B'NAI MITZVAH

REMEMBER THE PAST AND EDUCATE FOR THE FUTURE

Joseph Morgenthal for B'nai Tzedek, Chain of Memory, and Gift of Israel

Mazel Tov to Joseph Morgenthal on becoming a Bar Mitzvah! Through his participation in Chain of Memory he demonstrates the importance of remembering the past as well as educating the future. Chain of Memory makes it possible for B’nai Mitzvah to remember one of the 1.5 million children who were murdered by the Nazis before being able to fulfi ll the mitzvah of learning Torah. The B’nai Tzedek Program, with the support of Mel and Debbie Gottlieb, helps young people learn about leadership, service, fi nancial literacy, and long-term investing to use their tzedekah for good. The Gift of Israel Program, designed in cooperation with the Levin family, was established to encourage teens to visit Israel by providing them with a $700 subsidy towards an accredited travel program.

On March 5, Joseph (Joey) Morgenthal became a Bar Mitzvah at the Jacksonville Jewish Center. Joey attends the Martin J. Gottlieb Day School where his favorite subjects include math, science, and Israeli studies. In his free time, Joey enjoys playing football and basketball, as well as video games and his bass guitar. As part of the Center's B'nai Mitzvah program, Joey chose 13 mitzvot that engaged the family in strengthening their Jewish home, synagogue, and community including building a sukkah, attending morning and evening minyan, and studying Torah with his uncle Jack. Joey felt that constructing a sukkah with his uncle Alan and learning with his uncle Jack were the most meaningful because of the quality time they shared. Joey will also be donating a portion of his bar mitzvah gifts to help vulnerable Jews in Ukraine.

In gratitude for dedicating time to tutor Joey in preparation for his Bar Mitzvah, family members created the Jack Mizrahi Jewish Education Fund of the Jewish Foundation to honor Jack’s commitment to Jewish education. To give to Joey’s B’nai Tzedek Fund or The Jack Mizrahi Jewish Education Fund, please email your intent to Jennifer Rensch, Foundation Manager, at JenniferR@jewishjacksonville.org or call (904)224-1401.

Joey chose to dedicate his bar mitzvah to the memory of Josef Ajdelman. Josef Ajdelman was born on August 6, 1939. Prior to and during WWII he lived in Lodz, Poland. His name can be found on the list of Lodz ghetto inhabitants from the years 1940-1944. The overwhelming majority of the Jews imprisoned in this ghetto were murdered during the Shoah. Although his exact date of death is unable to be determined, it can be presumed that Josef would have been between the ages of one and fi ve during this time.

Joey Morgenthal at the Federation offi ce donating a portion of

37 his Bar Mitzvah gifts to the Extraordinary Ukraine Campaign.

NOSH ON THIS

SHARING RECIPES

PAREVE CHOCOLATE TORTE FOR PASSOVER

DIRECTIONS

By Margo Ruby, Margo's Catering

INGREDIENTS

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. 2. Melt chocolate chips and margarine in the microwave until smooth, then set aside to cool. 3. Using an electric mixer, whip together eggs and sugar until slightly thickened. 4. Add the potato starch and baking powder to the egg mixture. 5. Fold the cooled chocolate mixture into the egg mixture.

6. Pour into a greased and paper-lined spring form pan. 7. Bake at 300 degrees for approximately 45-60 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out with moist crumbs.

10in Round spring form pan 10oz Semi-sweet chocolate chips 1 Cup of margarine 5 Eggs 1 1/4 Cups of sugar 2 ½ TB Potato starch 1 ½ tsp. Baking powder

8. Let cool completely before removing it from the pan. 9. Top with powdered sugar, chocolate ganache, fresh berries, or whipped cream.

SEE & B E S CE N E

Women's Philanthropy recently held two Connections programs, events designed to bring together women throughout Northeast Florida to build camaraderie and educate on the work of the Federation. On March ��, Suzie Becker hosted over �� women in her beautiful home where they learned the history and relevance of Yiddish, while sipping on the "Shayna punim-tini" and the "chutzpa-tini". On April �, Andrea Mail and Jeanine Rogozinski hosted a group of women in an interactive and thought-provoking discussion revolving around their personal combination of involvement.

At Suzie's

From left to right: Dara Marsh, Suzie Becker, Eunice Zisser, Sherrie Saag, and Betsy Korzyniowski

Hosts, Andrea Mail and Jeanine Rogozinsk Guests, Efrat Harel and Natalie Halpern

L-R: Erin Rogozinski Weintraub, Jessica Kaye, Bonnie Yegidis and Samantha Holtzman

Mitzvah Makers joined together at the beautiful home of Nicole Brown to create toiletry bags for kids and teens in foster care through our partner, Jewish Family and Community Services. The items packaged were collected at the Women's Philanthropy Champagne Brunch. Thank you to those who donated items and to those who helped create the special bags.

L-R Michelle Pargman, Lauren Setzer, Rebecca Cooper, Ellen Cottrill, Samara Maloney, Marcy Sandler, Wendy Popkin, Jodi Seitlin, Nicole Brown, Emmett Brown, Grayson Brown, Gabrielle Levy, and Sandy Shapiro

Jodi Seitlin and Lauren Setzer Ellen Cottrill and Gabrielle Levi

Michelle Pargman and Marcy Sandler

Congregation Ahavath Chesed's Purim Carnival included games, art projects, facepainting and food. It was attended by almost 300 people and everyone had a blast.

Jacksonville Jewish Center's Purim event was a hit! Congregants dressed up, enjoyed festivities, and food.

A turtle, a lizard, and a snack creep into a gazebo…the Bernard & Alice Selevan Religious School enthusiastically welcomed special visitors from the Jacksonville Zoo! Students learned all about trees and the animals who depend on them to survive and thrive. We got “up close and personal” with the animals, and heard directly from educators from the Jacksonville Zoo.

SEE & BE SCENE

The GROW After School Enrichment Program, a project of Chabad of St. Johns, is where kids dive deep into their Jewishness and discover their Jewish pride. Each session consists of interactive Jewish learning that feature engineering, drama, art, cooking, dance and the unique Aleph Champ Hebrew reading workshop. For more info contact Dini Sharfstein at email Dini@JewishSJohnsCounty.com or call (904) 701-4422

The Jewish Womens Circle is a place where local Jewish connect, regardless of background or affiliation. It's where we make a new friends and leave a little more inspired as a Jewish woman living in St. Johns County. The event pictured is called Charcuterie & Champagne, where we designed charcuterie boards, and took fruit personality tests to celebrate Tu B'shvat, the new year for trees!

At the Bernard & Alice Selevan Religious School, we got ready for Purim by baking hamantaschen and learning about the customs and mitzvot of the holiday. We look forward to preparing for Passover after Spring Break.

Enrollment for the 2022-2023 school year coming soon. Contact info@basrs.org for more information!

Some joined in person and some joined from home, but everyone kicked off Purim making delicious hamantaschen! The Jewish Federation & Foundation of Northeast Florida, JCA, and PJ Library feel very fortunate to collaborate on special programming like this one for our community. This partnership program was done in conjunction with Etz Chaim Synagogue. Save the date for our next one, in honor of Shavuot with an ice cream social, at Beth El- the Beaches Synagogue on June 5, 2022!

WORTH THE SCHLEP

JCA Chocolate Seder for Passover April 19 11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. 8505 San Jose Blvd.

Please register by visiting https://jcajax-rec.force.com/s/login or by calling (904) 730-2100 ext. 228.

“There is Another Way” - The Story of Adina and Eli Tal April 20 7:00 - 8:00 p.m. 8505 San Jose Blvd.

Register by visiting jcajax.org or by calling (904) 730-2100 ext. 228.

JCA Diabetes Empowerment Education Program Apr 19, 26, May 3, 10, 17 and 24 12:00 - 2:00 p.m. 8505 San Jose Blvd.

Free to the community! For more information, please contact Rachel Sandler at rachel.sandler@jcajax.org or (904) 730-2100 ext. 271.

JCA Murray Hill History and Mural Tour April 20 9 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. 8505 San Jose Blvd.

For more information, please contact Laura Anderson at laura.anderson@jcajax.org.

JCA Understanding Alzheimer’s and Dementia April 21 11:45 - 1:00 p.m. 8505 San Jose Blvd.

For more information, please contact Rachel Sandler at rachel.sandler@ jcajax.org or (904) 730-2100 ext. 271.

Drive-in Movie Night at Beth El the Beaches! April 23 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. 288 N. Roscoe Blvd Ponte Vedra Beach, 32082

Visit https://bethelbeaches.org for more information.

Congregation Ahavath Chesed Parent-and-Me Playdate! April 24 9:30 - 11:00 a.m. 8727 San Jose Blvd.

RSVP to: Garad@thetemplejax.org

JCA Israel Film Series April 25 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. 8505 San Jose Blvd.

For more information, please contact Rachel Sandler at rachel.sandler@jcajax.org or (904) 730-2100 ext. 271.

Reconceiving Infertility April 26 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. 8540 Baycenter Rd.

This program is free and open to the community. Register at https://events.idonate.com/ ReconceivingInfertility

Community-Wide Yom Ha'Ashoah Observance April 27 7:00 a.m. 8727 San Jose Blvd.

Congregation Ahavath Chesed Anti-Semitism on Campus May 1 10 a.m. 8727 San Jose Blvd.

RSVP jacksonvillehadassah@gmail.com and indicate whether you are attending the breakfast and program or program. There will be a breakfast prepared by the Temple Brotherhood at 10 AM. The deadline for breakfast reservations is April 28. The program is free; the cost of breakfast is $10 at the door.

PJ Library and Chabad of St. Johns Challah Bake May 1 3:00 - 6:00 p.m. Durbin Creek Elementary School 4100 Racetrack Road St. Johns, FL 32259

For more information, contact Melissa Williams at mgwilliams@jfcsjax.org or visit http://www.jfcsjax.org

Torah Academy: A Holocaust Documentary Project May 1 5:30 - 6:30 p.m. Jewish Family & Community Services 8540 Baycenter Rd.

Please RSVP by April 25 to blazor@torah-academy.com

JFCS Holocaust Memorial Gallery Tour May 2 10 a.m. 8540 Baycenter Rd.

For more information visit jcajax.org

Yom Ha’Zikaron Ceremony -Israeli Memorial Day May 3 6:30 - 8:00 p.m. Jewish Community Alliance 8505 San Jose Blvd.

For more information visit jcajax.org

YPF Quarterly Cocktails May 5 5:45 - 6:30 p.m. JCA Donzinger Library 8505 San Jose Blvd.

For more information, contact Faye Hedrick at fayeh@jewishjacksonville.org

Yom Ha’Atzmaut Comedy Show May 5 7:00 p.m. 8505 San Jose Blvd.

For more information visit jcajax.org

Temple Bet Yam's Pizza and Bingo Night for the Entire Community May 7 6:00 - 10:00 p.m. 2055 Wildwood Dr. St. Augustine, FL

For more information contact Jacqueline Witte at jackie1701@gmail.com

WORTH THE SCHLEP

Tuesdays Together: Community, Conversation, & Coff ee May 10 10:00 a.m. 8540 Baycenter Rd.

For more information, contact Faye Hedrick at fayeh@jewishjacksonville. org

PJ Library Jewel Society Event May 12 7:30 - 9:00 p.m. Location TBA

For more information contact Melissa Williams at mgwilliams@jfcsjax

Yom Ha’Azmaut Community Celebration May 15 12:00 - 3:00 p.m. Beth Shalom Park 3662 Crown Point Rd.

For more information email Stav Brener at jaxshlichut@jewishjacksonville.org

Society of Healers: "How to be an Expert Witness" May 17 6:30 - 8:00 p.m.

For more information contact Faye Hedrick at fayeh@jewishjacksonville.org

Jacksonville Jewish Center Lag B'Omer Music, Menschs and Mitzvot May 22 12:00 - 4:00 p.m. 3662 Crown Point Rd.

For more information visit https://www.jaxjewishcenter.org/engage/ full-calendar

Society of Healers: "What to do if You're the Defense" May 24 6:30 - 8:30 p.m.

For more information, contact Faye Hedrick at fayeh@jewishjacksonville.org

May Women's Philanthropy Connections! May 25 12:30 - 2:30 p.m.

For more information contact Lauren Rickoff at laurenr@jewishjacksonville.org

JCA Clergy in a Circle May 26 7:00 - 8:00 p.m. 8500 San Jose Blvd.

Free to the community Please register by visiting https://jcajax-rec.force.com/s/login/ or by calling (904) 730-2100 ext. 228. For more information, please contact Rachel Sandler at rachel.sandler@jcajax.orgor (904) 730-2100 ext. 271.

COMMUNITY RESOURCES HELP ACROSS NORTHEAST FLORIDA

River Garden is the go-to resource for high-quality adult care in Jacksonville. Honoring our Jewish traditions, the dedicated staff , leadership and volunteers are all committed to a best-in-class experience. Whether it is for you, your spouse, parents or friend, be sure to request River Garden.

Admissions (904) 886-8420 Adult Day (904) 288-7858 Home Health Care (904) 288-7851 Outpatient Rehab (904) 886-8454 The Coves (904) 292-2683 Volunteers (904) 886-8429 Foundation (904) 886-8430 MAIN (904) 260-1818 Through a partnership with GO GO Grandparent and a grant from the Community Foundation for Northeast Florida, JFCS is now off ering immediate rides through our Call2Go program. Riders will no longer have to call to book transportation. They will now be able to use an "on demand" service available at their fi ngertips! GO GO Grandparent will have booking agents available 24/7. When a client calls, the agent will book, monitor and stay available to the client until the ride is complete. Riders MUST pre-register with Nicole Brown at (904) 394-5724 and have a cell phone (texting is not necessary) to use this service.

Call2Go is available to those in need of transportation to attend synagogue, medical appointments and other important outings. A sliding fee scale is available. Don't be deceived by the name...you don't have to be a grandparent to use the program. Call Nicole today!

JEWISH FEDERATION & FOUNDATION STAFF

Mariam Shpeen Feist Chief Executive Offi cer mariamf@jewishjacksonville.org

Stav Brener Community Shaliach jaxshlichut@jewishjacksonville.org

Pat Burke Director, Finance & Administration patrickb@jewishjacksonville.org

Amy Lyn D'Alesio Freelance Graphic Designer

Faye Hedrick Director, Young Professionals & Families fayeh@jewishjacksonville.org

Rachel Heiser Campaign & Donor Relations Coordinator rachelh@jewishjacksonville.org

Jennifer Rensch Foundation Manager jenniferr@jewishjacksonville.org

Lauren Rickoff Director, Campaign & Women’s Philanthropy laurenr@jewishjacksonville.org

Kellie Smith Director, Foundation kelliek@jewishjacksonville.org

Zahni Thuzar Marketing Manager zahnit@jewishjacksonville.org

JFCS, in partnership with Margo's Catering, is pleased to bring you our meal program Meals4You. Meals are delicious, nutritious, convenient and delivered right to your door. Jewish dietary laws are observed. Call Nicole Andrews at (904) 394-5810 for more information. TORAH ACADEMY

Searching for identity hosts writing OF JACKSONVILLE Every Tuesday from 3:15 to 4:15, Torah Academy hosts a free kosher food program sponsored by the USDA for children under 18. The program helps provide food during these trying times. For more info, contact shorowitz@torah-academy.com. workshops for second and third generation holocaust survivors. Meet monthly in a confi dential and judgement-free setting, in-person/ online, to explore experiences, capture important stories and explore identity. RSVP at www. searchingforidentity.org/writingworkshops. 47

8505 San Jose Blvd Jacksonville, FL 32217

NONPROFIT U.S. POSTAGE PAID JACKSONVILLE, FL PERMIT NO. 146