The event hadn’t even started, but Florence (“Flossie”) Holzman had already pronounced it the best Koach event she had attended.
Or at least, she was confident it would be. Featured speakers at the Nov. 30 lunchtime program were Archbishop Timothy Dolan, head of Milwaukee’s Catholic Archdiocese, and Rabbi Ronald Shapiro, senior rabbi of Congregation Shalom, where the event was taking place.
Holzman had heard the two before at a Friday night service at the synagogue, she told The Chronicle, so she knew what to expect.
But this wasn’t the only reason that Holzman, a retired Milwaukee County court clerk, enjoys coming to programs run by Koach, which provides lectures and discussions for adults. “The programs are so good and diversified,” she said. “They make your mind think.”
Moreover, “you get to see a lot of people,” Holzman said. Indeed, there were an exceptional number of people at this event — 250, according to Koach director Diane Sobel.
Most of them, like Holzman, are retirees. Ethel and Alan Lieberthal of Fox Point, for example, are a retired medical technologist and physician, respectively.
They said that while they “don’t go to everything,” they have attended many Koach events and “pretty much enjoy them all,” especially the “intellectually meaty things,” said Ethel.
But not all are retirees. Harold Keene of Shorewood works “for a company that does background checks,” yet has taken time from his day to attend Koach events for about three years.
He said he enjoys being “here with Jewish people,” and “I get to see people I haven’t seen for a while.” Plus “the entertainment is good and the programs are stimulating,” he said.
‘In perfect harmony’
It is a tempting pun to say that Koach, which was five years old this past May, is still going “strong,” as its name is the Hebrew word for “strength.”
And that’s an accurate description, said Sobel as she explained the program’s origins.
The idea arose from a conversation between Jay R. Roth, president of the Harry & Rose Samson Family Jewish Community Center, and Rabbi Paul Kerbel, the previous spiritual leader of Congregation Beth Israel.
According to Mona Cohen, JCC program director, JCC officials had been talking about transferring its Senior Center, which was “not reaching the [intended] population,” to the Jewish Home and Care Center.
While this didn’t officially happen until 2003, Roth and Kerbel “decided we should have a community adult program that would include all the synagogues and the JCC,” said Sobel, who has been working for the JCC in various capacities since 1993.
Moreover, Sobel continued, the organizers envisioned “a more contemporary version of the old Senior Center model, looking for a new way to engage senior adults.”
One important mechanism for doing this was the organization’s advisory board, which Sobel said is “instrumental in planning the programs.”
The board of 20 comprises senior adult representatives appointed by the six synagogues involved — Beth El Ner Tamid Synagogue; Congregations Beth Israel, Emanu-El B’ne Jeshurun, Shalom and Sinai; and Temple Menorah.
Estelle and Mort Swerdlow are past and current board members, respectively, representing Beth Israel. He is a former police officer, she a former medical technician. They said they were involved with Koach from its beginning.
“We felt there was a need for an organization to get everybody together from the six synagogues,” said Estelle. And she enjoys the enthusiasm of the people who attend the events, she said.
These events have included musical and theatrical performances; lectures by scholars and journalists; and, so far, one trip to Chicago. Sobel said that “at least” 150 people attend the events on average, including “as many men as women.”
Sobel said the events are usually held at all the participating synagogues and at the JCC, in turn. This year, because of remodeling projects, Beth Israel, Sinai and the JCC didn’t host many Koach events, but the program will return once the projects are finished, Sobel said.
Indeed, the cooperation between the JCC and the synagogues seems to be a point of special pleasure for Sobel. “They work in perfect harmony,” she said.
Koach programs usually take place at noon. Participants must make reservations, due the Monday before each program; and lunch is served. Admission is $7.
For reservations or more information, call Sobel at the JCC, 414-967-8258.
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