Many Jewish community institutions, in their effort to engage young people, make the mistake of viewing older people merely “as someone who can write a check.”
But Rabbi Richard Address of Congregation M’kor Shalom in Cherry Hill, N.J., regards this attitude as a profound mistake. In fact, he sees a focus on aging adults as a sacred responsibility.
He spoke about “The Importance of Community in Healthy Aging” to an audience of about 40 on Feb. 28 at Chai Point Senior Living, an independent and assisted living community on Milwaukee’s east side. He was in town to serve as scholar-in-residence at Congregation Sinai in Fox Point.
Address suggested that Jewish institutions focus more on providing a community for the aging population. “Community — that is, the need for relationships and connections with others — becomes the most important aspect of our lives as we age,” he said.
His theory of “sacred aging” begins at the beginning, specifically in Genesis 1:26: “And God created man in his own image.”
“Just by the fact of our creation, by our mere existence, we have dignity, worth and sanctity, elements that become more important as we age,” said Address.
He developed his theory of sacred aging during his 33-year career at the Union for Reform Judaism. The URJ’s sacred aging program evolved as a way of helping synagogues respond to the “massive demographic changes that are taking place right now in the American Jewish community.”
The American Jewish population is “greying” faster than the general population due to increasing longevity combined with non-Orthodox Jews having too few children to replace themselves, said Address.
People of all ages can feel “a sense of existential aloneness even when they are surrounded by 30,000 people at Miller ballpark,” said Address.
He carefully distinguished between most people’s need to be alone at times to restore themselves and the sense of being “totally, unalterably alone.” The latter often becomes more intense as people grow closer to “the ultimate aloneness of death.”
The remedy for aloneness in aging adults is being in a community “surrounded by people, going to services, studying Torah, eating together,” said Address. “By being involved with other people, your life takes on greater definition and greater meaning.”
Address noted that the aging population is increasingly dynamic as people are living longer. A baseball fan, Address told the audience, “I am willing to bet my Phillies tickets, worthless as they may be, that you can tell dramatic stories of how your experience aging is different from that of your parents and grandparents.”
The need to pay attention to the dynamic aging population has not gone unnoticed by the Milwaukee Jewish community. The Milwaukee Jewish Federation has engaged a task force to determine how to meet the needs of the local aging Jewish population today and into the future.
The task force consists of top professionals from three MJF partner agencies: the Harry & Rose Samson Family Jewish Community Center, Jewish Family Services and the Jewish Home & Care Center.
“We began by learning what services each agency currently provides to the many different populations of older adults — from homebound seniors to seniors with special needs,” said Peter Blair, associate executive director at the JCC, whose goal, he added, is “partnering to build a healthier Milwaukee.”
“Fortunately, we found that, between the three agencies, a wide range of services are available to nearly all of the populations with virtually no unnecessary duplication of programs,” said Blair.
While the task force’s research shows that services are available, it also shows that many seniors are not accessing these services. Deborah Rosenthal Zemel, administrator of Chai Point, attributes this gap to a lack of awareness and to insufficient transportation.
“A big challenge for the agencies on this task force is transportation: buying, operating and maintaining vans, as well as employing safe and responsible drivers,” said Zemel. “We are identifying different ways to bring people to services but also to bring services to people.”
The task force also looked at future needs — not just the need for more services but also for different services as baby boomers continue to age.
“Services for the tech-savvy next generation of seniors will likely incorporate more technology,” said Jim Welsh, vice president of clinical and case management services at Jewish Family Services. “We think technology will play a role both in how we deliver services and in what services we provide.”
Using technology to bring communities of seniors together is one strategy discussed by the task force.
“We might be able to expand services by using software designed for business webinars to create interactive programs for seniors,” said Welsh. “Personal technology can be isolating for individuals, but technology can also be used to connect groups of individuals to each other.”
Software would enable communities of seniors from across the city to participate, for example, in Rabbi Address’s lecture and the ensuing discussion.
Another significant challenge is awareness. Said Mona Cohen, director of adult services at the JCC: “One of the next steps for our task force is exploring how to make seniors and their children more aware of the programs and services that currently exist.”
The task force ultimately will present an action plan and a brief report at the conclusion of its work.
Stephanie Wagner is vice president of communications and strategy for the Milwaukee Jewish Federation. She staffs the organization’s Task Force on the Aging Population.
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