My mother was a feminist before her time. She was an activist, and she taught me the importance of being an independent woman, as well as the importance of family.
She also impressed upon me the values of achieving my own goals, and being my own person. She did all of this within a Jewish context.
My father was a Holocaust survivor and a rabbi. I feel a real responsibility to carry the torch of remembering the Holocaust, and teaching it to the next generation, and remembering my father, who devoted his life to building bridges and teaching Judaism.
I live my life by the Jewish values taught to me by my parents, handed down from generation to generation.
I am present — hineni — with the work I do with our aging adults at Chai Point Senior Living and the Adult Day Programs because I feel that by giving them my full attention and my full focus I am making a difference for tikkun olam (repair of the world).
I’m present because I want to continue the legacy of my parents being present for their Jewish communities by making a difference, and my husband, Dean, and I try to teach that to our children. Together we pass on these important values.
When I interact with our residents, I feel totally present with them. I give them my total attention. I try to listen to them and be empathetic; respect all of them and learn from them by being present with them.
This is not just a job, it’s a calling. Hineni, I am here, I make a difference in this community, by helping people live to their fullest potential, and that’s all guided by Jewish values.
I’ve done that in all of the Jewish agencies I’ve worked in, whether it was with the teens at BBYO, or seniors and families at the Harry & Rose Samson Family Jewish Community Center, or here at Chai Point and the Adult Day Center.
I am present for the community — our community. I believe I am working to keep the community stronger, teaching my kids, encouraging them to go to Israel and stay connected to the community.
Dean and I are so proud of the choices our children have made in their spouses, and in how they conduct their lives. They have integrated Jewish values and the concept of hineni into their lives by their career choices.
Our son is an environmental attorney who devotes his career to making sure the environment is safe for future generations. Our daughter teaches teenagers self-awareness and teaches teen boys how to prevent domestic violence.
Now that I am a grandmother, with a grandson and a granddaughter, I want to be present for them and continue to give them the values that have come to me through our family, to be passed on from generation to generation.
Our heritage is valuable to us all, and it is here for us, and for them, as it is for us all. I am here for my children and grandchildren and community as my parents were here for me.
Deborah Rosenthal Zemel, MSW, is director of Chai Point Senior Living.
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