Thank you to all the residents who have contributed to this

month’s edition of the Lester Chronicle.

If you have an article, work of art, expressive writing etc. that

you would like to share with your fellow residents and see in

the newsletter, please contact Cheryl at 973-929-2731

Congratulations

To all dads and grads, brides and grooms

Happy celebration this month of June!

Weddings, parties, picnics and barbeques

Gifts, checks and cash welcome too.

It’s your month to shine, glimmer and glisten,

on with the festivities, we’re ready to see and listen!

Beware!!

Be careful of sharp objects, they can do you in

Power lawn mowers or a tiny safety pin!

One small movement, one wrong turn

You will feel the pain of the burn.

Knives that are sharp, scissors that shear,

clippers that come too close to your ear.

Needles and pins that catch on your finger,

the pain is sharp, it seems to linger.

Screws that get you on the thumb

when the hammer falls upside down.

The pliers that pull things apart,

the electric drill that you got you in the butt!

The little pen knife that does no harm, it went and got

stuck in your arm,

It is dripping gobs of blood everywhere..

These are some cutting devices and tools

Stop, look and beware-don’t take chances

Don’t be a fool!

By: Bea Freihieter, Weston Resident

If you would like any

information about Lester

Senior Housing, please call

David Rozen

at 973-929-2725

Fathers Day Did You Know??

* Did you know that the concept of

Father’s Day was first proposed in 1909

by Washingtonian native Mrs. John B.

Dodd? Her inspiration for the holiday was

to honor her own father, William Smart, a

Civil War veteran and single dad, widowed

when his wife died in childbirth with their

sixth child.

* Did you know that Mrs. Dodd’s vision did

not become reality until 63 years later?

In 1966, President Lyndon Johnson signed

a presidential proclamation declaring the

3rd Sunday of June as Fathers Day.

COVER STORYCOVER STORY

BIRTHDAYSBIRTHDAYS

NOTES & NOTES &

REMINDERSREMINDERS

ADMINISTRATOR’S ADMINISTRATOR’S

CORNERCORNER

NEW RESIDENT NEW RESIDENT

WELCOMESWELCOMES

CREATIVE CREATIVE

WRITING CORNERWRITING CORNER

The Lester Chronicle

I ns id e th i s i s su e :I ns id e th i s i s su e :

T H E L E S T E R

S E N I O R H O U S I N G

C O M M U N I T Y

9 0 5 R O U T E 1 0 E A S T

W H I P P A N Y N J

0 7 9 8 1

9 7 3 - 9 2 9 - 2 7 0 0

Highlights at Lester

J

U

N

E

2015

Residents, from left: Lila Velinsky, Herman

Goldman, Sarah Grow, Bernard Lakritz, Pearl

Barell & Randy Grossberg on Memorial Day

At Left:

Singer, Russ

Martone

with Mira

Pratt during

May concert

Above: Resident, Edith Stiller enjoying

visitor from the Chabad Cheder. Below,

Pearl Barell with students from the Cheder

At Left: Cantor Janet Roth after a Lester Life

Long Learning Session with residents, from

top left Polyann Fluke, Helen Gisser, Estelle

Berger Seated: Sylvia Leiken & Janet Appel

P a g e 2

June

Birthdays

T h e L e s t e r C h r o n i c l e

From the Desk of the Administrator………… Summer has definitely arrived and it is a

pleasure to see you walking the grounds, sitting

outdoors and just enjoying the pleasant weather.

Please see your calendar for all the upcoming

June events scheduled.

One event that I am especially excited about is

our yearly BBQ which will be held Sunday June

28, 2015. It will have a patriotic theme so please

wear your red, white and blue. Many exciting

activities are planned. We are requesting that

reservations for yourselves and family members

be made by June 19th 2015. Please see the posted

flyers for more information.

As many of you have heard some great things

are planned for our community. To further

understand these plans we would like to welcome

you to an informational session to introduce

you to Mr. Vincent A. Myers, President of

DIGroup Architecture.

DIGroup Architecture will provide us with the

plan to develop designs for possible upgrades

at Lester Senior Housing Community.

The one hour sessions have been scheduled for

Friday, June 5th, 2015- in the

Heller Multipurpose Room, 2nd Floor.

Independent Living Residents meeting will

begin at 1 PM.

Weston Assisted Living Residents meeting will

begin at 2:30 PM.

Hope to see you there.

Please know that my door is always open and I

welcome any discussion of concerns with

residents, family members and staff.

Have a great month.

Marlene Glass

Administrator

Administrator’s Corner

Lillian Robinson

Miriam Kellner

Isaac Goldman

Richard Fishbein

Pearl Schiff

Sophie Fishbein

Marilyn Rubin

Nathaniel Selwyn

June Miller

Annette Weinstein

Elsie Zurkoff

Lucille Antell

Norman Ilkowitz

Harriet Novak

To all of our residents

who are celebrating their

birthdays this month we

would like to wish you

peace and blessings,

this year and always

from the staff at Lester.

Welcome New Residents

To all of Lester’s new residents, we

would like to wish you a warm welcome

and Bruchim Haba’im

Eleanor Baker

Anne Krass

Sylvia Hodosh

Norman Fately

Estelle Taffel

Shirley Kartzman

P a g e 7

T h e L e s t e r C h r o n i c l e

.

Hi All! I know you share with me the excitement that warm weather brings. June is scheduled to be a

great month full of wonderfully informative, uplifting and entertaining activities. We have some very

interesting speakers scheduled this month, including Dr. Hannit Zimrin, founder of ELI, The Israel

Association for Child Protection. She was selected in 1996 to be the professional head of the Israeli

Mission to the United Nations General Assembly and has served as an advisor in the framework of the

Middle East Peace talks. Please join her on Tuesday, June 9th as she speaks about her incredible career.

Oscar Israelowitz will be at Lester on Thursday, June 4th to present on “Jewish New Jersey in Vintage

Photographs”. Thelma Borodkin will be speaking this month on Friday, June 26th on the topic:

“Judah & Tamar, Illicit Affair Or??? .We have our Siyum on tap for this month, however, it will not be

held on June 10th, as indicated on the calendar (sorry, it went to print prior to the change). We are

planning a wonderful ceremony to acknowledge all of you who have attended Lester Life Long Learning

this year, as well as the educators, and those who have sponsored this wonderful program. I will let you

know the date as soon as it becomes available. Father’s Day is June 21st and we have something special

planned for all the dads (can’t tell you what it is-it’s a surprise!). I know how much the men enjoy the Men’s

Club, so we have added an extra men's’ program to the calendar. In addition to the two wonderful

programs that Paul runs, now Jeff (of trivia with Jeff) will be running an additional one each month. Look

for him on Monday June 15th, I know you will really enjoy him. Our BIG annual BBQ is being planned for Sunday, June 28th. Flyers around the building have all the

details. Please note that each resident can invite up to 6

guests. There is a charge of $5.00 per guest, and of course,

the residents are free! Please see the box below for a

special announcement. ‘hope to see you there.

Have a wonderful month, stay safe, and see you around,

Cheryl

The Humor Column

A man was walking his dog when a jogger ap-

proached, admired the dog, and asked its

name. The man said, “I’m afraid I have a bit

of a problem remembering names. Perhaps

you can help me. What do you call that kind

of bush with the thorns and the big red

flowers?” The jogger said, “ A rose?” The

dog’s owner said, “Yes! That’s it! He then

turned towards his house and shouted to his

wife, “Hey Rose! What’s our dog’s name?”

A well-known chef bought several cases of

carp. Endeavoring to create a new

signature dish, he tried combining herbs and

spices with shortening but found that the

cooking time had to be exact. So when the

chef received a phone call during the dinner

hour, he had to cut it short,

explaining, “I left my carp in saffron Crisco.”

Special Presentation

Meet with The Architect:

Future Plans for Lester Senior Housing:

Friday, June 5th. In the Heller Multipurpose Room

1:00 PM Heller Residents

2:30 PM Weston Residents

P a g e 6

T h e L e s t e r C h r o n i c l e

Naomi’s Rhyme Time

The Thrill

I’m always able to get a thrill,

Hearing the love song,

“Blueberry Hill”

But to my heart’s great surprise,

Something special before my eyes.

This time my special thrill,

Watching a growing Daffodil.

The earth was dark and damp and cold,

But a small green stem would soon unfold.

It grew slowly, thin and tall,

I wondered, would a stem be all?

It grew and added leaves of green,

Then the start of beauty yet unseen.

Golden petals made a flower,

Growing more beautiful with each hour.

Wind and cold and pelting rain,

Did not end beauty’s refrain.

More stems and petals, blossoms bright,

A beautiful, heartwarming sight.

Dotting the landscape, flowers of gold,

Bring smiles and joy untold.

Songs of love I remember still,

Now to the thrill of the Daffodil.

Entertainment:

June 3rd: Mike Fishtyn, Pianist

June 7th: Steve Minzer & his Jazz Duo

June 14th: Tom Aalfs, Violinist

June 17th: The Atomic Duo on the Patio

June 21st: Piano Recital

June 24th: Ronni Aiello at the

Birthday Bash

June 28th: Lester Annual BBQ: with

entertainment by Alice Leon and

the Moderately Bright Four

Trips:

June 1st: “Baby It’s You” -Concert at the W.

Orange JCC

June 8th: JCHC University:

at B’nai Brith Bldg. S. Orange

“How Mindfulness Can Make You

Happy”

June 11th: JCHC University: at

Jewish Federation Bldg.

W. Orange

“Presentation on Dance”

June 14th: Movie & Dinner Outing

June 22nd: JCHC University:

at Jewish Federation Plaza

“The Culture of Cambodia”

June Trips & Entertainment

Please sign up for trips with the Heller Concierge;

Check Calendar for details.

Naomi Zaslow is a resident in the Weston Assisted Living

Apartments. She lives there with her husband, Harry.

P a g e 3

T h e L e s t e r C h r o n i c l e

“Lester Legacies” by Naomi Zaslow, Lester Resident

Miriam (Mira) Pratt, was born in Warsaw, Poland in 1930. The marriage of her parents had been arranged

and they first met at their wedding ceremony. Her father, a “Yeshiva Bucher” was 18, her mother was 20. Her

brother was born in 1932 and another sister after WWII. In 1934 her father decided to make “Aliyah” to Pales-

tine, although his father, devoutly religious, objected. They made a visit to Poland but remained in

Palestine.

Mira’s father had no profession and tried and failed at several businesses, with funds provided by his mother.

He then worked at road building, tree planting and whatever would keep the family going. They lived in

various communities, according to their means. Mira attended a religious school and then a private high

school funded by German Jews. The school was blocks from the beach, with no rules or strict oversight, and

the pleasant philosophy of the importance of being free.

She volunteered in the Youth Haganah before being conscripted into service after graduation. She worked as

a wireless operator in the Navy and remembers the joy of being young and courageous working on a small

boat in the Gaza area. Shells going off overhead were part of the exhilarating experience. The British were in

control and imposed laws and curfews. They came to her home, searched it thoroughly, including the

grounds and took her father to Latrun prison, along with Ben Gurion and other important leaders. He was

later released.

In 1948 the dream of have a State of Israel became a reality, the streets teemed with celebrants and the

raising of the Israeli flag brought delirious joy to everyone. Mira was stationed at the Israeli Navy

Headquarters from midnight till morning and remembers going to the beach to rejoice, hitchhiking home

before being discharged.

Mira began training as a teacher and one day on the beach in Tel Aviv she met a “very handsome, athletic,

different, tanned, blue-eyed young man”. He came from Poland after being smuggled out of the ghetto

during WWII. In 1948 he decided he wanted “to die for Israel” and volunteered to the Palmach kibbutz unit.

During a fun game in the water with other young couples, Mira was perched on his very broad shoulders.

They were married one month later.

Her mother-in-law was imprisoned in various concentration camps during the Holocaust and no one knew

she had survived. Her father in law had been saved by a Christian woman, whom he married. His first wife

emigrated to America and was anxious for her only son, Mira’s husband, to join her. He was having difficulty

adjusting to all that was taking place in Israel and persuaded Mira to transfer to the United States. Mira

continued to work as a teacher, and taught Hebrew. Her husband worked and studied engineering. He

became a chemical engineer for the State of New Jersey, concentrating on air pollution.

They had two children, a daughter trained in business and computers and a son who majored in computer

science at MIT, where he was a professor and now at DARPA, a government research group. She has six

grandchildren.

Mira came to Lester due to her husband’s failing health 3 1/2 years ago. He has since passed away. Mira is

very grateful for the support provided by her children. “I am happy be living among my own people, sharing

our history, and the many activities with nice people at Lester”.

P a g e 4

T h e L e s t e r C h r o n i c l e

THE USA AND THE JEWS By Thelma L. Borodkin, PhD

This land, the great USA, has been a haven for our people ever since the first Jews arrived at what was then Nieuw Amsterdam in 1654. Unfettered and freed from periodic pogroms, random murders, blood libels and other inconveniences that sent shockwaves throughout the Jewish community, our people have achieved great professional, educational, political, financial and social levels.

Yet this “goodness” that we have experienced here has nevertheless led to problems in the Jewish community. While we have been largely accepted with a minimum of ever-present anti-Semitism, our community has paid a heavy price in exchange. The rates of assimilation and intermarriage are very high and preserving their Jewish identity has proven to be a huge problem for many of our young people today.

Interestingly enough, this is not a new difficulty for us. In biblical times, our forefather Abraham is recorded as the first to confront his own ethnic identity and his membership in the larger Hittite community in Kiryat Arba, today’s Hebron in Canaan.

When his beloved wife Sarah died, Abraham needed a place to bury her. Genesis, chapter 23 describes how Abraham handled the process of arranging for a burial place for her in the Cave of the Machpelah. It was common at that time to bury the dead in caves. Abraham approached the Hittites to buy a suitable burial site. The Hittites were very impressed with Abraham for they viewed his material success as a sign that G-d regarded him with favor. They first offered him the site gratis, mentioning the purchase price in the course of conversation. But Abraham insisted on paying for the land, and, when he approached the Hittites, he said, “ANI GER V’TOSHAV IMAKHEM.” I AM BOTH A STRANGER AND A CITIZEN AMONG YOU. GER comes from the verb LAGUR, which means a temporary resident. TOSHAV comes from the verb LASHEVET, which means a permanent resident. The Bible translates TOSHAV as resident alien. What is the real meaning of this oxymoron? Does it mean that Abraham had a green card? It means, according to Rabbi Joseph Solovechick, that Abraham considered himself a citizen of the country with all the rights and obligations of a citizen but with the understand-ing that differences did exist with respect to religious practices, customs, and history. There was a difference in ethnicity between the Hittites and Abraham.

Ethnicity can be defined as membership in a group that shares a common cultural heritage, common ancestry, language, religion, history and land. Abraham’s vision of this desired status of Jews did not occur very often in our history. Two of these positive examples were the Golden Age in Spain and the Silver Age in the towns along the Rhine during the age of Rashi. Of course, we American Jews, are experiencing the high point today where Jews are not only accepted but even admired. Jewish survival in the Diaspora depends upon our existence within two red lines. 1) Jews living apart in security and 2) Rabbi Solovechick’s interpretation of GER V’TOSHAV (resident alien). If either of these lines is crossed, if the cocoon unravels as it did when the Russian Empire conquered Poland in 1795, and they unknowingly inherited a million unwelcome Jews, Russia then employed draconian methods to rid themselves of the Jews. Those methods included government-initiated and sanctioned pogroms, forced conversions, and conscription of young boys into the army for 25 years.

Crossing the other red line produces the erosion of the Jewish component of the Jewish-American and the aforementioned decimation of the Jewish community. Clearly, there is a need for the Jewish community to become proactive in the preservation of our Jewish young. We need to do more work with our adolescents who are beginning to think about their place in the future. We have done a wonderful job teaching the holocaust. Now we need to focus on the second major event of the 20th century: the rebirth of the state of Israel. What does Israel mean to us, as Jews, and what does Israel mean to the world?

These and related issues must be addressed, programs need to be planned and, most important, our young people must be involved in the maintenance of their Judaism. Thelma Borodkin is a Heller resident

P a g e 5

T h e L e s t e r C h r o n i c l e

Life Cycle Kiddush

will be on

Celebrate a Simcha, Observe a Yahrzeit;

June 13th & 27th

For those attending Shabbat morning services,

Kiddushim will be immediately following.

If you have not already filled out a Yahrtzeit information

form, please contact Estelle Berger, Rae Benet, or

Dr. Mervin Eisenberg (for Heller residents),

or Bea Freiheiter, Teddy Halpern or Helen Heller

(for Weston residents).

Lester Congregation

Corner Cultural Arts Series

June Features:

Tuesday, June 2nd

“Judy Garland The Concert Years”

& Tuesday, June 16th

“David Hockney: A Bigger Picture”

Showing in the Heller Multipurpose Room at 7 P.M.

JCHC Tribute Cards

Send cards to family and friends and support the JCHC

Get Well cards /Mazel Tov cards

In Memoriam cards/Blank cards

Cards can be purchased at the Business office or call

Marcia at (973) 530-3966

Total Hearing Care of Morristown has been making monthly

site visits to Lester.

TOTAL HEARING CARE OFFERS:

FREE Complete Evaluation of Your Hearing

FREE Cleanings and Checks of Your Hearing Aids

FREE On-Site Monthly Visits

The next Hearing Screening is scheduled for

Friday, June 26th 12:30-4:30

in the 2nd Floor Heller Card Room

For More Information or To Make An

Appointment Call: 973-656-1100