Friday, July 22, 1983 61

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

The Problems of Human Aging
Are Falling Most Heavily on Women

By BEN GALLOB

(Copyright 1983, JTA, Inc.)

The problems of aging are
mainly the problems of
women, a situation which
worsens as American
women — including Jewish
women — increasingly live
longer than men, in a
society which continues to
place a premium on youth,
thus exacerbating the prob-
lems of the elderly.
That is one of the major
conclusions of a report,
"Older Women: The Prob-
lems and the Promise," pub-
lished as the progress report
for 1981-1982 by the Jewish
Association for Services to
the Aged (JASA).
Specifically, the report
noted at age 65 there are
three women for every two
men. By age 85, the propor-
tion becomes two to one.
Moreover, the number of
Americans in their 80s and
90s also is growing. And it is
the women who are most
likely to be widowed, poor
and alone in their later
years.
JASA was started in
1968 by the Federation of
Jewish Philanthropies to
fill the unmet needs of el-
derly Jews of New York
City and Long Island's
Nassau and Suffolk
counties. JASA provides
social services, senior
citizens centers and
housing to more than
50,000 older adults —
most of them women —
and their families each
year.
Elinor Guggenheimer,
former New York City con-
sumer affairs commissioner
and a JASA founder and

JDC Funding
Kosher Canteen
in Romania

NEW YORK —
Timisoara is not well-
known name in the West,
but it is the second largest
city in Romania. Sarah
Greenblatt is one of 250 el-
derly Jews who live in
Timisoara. Every day Sarah
goes to a kosher canteen
where she eats a full dinner,
with meat, vegetables, a
dessert and beverage, a
meal meeting all standards
of kashrut.
Actually, Sarah could live
in an old-age home in the
Fabrik section of Timisoara,
but she prefers to be on her
own. When she wants com-
panionship, she can meet
her friends at the canteen or
visit them in their apart-
ments. Clothing, medical
care, counsel are provided
for Sarah. she is living out
her years in relative com-
fort and dignity.
The American Jewish
Joint Distribution Commit-
tee (JDC) — a beneficiary of
the Detroit Allied Jewish
campaign — provides for
her needs and the needs of
the 250 other elderly people
in Timisoara, just as it pro-
vides for thousands of Jews
in need in Bucharest and
hundreds of thousands in
cities and towns in more
than 30 nations around the
world.

trustee, asserted that "We
need a larger job market,
especially for women whose
Social Security is low. It is
devastating to live on
minimum Social Security
payments."
That is not the only prob-
lem, according to Carl
Glick, JASA president, and
Bernard Warach, executive
director. Because of lower
salaries and job discrimina-
tion in their younger years,
"older women have lower
incomes, fewer pensions
and less savings then men of
a comparable age," creating

"feminization" of poverty.
Nearly half of the women
over 65 in New York City
lived below the poverty
level of $3,950 in 1980. The
results can be disastrous
when poverty is accom-
panied by illness, isolation
and social discrimination,
the JASA report said.

According to the JASA
report, while "older women
are still not sufficiently
valued for their contribu-
tions" many women con-
tinue to be productive into
their 70s and 80s.

Pilgrims' Terminal Unveiled
in Jerusalem's Old City

A view just inside the Old City. The steps (at right)
lead to the new Pilgrims' Terminal, a tranquil area
created for pilgrims to rest, meditate or pray before
starting the walk along the Via Delorosa.

JERUSALEM — Israel
tourism officials and the
municipality of Jerusalem
recently unveiled the Pil-
grims' Terminal at the be-
ginning of the Via Dolorosa
just inside the Old City's
Lions (St. Stephen) Gate.
The purpose of the "ter-
minal" is to provide pil-
grims to Jerusalem a place
to gather, to be addressed by
their guide, their minister
or their priest — before
starting the walk along the
ancient street, believed to
be the route of Jesus' final
walk to Calvary.
The creation of the Pil-
grims' Terminal involved
the clearing of a disused

site, the laying of stones for
the floor and seats and the
planting of palm and flower-
ing trees. Part of the wall of
the facility is a stone from
New York's Cathedral of St.
John the Divine (a stone
from Jerusalem was re-
cently laid in the tower of
the New York Cathedral).

An Ark Full of Animal Stories

By RABBI ALLAN
BLUSTE IN

Chaplain, Sinai Hospital

Captivating children of
all ages, the story of Noah's
Ark continues to enchant
most of us. Enhancing the
tale, some Midrashic
nuggets reveal charming
aspects of the fateful voy-
age.
For example, 32 species of
birds and 365 of reptiles
jammed into that clumsy
craft. Furthermore, God or-
dered all the animals to as-
semble at the ark thus re-
lieving poor Noah from hav-
ing to go on safari in order to
gather them.
So many animals showed
up that Noah was forced to
take only those who lay
down as they reached the
"gangplank," while reject-
ing those which stood (in ac-
cordance with God's in-
structions). Eyeing a
crouching lioness and her
two cubs, Noah was baffled
as to which two to admit.
Fortunately, the babies
started to agitate the
mother, who promptly stood
up next to them. A grateful
Noah then ,led the two
crouching cubs into the ark.
The unfortunate ani-
mals who didn't make it
into the ark remained
outside it for seven days.
Their purpose was to
"discourage" the 700,000
sinful people who tried to
board the ark as the flood
waters swirled forth.
Once inside the ark, Noah
didn't get too much sleep
since he had to feed the
animals, by day and by

• • '

night. Again luckily, each
species had a guardian
angel all its own, who pro-
vided fodder for them, thus
relieving Noah and his fam-
ily of another potentially
gargantuan task.
The voyage lasted 150
days making many of the
animals seasick. The lion
for instance, came down
with fever because he
couldn't get "fresh" meat.
Consequently he lacked a
strong desire to intimidate
his "arkmates".
One animal in particular,
the Zikta, posed a problem
for Noah because he
couldn't figure out what the
little fellow could eat. Once,
Noah cut a pomegranate in
half and the worm that fell
out was speedily gobbled up

NEW YORK — West side to sell the air rights over the
residents here have reacted community house to de-
sharply to a plan by the veloper Steven Goodstein,
Spanish and Portuguese according to the Times. The
Synagogue to sell the air synagogue's main building
rights over part of its prop- was designated as an histor-
erty for the construction of a ical landmark in 1974, but
42-story, luxury apartment the community house does
complex, the New York not have such status.
The skirmish is the latest
Times reported.
Community leaders have chapter in a battle of
accused the leaders of the preservationists and the ci-
synagogue, located at 70th ty's religious establishment
St. and Central Park West, over the development of
of forsaking the neighbor- land. owned by houses of
hood's needs in order to ex- worship.
pand the temple's commu-
What is becoming in be-
nity house. The three-story
community house stands havior is honorable, and
next to the main synagogue. what is honorable is becom-
The temple leaders plan ing.
—Cicero

•

•• ■ •••••••••••••••••••••••• ■ ••••••••••••••••••••••••••4 ..••••••••••IMIIIND••

In our town,
you can
count on

Flagstones from ancient
Jerusalem which were un-
covered during the termi-
nal's creation have been
remounted at current
street-level; some of these
still bear the grooves carved
into them to prevent horses'
hooves sliding on the sur-
face.

course of a summer, to other
classics.
"The result of that esti-
val labor is Miss Heifetz's
second book, From Bach
to Verse: Comic
Mnemonics for Famous
Musical Themes,' re-
cently published by Pen-
guin Books. The songs
range from Haydn's
'Surprise' Symphony to
Rossini's 'Barber of
Seville.'
"Her other book, 'Mrs.
Byrne's Dictionary of Un-
usual, Obscure, and Prepos-
terous Words," was pub-
lished in 1974. 'That took 10
years to write,' said the
author, a resident of
California's Marin County,
where she teaches piano
and composition.
Billy Rose was born
William Rosenberg.

Noah's charity to the
animals was so profound
that once he found the Ur-
shana sleeping in a corner
and asked him if he were
hungry. The animal replied
that he didn't want to
bother Noah irrasmueh as
the patriarch had so many
other mouths to feed.
Gratefully, Noah blessed
the unselfish animal and
prayed that he be permitted
to live forever. Legend has it
that the prayer was an-
swered for this urshana or
Phoenix.

Synagogue Development
Stirs Controversy in NY

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Necessity Is the Mother .. .

The daughter of a famous
father is gaining national
prominence in her own
right — as an author and
musical authority.
The following item is
from "About Books and
Authors" by Edwin
McDowell, in the Book Re-
view section of the Sunday,
July 10, New York Times:
"Josefa Heifetz was lis-
tening to her car radio when
the strains of Schubert's
Seventh assailed her ears.
`It was the funereal pace of
the scherzo that did it,' said
Miss Heifetz, daughter of
the legendary violinist,
Jascha Heifetz. 'I was
weaned on Toscanini's idea
of vivace, which, as I recall,
approached the speed of
light.' In her frustration she
began to improve lyrics to
that piece and, over the

the Zikta. As a result,
Noah's wife, Naamah would
knead bran, allowing it to
stand unti it bred worms
which were then promptly
fed to Mr. and Mrs. Zikta.

Let your mailman
deliver this news
to your door
every Friday

No need to roam . . . the best
is here at home!

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