72 Friday, January 27, 1984

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

Abraham to 1984: The Jewish Attitude Toward Aging

By RABBI ALLAN
BLUSTEIN

Chaplain, Sinai Hospital

"And Abraham was old,
advanced in age" (Genesis
24:1).
The Talmud makes the
following comment on the
above verse: "Until Ab-
raham there was no aging;
he who sought Abraham
came upon Isaac and he who
sought Isaac came upon Ab-
raham, until Abraham be-
seeched the Almighty for
the aging process and it was
granted to him."
This is most remarkable,
yet very difficult to com-
prehend. We find upon
examining earlier biblical
verses that the term zokain
is used. Do we not read of
Sarah's disbelief in her abil-
ity to bear a child when she
said, "and my master is
old?" Furthermore, the
Bible itself refers to both
Abraham and Sarah as
z'kainim (Genesis 18:11).
And in connection with the
men of Sodom, we find the
expression "both young and
old" (Genesis 19:14).
In commentary on the
quotation, the rabbis ex-
plain that the Talmud is
referring to the external,
visible symptoms which
accompany old age,
namely, the gray hair and
the slowing of the physi-
cal processes. These were
not experienced before
Abraham and it is for this
he prayed, and found his
wish granted for himself
and all future genera-
tions.
The desire to be identified
as an old man is rather
strange in our society. Yet
upon deeper analysis, one
finds that this act on the
part of Abraham was brave
and revolutionary in his
day, as was his promulga-
tion of monotheism.
In the heathen environ-
ment in which he lived, the
prevailing philosophy was
that of the ruler, Nimrod,
who emphasized physical
strength as the only virtue
in life. In the brief biblical
description of Nimrod, he is
depicted as a "mighty
hunter" (Genesis 10:8).
We can understand the
above-quoted _talmudic
statement in a new light.
Until Abraham, there was
no zhikna that commanded
respect. It was a state in
which the person reaped
only derision, scorn and
ridicule. It was Abraham
who brought the Torah atti-
tude towards aging- to hu-
manity, bringing dignity
and honor to zhikna.
In our day, whenever
increasing numbers are
reaching zhikna, it is im-
portant for our society to
bear in mind the Torah
attitude toward the aged.

needs of the aged. The
American Association of
Retired People is a na-
tional organization
which protects the civil
rights of the aged and
helps bring dignity into
the lives of the nation's
elderly.

We must be concious of
the exhortation in the Bi-
ble, "Thou shalt rise up
before the gray head, and
honor the fact of the old
man."

* * *
Glorification
of Old Age

The Torah offers us an
entirely different way of se-
eing, thinking about and
reacting to the aged. As
with many mitzvot, the
Torah doesn't explicitly
teach us how to perceive the
aged or think about them
but rather it prescribes for
us how to react upon
encountering an aged per-
son. The perceptions and
attitudes attend the per-
formance of the mitzva:
"You shall rise before the
aged (sea) and show respect
for the old (zaken); you shall
fear your God: I am the
Lord" (Leviticus 19:32).
The Torah commands us
to "rise before the aged."
Traditionally this verse has
been understood literally:
when a zaken enters the
room or passes by, one
should rise from his seat in
respect.
What is the purpose of
rising? The Torah itself
explains that in this way
we are "showing respect
to- the old." In contradis-
tinction to American
society, we are com-
manded not to disregard
or ignore the presence of
an old person, but rather
to actively recognize his
presence by rising.
There seems to be some-
thing more behind the for-
mal act of rising. Taking the
time out in our hurried life
to rise before the aged, to
give the aged some consid-
eration, to be patient with
them, and to honor them
shapes our attitude not only
towards the aged, but
towards our own aging and
our life-long values. These
attitudes are expressed in
the rabbinic literature dis-
cussing this mitzva.

* * *

Growing Numbers
of Jewish Aged

The 1970 census esti-
mated that 10 percent of
Americans were over 65,
some 20 million people.
Demographers estimate
that the number will grow
to some 25 million elderly in
1985 and at least 28 million
by the year 2,000. With the
lowered birth rate, miracle
drugs and life-support sys-
tems, people will be living
longer, thus increasing the
percentage of elderly of the
total population of America
and the world.
As for the Jewish popula-
tion, accurate statistics are
hard to come by since the

* * *

Jewish Agencies
Help the Elderly

RABBI BLUSTEIN
U.S. census does not inquire
about religion. The esti-
mate of the National Jewish
Population Study of the
Council of Jewish Federa-
tions and Welfare Funds
(1971) is that 14 percent of
all Jews, or -approximately
840,000 out of six million
are over 65. Given the fact
that the Jewish birth rate is
even lower than that of the
general population, the per-
centage of Jews who are el-
derly will reach pheno-
menal proportions within a
few decades.
What about the social-
economic status of the
Jewish elderly? Of all the
Jewish households who
are in poverty or near-
poverty, 72 percent- of
these households with
heads 65 and over are
one-person households
with incomes under
$4,000. Another 17 per-
cent of households with
incomes under $4,000 in-
clude only the head of the
household and spouse.
In other words, the con-
centration of American
Jewish poverty is among
the elderly, most of whom
live alone and are isolated
in the inner-city of met-
ropolitan areas such as New
York and Chicago.
Where were these aged
Jews born? Well, as one
might expect, the older the
people are the more likely
they are to have been
foreign-born. In the age
group of 80 years and older,
86 percent of the Jewish el-
derly are foreign-born. This
percentage decreases to 62
percent in the 70-79 years
age group. But among those
65-69 years old, only 41 per-
cent are foreign-born.
As one can see from all of
these estimated statistics,
our stereotypes of the
Jewish aged being foreign-
born and making up only an
insignificant percentage of
the total Jewish population
is rapidly being proven in-
accurate.
On the national level
there are Social Security,
Medicare and other pro-
grams which cater speci-
fically to the physical

In addition, every state
and most metropolitan
areas have public agencies
which provide services for
the aged. In local Jewish
communities there are fed-
erations and Jewish welfare
boards which have exten-
sive programs which try to
meet the needs of the
Jewish elderly. There are
communally - sponsored
nursing homes and conva-
lescent homes. There are
housing projects for the
aged.
Several cities have cen-
tral- agencies affording a
variety of social services for
the Jewish aged, notably
JASA (Jewish Association
for Services for the Aged) in
the greater New York area
do the council for Jewish
Elderly in Chicago. In addi-
tion, there are many "senior
citizen" clubs sponsored by
YM-YWHAs, Jewish cen-
ters and synagogues
throughout the country,
which program recreational
and group work activities
for the aged, ranging from
daily minyanim to college
courses to Israel folk danc-
ing.
One of the great poems of
the English language is
Tennyson's "Ulysses" . . . a
poem about old age. Its
greatness lies not only in
the beauty of its words and
imagery but in the courage
and indomitable spirit it
expresses.

After his heroic life of
travel and adventure,
Ulysses is dissatisfied
with people who only
"board, and sleep, and

feed," who think that liv-
ing is just a matter of con-
tinuing to breathe. He
knows that 20 lives are
not enough for what he
wants to do; and though
he is old in years he de-
spises the thought of
coddling himself while
his spirit is still "yearning
in desire, to follow
knowledge, like a sinking
star, beyond the utmost
bound of human tought."
He must go on sailing
"beyond the sunset, and the
paths of all the western
stars" until he dies; though
he no longer has his former
strength, he knows that he
is still "strong in will, to st-
rive, to seek, to find and not
to yield."
Everyone over the age of
40 could take this poem as
their inspiration, interpret-
ing it according to their in-
dividual capacity. Whether
the experiences-are physical
or in the world of the mind is
immaterial; it is the spirit
that counts. No matter what
age, life should be an end-
less adventure.
This is not the usual atti-
tude in the West. After
years of abusing our bodies,
overworking them, filling
them with wrong or in-
adequate foods, with
stimulants and tranquiliz-
ers, the majority of us over
40 have already begun to
use the phrase we cling to
for the rest of our lives .. .
the parrot-cry uttered at
every test or challenge,
however small ... "I'm too
old!" . . . the final excuse for
indolence, apathy, self-pity,
inefficiency and defeatism.
No one really wants to
be too old; but only a
minority are prepared to
exert themselves to delay
aging.

* * *
Self-Perceptions
of Aging Process

Some years ago a U.S.
magazine asked 400 cen-
tenarians what age they

would choose to be if they
could start life again. The
majority said 45; not 19 or
30, but 45. It should not be
so surprising, for how many
people really know how to
live in their 20s, even their
30s?
The over-40s should be
the best age, for a healthy
man over 40 has a mature
mind, an accumulation of
experience and a knowledge
of life that the young cannot
know. He can discriminate
between right and wrong;
he has stability; clear vision
and inner strength; and
physically should be in his
prime.
This should be a definite
and prolonged stage of life,
full of wonderful experi-
ences and achievements .. .
a really creative period,
crowning the years of de-
velopment and accumula-
tion, like a long and gener-
ous summer when the earth
gives back with full hands
all that has been sown dur-
ing the preceding months.
We should stay 45 for 30
years . . . strong, wise, po-
tent, generous, kind and
handsome; but for most
people, the 40s are accepted
as the cancer age, the age of
spare tires, flabby muscles,
spectacles, toupees, false
teeth, prolapse, impotence,
coronary occlusions and
hysterectomies.
It is tragic that for most
of us this middle period is
so short and that it
should be regarded as in-
evitable. We have practi-
cally no mature years at
all.
Stress, tension, wrong
diet, lack of exercise and in-
adequate rest all help to fill
the waiting rooms of doctors
and psychiatrists, to in-
crease the number of sud-
den deaths and nervous
breakdowns. This, says
Western man, is what must
be expected over 40.
Let's resolve here and
now to prove that Western
man does not know what
he's talking about!

Conference on Power of Women

ARLINGTON, Va. (JTA)
— A group of 100 women of
many Jewish, Christian
and Moslem denominations
gathered two weeks ago on
the campus of Marymount
College for the Second
Women of Faith in the 80's
conference. A fourth of the
delegates were Jewish
women.
The issue of women's
power; or lack of it, in the
Jewish community was dis-
cussed by Dr. Ellen
Umansky, assistant profes-
sor of religion at Emory
University, Atlanta, Ga.
She stated that a recent
study she conducted on
women's growing access to
power within the Jewish
community showed only
slightly encouraging re-
sults. "Within Jewish
organizations, outside of
synagogue life, power re-
mains overwhelmingly in
the hands of men and shows
little sign of improvement,"
Umansky stated.

The conference also dealt
with such wide-ranging is-
sues as the "isms" victimiz-
ing women today: racism,
classism, sexism and
ageism; anti-Semitism and
its role in international
politics in the women's
movement and in the Soviet
Union; and women's strug-
gle for identity within and
beyond religious and ethnic
communities.
anti-
Discussing
Semitism in international
politics, Sherry Frank,
area director of the
American Jewish Com-
mittee in Atlanta, stated:
"It is one of the tragedies
of our times that the
`Zionist equation with ra-
cism' should be rein-
forced within the inter-
national women's move-
ment, and that it has
grown and flourished
within the pollution that
surrounds the world of
international politics."
Blu Greenberg, well-

known feminist, author and
lecturer, assessed progress
made by Orthodox Jewish
women in the religious
community.
"For the sake of the integ-
rity of the community and
continuity of tradition, I
understand that progress is
often made in small stages.
"There has been a great
deal of progress in my own
community in the area of
women's learning, in suita-
bility of written texts, in
women's prayer groups and
liturgical seriousness, in
celebration of rites of pas-
sage, and in genuine at-
tempts to reduce the abuse
of Jewish divorce laws.
These are all hopeful signs
... I prefer to look at it as a
cup that's half full and get-
ting fuller."

In 1852, Bnai Brith
opened America's first
Jewish community center
and first Jewish library,
both in New York.