Ceil Leiderman and Betty Shepard —
have been crocheting for the patients.
Gittelman, who just turned 87, has
been crocheting for 60 or 70 years. She
turns out three.lap robes every week.
"For me, it's therapy," she says. "It's
enjoyable and relaxing, and I know
that we are doing a good deed."
Shabbat Candlelighting,
Prentis, 4:30.p.m.
The week is coming to a close, and
many of the residents filter downstairs
to the cafeteria to begin preparations for
Shabbat.
Bertha Billet finishes what has been
her job for the past six years — prepar-
ing the Shabbat candles.
Sylvia Zaks gets the honor of lighting
the candles this week, since it's her turn
'on the list. She alternates with Sonia
Pittman, Shulamith Filler and Esther
Francis Friedman. David Markel takes
his turn with the kiddush and the
hamotzi, a job he alternates with Rafik
Fayzakov.
"[The residents] really look forward
to Shabbat," says Prentis building
administrator Iris Mickel. "It's a good
feeling in the Jewish home, no matter
where they are from."
Wednesday, March 4
Edith Goodman,
Hechtman II, 10:45 a.m.
When Edith Goodman moved into
Hechtman two years ago, the first per-
son she met was Betty Shepard, who
lived across the hall.
It was a nostalgic meeting: The two
had gone on a double date together 70
years earlier.
Goodman is part of the cultural
committee, played Queen Esther in the
Purim play, and plays the piano, which
she has done for almost 70 years. Even
with her fading eyesight, which makes it
difficult for her to read music, she can
play tunes from Fiddler on the Roof from
memory.
"I came here because I felt it was
important to be here with people my
own age," she says, while not revealing
that age.
"I was one of the first members of
the JCC when it was on Woodward,"
she says. "I still go to the one [in West
Bloomfield] and exercise. When the
weather is bad, I walk through the halls
here."
In her apartment, Goodman, a
native of Kingston, Ontario, shows off
the plethora of pictures of her three
children and their spouses, 12 grand-
3/27
1998
82
Emanuel Lenter and Rose Coleman get their Shabbat dinners from the
Prentis cafeteria.
•
Pearl Gittelman crochets in the
hallway at Hechtman.
children and one great-grandchild.
"When I came here, I said that I
wouldn't let my life end,” she says.
Friday, March 6
Hamantashen making,
Prentis, 10:50 a.m.
What do you get when you cross
13 women in hair nets with prunes,
dough and Purim?
Hamantashen. Lots of haman-
tashen.
The target number for the day is
1,000. The women finish more than
500, and the kitchen staff
make 300 more, using up what's left
of the ingredients.
The Purim delicacies are bound
for a Purim party for the 350
residents of Prentis and for clients
of the Meals on Wheels meal
delivery program.
"I'm having fun," says Ellen
Magar, the chairwoman of the
project. Magar was responsible
for putting the program to-