MARCH 7 • 2024 | 25
J
N

much to me to have my picture 
taken in the synagogue.”
Goldberg made all the 
arrangements and even picked 
Rubin up at Meer and drove 
her to the synagogue, where 
Rabbi Steven Rubenstein was 
waiting for them. 
Rubin sat in front of the 
Aron Kodesh, the Holy Ark, and 
Goldberg took pictures of her 
holding the Torah. They even 
invited the rabbi to join Rubin 
for a few images.
“I can’t begin to tell you how 
thrilled I was,” Rubin says. 

Growing up in Detroit and 
attending United Hebrew 
Schools, she was not allowed to 
have a bat mitzvah. “I still can’t 
read the Torah, but I can follow 
along in synagogue, and I do 
read Hebrew,” Rubin says.
The youngest of four daugh-
ters, Rubin is now the mother 
of three, grandmother of two 
and great-grandmother of one. 
Many of the children at syna-
gogue call her “Bubbie.”
She’s been a member of Beth 
Ahm since 1953, when it was 
called Beth Moses. “I feel I have 
a very charmed life,” she says.
“Ira is honoring people by 
spending time getting to know 
them and crafting a photograph 
that says something about 
them and for them,” says Rabbi 
Rubenstein. “We talk about 
the synagogue being a second 
home. For someone who’s been 
a member as long as Ilene has 
been, it’s great, not surprising 

and meaningful for her to take 
that photograph here.”
Being photographed with the 
Torah is so symbolic of who 
she is, he adds.
“
As a bat cohain, Ilene has 
spent a good amount of time 
up on the center bimah,” 
he says. Cohanim and b’nei 
Cohanim are called for the 
first aliyah in a Torah reading. 
Taking her picture with the 
Torah is “appropriate because 
of her connection to the syn-
agogue and her feelings about 
Jewish tradition,” the rabbi says.

“There is beauty within 
everyone,” Goldberg says. “Part 
of my job is to discover that 
beauty and convey it in the 
image I am creating.”
He hopes the seniors he 
works with will enjoy the por-
traits created of them, and that 
their families will cherish them 
for generations to come. 
“I’ve been told it’s a really 
generous thing that I’ve done,” 
he says. “But the reality is, 
they’re enriching me more 
than I’m giving to them. It’s a 
phenomenal thing to be invited 
into someone’s life and have the 
privilege of hearing their story.”
All of the portrait sessions 
are free to the seniors, and 
Goldberg produces one print 
for them, also free-of-charge. 

Lynne Golodner is the author of nine 

books (including the novel WOMAN 

OF VALOR) and a Huntington Woods 

resident.

“HOW CAN I USE MY 
SKILLS TO MAKE 
SOMEBODY’S LIFE 

A LITTLE BETTER?”

— IRA GOLDBERG

Spring into a New Career

Grant to Support Vulnerable People

Gesher Human Services 
will be offering its 
popular Recharge! career 
development program for 
adults 45 years and older, on 
Mondays and Wednesdays 
from March 11-27, 10 a.m. 
to noon at its headquarters 
in Southfield (29699 
Southfield Road). 
 The program is again 
being offered as a recent 
report from Pew Research 
Center shows that the 
older workforce has nearly 
quadrupled in size since the 
mid-1980s, driven partly 
by the growth of the 65 
and older population. In 
addition, the earning power 
of more mature workers has 
also increased: in 1987, a 
typical worker aged 65 or 
older earned around $13 
an hour while in 2022 the 
hourly rate average was $22. 
 Recharge! will offer 
participants the opportunity 
to reconnect with their skills 
and interests, refresh their 
resume, restore belief in 
themselves — particularly 

if they are in a middle 
of life transition — and 
re-energize their job search 
process.
 The program requires 
registration and a $40 
material fee, although 
scholarships are available to 
ensure there is no financial 
barrier to participating. To 
register for Recharge! call 
(248) 233-4472 or go to the 
events page at geshermi.org. 
“Many mature adults 
are wanting to stay in the 
workforce, or even re-enter 
the workforce, because of 
financial pressures, and our 
program can enable them 
to reimagine their working 
lives,” said Gesher Career 
Counselor Sherrie James. 
“We focus on an individual’s 
values and strengths so they 
can explore new careers 
they may never even have 
considered, or simply find 
a better job in the field they 
are already in.” 
For more information, 
contact Sherrie James at 
sjames@geshermi.org. 

A grant from The Donald R. and Esther Simon 
Foundation will allow Jewish Family Service to 
provide emergency financial assistance to vulnerable, 
low-income community members who need access to 
food, shelter, transportation and other basic needs. 
Jewish Family Service’s Family Support Services 
program is designed to help families meet their basic 
needs and gain financial stability. 
With support from the Simon Foundation, JFS 
Family Support Services program expects to serve 
over 350 households this year in meeting their basic 
needs and building self-sufficiency. 

