Empowerment Series

An afternoon of music

Mexican-Canadian singer Gustavo Herrera helped finish off the 2021/22 season of the Jewish Seniors Alliance Snider Foundation Empowerment Series. The classically trained operatic tenor, who has a powerful and melodic voice, entertained the audience with a mixture of classical and popular songs.

A Summer Afternoon of Music, the final event of this year’s Empowerment Series, was co-sponsored by JSA, the Kehila Society and Congregation Beth Tikvah. It took place in the synagogue’s sanctuary on June 27 and began with a catered BBQ lunch for the approximately 55 seniors who attended the event in-person. The program was also available via Zoom, making the total audience about 70 people. Herrera’s 94-year-old mother and his sister were among those who joined the concert virtually.

Toby Rubin, coordinator of the Kehila Society, welcomed everyone and introduced the guest. Herrera sang many songs, including “Somewhere,” “Could I Have This Dance,” “Granada,” “O Sole Mio,” “La Donna è Mobile,” “My Way” and “Only You.” He encouraged everyone to join in and to clap to some of the songs.

He pointed out that, although “My Way” is generally associated with Frank Sinatra, it was written by Canadian Paul Anka. A member of the audience requested “Hallelujah,” which Herrera sang in Spanish. Another request was “Boléro.” For the finale, Herrera asked everyone to join him in ending with “Hava Nagila.”

Gyda Chud, co-president of JSA, thanked Herrera, saying that the concert had been very uplifting and that his mother must be very proud.

Shanie Levin is program coordinator for Jewish Seniors Alliance and on the editorial board of Senior Linemagazine.

A full life post-career

The latest JSA Snider Foundation Virtual Empowerment Series session was co-sponsored by Jewish Seniors Alliance (JSA) and Jewish Family Services (JFS). Held on April 26, it continued with the theme “Be Inspired.” Titled Retired, Rewired and Inspired, it featured three older adults expressing their feelings, ideas and experiences of “retirement.”

Gyda Chud, co-president of JSA, started things off by describing the series – which involves co-sponsorship with other community organizations, such as JFS – and its theme.

Program committee Fran Goldberg then introduced the speakers: Rosa Tesler, who was a counselor for abused women when she retired in 2018; Dr. Paul Steinbok, who retired from neurosurgery in 2017; and Tony DuMoulin, who retired from his law career about a decade ago.

The first speaker was Tesler, known as Chully. She described retirement as an up and down road. She missed her clients. She lost her husband and her mother within the same time period. She feels privileged that she had the support of a loving family. To weather the downs, she said, a person must develop patience, determination and self-compassion. It took her a year to overcome health issues, but now, with the correct medication, she is able to live her life. She thanked her many friends, her therapist and her yoga teacher for their ongoing support.

Chully took a course on friendly aging and also the peer counseling training at JSA. She is now an active peer counselor. The pandemic caused major changes in many of her pursuits, but she continued with tai chi, yoga and peer counseling, all virtually. She did have to forgo travel. Adapting, reframing and hope kept her going. We are defined not by what happens to us, but by what we do, she said, ending with a quote from a friend in Argentina who teaches healthy aging: what is in your power, continue; stop what you didn’t want and can’t do; and initiate what you do want to do.

Steinbok had been a pediatric neurosurgeon and, when he retired, he pursued his love of photography, walking and travel. He had been part of an amateur camera club for many years and won an award in 1970. After retirement, he joined a photo group at the University of British Columbia, and learned digital photography. He began looking at nature from a closer perspective, especially its textures and patterns. He started to use his camera more creatively. He shared some of his close-ups of tree bark, stumps, mushrooms and flowers. There were shots of manhole covers – many of which have lovely designs on them. The photos are beautiful and artistic and have been in many competitions. Steinbok said the art of photography adds meaning to his life and he shares them with family, friends and the photo club. He said it feels as if he is continuing to teach, as he did in neurosurgery.

DuMoulin was a practising lawyer for 40 years, managing a firm for 24 years and teaching law. He retired at age 67, because he had many interests that he wished to pursue but not the time or energy to do so. He also wanted to retire at the top of his game.

DuMoulin calls himself a recovering lawyer – he said he needed to rewire and although he was told that he would be bored, the opposite has been the case. He feels his worldview has widened and that he is lighter and freer. He is involved in many activities and spends time with his five grandchildren. He is also reading more and has started a book club. Before COVID hit, he was traveling more, and he is exercising more. He has designed and built a cabin and has done some watercolour painting. He teaches and plays chess. He is active in JSA – on the executive and board and as a member of the editorial committee of Senior Line magazine; he chairs the advocacy committee. He is inspired by volunteers in the nonprofit sector and said the future is our responsibility – and belongs to us as well.

Tamar Stein, seniors outreach coordinator for JFS, thanked the speakers. She said JFS’s programs take place on Tuesdays at 11 a.m. – on May 10, there is a talk on grief and loss and, on May 24, on Medical Assistance in Dying.

Chud brought up the three Rs that she had heard from a friend: relationships, reflection and restorative practice. DuMoulin commented on the recording of family histories and a specific program that helps with this, called Story Worth. Larry Shapiro, co-president of JSA, added that the speakers had been inspirational and that a senior should speak at every event, while Chud thanked Jenn Propp for her contributions, Stein and the speakers.

The next JSA event is its spring forum on May 15, which features the concert With a Song in My Heart, led by Wendy Bross Stuart. The final Empowerment Series session for 2021/22 is in June, with the Kehila Society of Richmond. Visit jsalliance.org.

Shanie Levin is program coordinator for Jewish Seniors Alliance and on the editorial board of Senior Line magazine.

Sharing her inspiration

On Oct. 8, nonagenarian Gloria Levi was the featured speaker at the JSA Snider Foundation Virtual Empowerment Series session co-sponsored by Jewish Seniors Alliance and the Peretz Centre for Secular Jewish Culture. The topic was What Inspires Me at 90.

Gyda Chud, co-president of JSA and president of the Peretz Centre, welcomed the approximately 70 attendees and shared the background of JSA’s Empowerment series.

Fran Goldberg introduced Levi as a feminist, an activist, a COVID survivor, a gerontologist, a therapist, a social worker and a woman of tremendous confidence, who finds joy in even the darkest of moments.

From her talk, it seems that Levi does indeed find inspiration in everything around her, from rustling breezes and glistening sunsets to soulful self-discovery. She finds meaning in both everyday happenings and the larger matters of the heart and social justice. If we were to sum up Levi’s nuanced and profound wisdom in a word, it would be wholeness. She elevates the whole person with all their perfect imperfections.

To Levi, self-discovery and self-knowledge are paramount values. She illustrated the importance of being true to oneself with the charming story of Rabbi Zusia, who lamented to God, bemoaning his not being like Moses and Abraham. God advised him to be exactly who he is – Zusia. The goal in life is not to strive for perfection but to be authentically oneself.

Through Levi’s lens of wholeness, even a global disaster like COVID-19 has vital lessons. A COVID-19 survivor, Levi refers to the virus as the 11th plague, but also is passionate about the important issues that the pandemic has brought to light. For example, it revealed the discrepancy between the haves and the have nots: the ones who support our daily life – the grocery store clerks, hospital employees, delivery drivers and food workers, among others – in stark contrast with the wealthy. The pandemic has yielded an awakening, a heightened awareness that things need to change on numerous levels, both environmentally and socially, said Levi.

Along with her commitment to social justice, Levi draws connections and inspiration from Jewish sources; for example, she refers to Leviticus, in which God tells Moses to instruct the Israelites to give the land a rest. During the sabbath year, the land is to lie fallow and to be “released” from cultivation, she explained. Weaving rest and restoration into our physical and spiritual worlds is a much-needed change, she said.

In conclusion, Levi quoted Ecclesiastes and reminded us that “vanity of vanities; all is vanity.” Her advice: embrace life, enjoy meaningful relationships and small kindnesses – and find inspiration all around us.

Tamara Frankel is a member of the board of Jewish Seniors Alliance and of the editorial committee of Senior Line magazine. She is also a board member of the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver.

The power of breath

Yoga therapist and teacher Tianne Allan (photo from yogatianne.com)

Don’t hold your breath. Breath is life, and each breath we take optimizes our health. This is what I learned at Jewish Seniors Alliance’s third empowerment session – Discover the Power of Your Breath – which was held on May 4.

Gyda Chud, co-president of JSA, welcomed the 75 Zoom participants, explaining that the overarching theme for the empowerment series is “Be Inspired.”

Fran Goldberg introduced the speaker – yoga therapist and teacher Tianne Allan, who was involved for two decades in the world of aquatics and high-performance athletics. After a car accident, her yoga practice became her pathway to healing, both physically and emotionally. She now specializes in pain care and in the treatment of anxiety and insomnia.

Allan guided the group in movement – breathing while opening the arms and bringing them back to the chest. She explained that the foundation of our breath is comprised of three steps:

1. Sit up straight and breathe through your nose.
2. Low and slow, take a breath down into your belly.
3. Smooth and steady, inhale and exhale.

Other types of breathing are the relaxation breath, where you sit back, relax and exhale with a sound; and the humming breath, to relieve anxiety, where you inhale through the nose and exhale through a hum.

Correct breathing can also help ease pain, Allan explained. And it can help us sleep better. The sleep exercise involved imagining ourselves looking through the ceiling to the blue sky and letting the sun fill our bodies with warmth. This exercise actually lulled some of us to sleep.

Shanie Levin thanked Allan for getting us involved in using our bodies and minds, and reminded the audience of the JSA’s next Empowerment Series session, on June 28, featuring Libby Yu, a classical pianist.

For more information on Allan, see yogatianne.com.

Concert that inspires

The new Jewish Seniors Alliance Snider Foundation Empowerment Series season began on Oct. 19 with a concert. As usual, the program was co-sponsored by JSA and a community organization; in this case, the Kehila Society of Richmond. Because of the pandemic, the event took place on Zoom.

Last year’s Empowerment theme, “Be Inspired,” was carried forward for this year’s season. Fifty participants tuned in to Music in the Afternoon, which featured pianist Lester Soo and vocalist Maria Cristina Fantini. Soo is an accomplished musician who has taught, adjudicated, accompanied and performed in the world of music for many years, while Fantini – a dramatic soprano, at home in both classical and popular styles – teaches and has established her own vocal studio.

Toby Rubin, coordinator of Kehila Society, welcomed everyone and introduced Soo and Fantini.

JSA’s Gyda Chud spoke about the alliance and recalled that Soo and Fantini had performed in a joint program in the past. This time, the musicians performed from Soo’s home, where he was able to make use of his grand piano.

The audience was entertained by a number of old favourites, starting from the 1930s. Songs included “Unforgettable,” “When I Fall in Love” and “Besame Mucho.” These were followed by works by Cole Porter and Irving Berlin, k.d. lang’s version of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah,” and “Tonight” from West Side Story. The duo then switched to the jazz genre, with “Misty.” Lester played a solo of “Over the Rainbow” and he and Fantini ended with an aria by Puccini, “O, My Beloved Father.”

It was a wonderful concert. The only problem was that the musicians couldn’t hear the applause because the audience was muted for the performance. However, Rubin thanked Soo and Fantini on everyone’s behalf.

For information on JSA and upcoming events, visit jsalliance.org.

Shanie Levin is an executive board member of Jewish Seniors Alliance and on the editorial board of Senior Line magazine.