JRLW
Jewish Residents of Leisure World
Silver Spring, Maryland

 

JRLW is looking for a Shofar Blower for the Reform Service for Rosh Hashanah. If anyone knows of someone who could assist with this, please call Gerry Sommer at 301 598 6789.

 

---

Get your tickets now

JRLW and Coming of Age Show "Live and Become" 

The Jewish Residents of Leisure World  and the Coming of Age program/JCCGW will present a movie matinee:  “Live and Become,” Monday, August 9, 1:00–3:30 in the Clubhouse II auditorium.   

The epic story of an Ethiopian boy airlifted from Sudan to Israel in 1984 during Operation Moses—a massive airlift of thousands of "Falasha" (Ethiopian Jewish refugees) fleeing oppression in their native country. Although Schlomo, as he is renamed, thrives in a loving adoptive family, he is plagued by two secrets: He is neither a Jew nor an orphan, just an African boy who survived and wants—somehow—to fulfill his Ethiopian mother’s parting request that he “go, live, and become.” 

Buoyed by a profound and unfaltering motherly love—both in his memory and in the arms of his adoptive mother—he ultimately finds an identity and a happiness all his own. 

 “Live and Become’ was directed and co-written by Radu Mihaileanu, well known for his work on the film Train of Life. 

Tickets are available in the E & R Office in Clubhouse I. Write checks for  the movie as a donation to JRLW, $6.00 per person. 

---

WILLS, TRUSTS AND THE STATE OF MARYLAND

JUNE 14, 1:00 PM IN CLUBHOUSE I, POTOMAC ROOM

Jewish Residents of Leisure World will present a workshop for the community on June 14 at 1:00 PM in the Potomac Room entitled "Wills, Trusts and What Do I Need to Know in Maryland." The speaker will be Mindy Felinton, an attorney who has been very active in assisting seniors and charitable organizations. The program is free and will be followed by a reception.

The workshop should be of interest to seniors who have moved to Leisure World from other states, as well as local natives who have questions about legal matters in creating wills and trusts.

Ms. Felinton is a member of the Pennsylvania, Florida and Maryland Bars. She was an Assistant States Attorney and a special prosecutor. Many of her cases have been profiled on television, radio, and in the international press. She is a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, Maryland State Bar

Association Estates and Trusts section, the Florida Bar Trusts and Real Property section, and was a past Co-Chair for GROWS (Grass Roots Organization for the Welfare of Seniors). Ms. Felinton contributes pro bono services to assist local charitable organizations and is the immediate past president of the Animal Welfare League of Montgomery County. She recently lectured at the University of Baltimore Law School.

The reception after the workshop will be hosted by Harley Felstein of the Gardens of Remembrance.

---

A MATTER OF SIZE COMES TO LW

As part of the annual Film Festival of the JCCGW, the movie "A Matter of Size" will be shown in the Auditorium of Clubhouse II at 2:00 PM Tuesday, June 22^nd. The movie is cosponsored by the Jewish Residents of Leisure World and the Coming of Age Program/JCCGW. The movie will be followed by a reception in the meeting room. Tickets are available at E&R for a donation to JRLW of $6.00.

"A Matter of Size" is the story of a 340 lb. chef living with his mother, fired from his job, and dumped from his weight loss class, discovers the one place where fat guys can be rock stars : the world of sumo wrestling.

Overweight and unmotivated , the chef lives at home with his mother in the Israeli city of Ramla. He eventually finds work as a dishwasher at a Japanese restaurant where he is introduced to sumo wrestling by his co-workers and finds it a welcome escape from the disapproval of Israeli culture and the diets espoused by his weight-loss group. With the help of the restaurant owner, former sumo coach and self-proclaimed "Japanese Zionist," he and three robust friends find their size is no longer a hindrance but their greatest asset.

Co-directed by Erez Tadmor (Strangers, SJFF 2009) and Sharon Maymon, A MATTER OF SIZE is a relatable story of self-acceptance and determination. It received 13 Israeli Academy Award nominations and has been picked up by the Weinstein brothers for a Hollywood remake.

---

To see any photo larger, click on it.

REMEMBER THE SILENCE OF THE PAST

The First World War is over and the Jews of German feel confident of their status as Germans. They served in war as enlisted men and officers; they dress like Germans; they speak German, not Yiddish like the Eastern Jews; they are involved in all areas of education and business; they even pray in German. They are the epitome of Germany.
Then Hitler and his gang of hooligans appear on the surface. No fear, for they will go away. After all Germany is an educated, sophisticated nation. And so the silence began. Kristallnacht and the Holocaust took place and the silence continued. If we ignore the situation, it will go away.
The situation outside Germany was no different. Anti-Semitism was rampant, even here in the United States. Borders were closed as Jews sought to flee Nazi Germany. The story of the ship, the St. Louis, is a clear case of anti-Semitism exhibited by our own State Department. And even here there was a cloak of silence. If we keep quiet, it will go away.
During the war, bombers were returning to their bases with bombs still left in their bays. Pilots requested permission to drop them on the rail lines leading to the concentration camps, and again the request were met with silence.
And the result of this silence was the brutal death of six million Jews and millions of other “Undesirables.”
Speaking in 1974, Father Martin Niemoller stated in an oft repeated condemnation of the period:
“When they came for the socialists, I did not speak up for I was not a socialist.
When they came for the trade unionists, I did not speak up for I was not a trade unionist.
When they came for the Social Democrats, I did not speak up for I was not a Social Democrat.
When they came for the Jews, I did not speak up because I was not a Jew.
When they came for me, there was no one left to speak up.”
There was yet another silence, this one for protection. We remember today the righteous Christians and Moslems who hid and protected many Jews in spite of the dangers involved, saving them from annihilation. Without their silence, they too would have become victims.
The silence of the past is still with us. It lives on in the memory of those departed souls, but it also lives on in the way we today confront the bigots, the anti-Semites. There is still within our communities the desire to keep quiet, to not stir things up, and to think that hatred expressed will simply go away if not addressed.
Anti-Semitism is on the rise in our world. Bigotry and ethnic cleansing have shown their ugly heads in many areas of Africa – Darfur, the Congo, Asia and parts of Europe. The warnings are there; are we going to remember the past when silence allowed such evils to take control.
And there are some amongst us who say, “keep quiet, don’t make waves.” I say to you today, here in Leisure World and to the peoples of our great country, we must not allow bigotry to thrive, allow it to influence the lives of our residents and the citizens of the world. Silence is not the answer.
Remember always, the slogan that came out of the death camps, NEVER AGAIN, NEVER AGAIN, NEVER AGAIN.

In 1976 Niemöller was asked about the quotation in an interview. The Martin Niemoeller Foundation in Germany takes his 1976 answer to be definitive [see: <http://www.martin-niemoeller-stiftung.de/4/daszitat>]. In his long answer Niemoeller mentioned the following groups, and claimed that he started using the quotation only recently (at a 1974 event) :
1. Communists
2. Trade Unions
3. Social Democrats
4. Jews (sort of).