The residents enjoyed a fabulous in-person Shabbat celebration at LifeTown. The women residents had an opportunity to light the candles and then pray in the Friendship Circle praying room. Mark told Hagit, the JSDD Judaic Coordinator, that he enjoyed praying.
After the prayers everyone gathered in the dining room that was set up beautifully for Shabbat and sat in their designated seats around decorated tables. There was beautiful singing that filled the room including a favorite, “Shalom Aleichem.” Each participant had their own grape juice and personal challah. The residents enjoyed welcoming Shabbat together with the Friendship Circle community.
The event was in loving memory of Barbara Zinbarg. Her husband, Ed, enjoyed meeting the JSDD residents. Clifford Aaron, the guest speaker discussed his disability, becoming blind later in his life. He shared about his journey, service dog and his personal grieving process and his daily challenges. Stacy C. said that his story was so inspiring for her to hear and she had goosebumps while she heard Clifford share.
The participants enjoyed the delicious Shabbat dinner, the warm atmosphere and interacting with each other as well as community members and participants in the event. Daniel and Todd shared that it is so nice to celebrate Shabbat in person and how happy they are to be part of the JSDD family with our own virtual community.