In case you haven’t noticed it lately, Miami (and South Florida in general) is not what it once was to “our people.” There was a time that when a Jew from Brooklyn or “De Bronx” dreamed of retirement, that dream included moving to Sunny South Florida to live out the goldenah yoren, the golden years. And, with so many retired down here, it became the norm for many of their children to move down here to be near them. It became the hot spot for those who had gone through divorce as they, too, came, (albeit for other reasons) to be near their parents. This all gave the bubbes (grandmothers) and zeydes (grandfathers) of South Florida the joy of having their grandchildren nearby.
Sadly, that is no longer the norm. South Florida is no longer the dream retirement spot for our people and we now have many bubbes and zeydes who seldom get to see their grandchildren. And for many of those Grandparents, it is no longer possible for them to travel up North to visit their precious little angels.
Temple Beth Israel of Deerfield Beach has 100 of the sweetest bubbes and zeydes you could ever hope to meet. Few, if any, actually have grandchildren who live down here in Florida.
The High Holy Days are coming up and the bubbes and zeydes of Temple Beth Israel (and those of other Congregations as well) would love to have little ones sitting next to them in the Shul.
Being able to “adopt” a precious little angel as a grandchild and having that adoptee and their parents adopt a grandparent. Well, that could just make the greatest of New Years for everyone involved. And, at the same time, selfishly, yes, it would bring more members into the congregation … young members, vibrant members … and this would insure a minimum of two more generations for the Temple. It is a win/win situation all the way around as it has the potential to increase the joy and well-being of so many in our midst.
While you’re thinking about it, let me share a story that was e-mailed to me about just how loving and patient a zeyde can be. A woman is in a supermarket behind a zeyde and his badly behaved 3- or 4-year-old grandson. It is obvious to her that the zeyde has his hands full with this little one screaming for candy and cookies. Meanwhile, zeyde is doing his shopping and saying in a soft voice, “Easy, Moshele, we won’t be long…”
The little one has another outburst and the woman hears the zeyde calmly say, “It’s okay, Moishele, just a couple more minutes and we’ll be out of here.” At the checkout counter, the little imp starts throwing items out of the shopping cart and zeyde calmly says, “Moishele, relax, don’t get upset. Stay cool.”
The woman who had been following him is quite impressed with the zeyde’s patience and says, “You are amazing! I don’t know how you did it. That whole time you kept your calm and kept saying things would be okay. Moishele is very lucky to have you as his zeyde.”
The zeyde responds, “Thanks, but I’m Moishele. The little shmegegee’s name is Jacob.”
This year, bring your little ones with you to our Shul. Become a part of our family. There might just be a new bubbe or zeyde in it for you or your child. Looking forward to seeing you there on the Holy Days and all year round.
Shalom my friends,
Rabbi Craig H. Ezring
Rabbi Ezring is a member of the National Association of Jewish Chaplains and of the Association of Professional Chaplains, He works professionally in this capacity with a number of healthcare facilities in the area, and with hospice. He is the Spiritual Leader of Temple Beth Israel of Deerfield Beach.
