Lynn Geller, HEA Past President & Shalom Park Chair-Elect
I am honored to write this week’s HEArtbeat article to celebrate Shalom Park, Denver’s only Jewish nursing home.
On Wednesday, April 17, Shalom Park is having its Annual Fundraiser and Appreciation Event at TopGolf in Centennial. This year, the honoree is Bruce Bendell, our very own HEA VP of Finance and Chair of our Finance Committee. Bruce, his wife Jennifer and two children have been HEA members for many years. In addition to Bruce’s role with the HEA Board of Directors, he has been very active on the Shalom Park Board of Trustees for years and, most recently, as a financial advisor to the organization. While working on the Shalom Park board with Bruce, I have noticed he asks the most thoughtful questions and gives excellent, constructive advice. Bruce is a mensch and is very deserving of this honor from Shalom Park.
When Jews settled in a new town, we first built schools, mikvahs, synagogues, hospitals/nursing homes and cemeteries. At our 90th Anniversary Event on March 10, we learned about couples like Anne and Bill Goldberg, parents to Charlotte Rubin and Essie Perlmutter, who were so instrumental in the founding of the HEA. From generation to generation, Jordon (z”l) and Essie Perlmutter and others were the key philanthropists behind creating Shalom Park. In 1992, four years before the HEA moved to our current location, the Beth Israel Nursing Home moved to Aurora and was renamed Shalom Park. A beautiful connection between the HEA and Shalom Park is that the same philanthropic families that started the HEA were involved in the building of Shalom Park.
We are taught in Midrash Tanchuma, Ki Tisa 27, One should greet an elderly person as one greets the Shekhinah (divine presence).
Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel wrote in The Insecurity of Freedom: Essays on Human Existence (New York: Macmillan, 1967) “A test of a people is how it behaves toward the old. It is easy to love children. Even tyrants and dictators make a point of being fond of children. But the affection and care for the old, the incurable, the helpless are the true gold mines of a culture.”
These texts teach us how important it is to honor, respect, and care for our elders. The Midrash above likens talking to an elderly person to being in the presence of G-d. There really isn’t anything more important than that! We hope we will live long lives and might need help from those younger than us. Very close relatives of mine lived at Shalom Park for many years and received excellent care, and therefore, I want to ensure that this nursing home continues to thrive for many years to come.
I hope you will join Bill and me at the Shalom Park Annual Event on April 17 at TopGolf, 1601 E. Easter Ave, Centennial, CO 80112, 6:00 p.m. RSVP HERE, or call Rhonda at (303) 400-2219.
