SLR Marlboro Couple Hosts Shabbat
On a late spring evening at Senior Living Residences (SLR) Marlboro, the Shabbat candles were lit and the challah was ready to be blessed. The residents of the assisted living community gathered for temple, shared stories, and prayed together.
SLR Marlboro residents and married couple Jules and Sandy Levin have been hosting Shabbat services right in the community’s Theater ever since they moved in three years ago. When they first moved in, the community was just starting to develop their Jewish programming and called on the couple to create their own program from the ground up.
Jules and Sandy got to work creating their own prayer book, and soon they had started a weekly Shabbat temple service for their fellow Jewish residents. They now have around 15 attendees every Friday evening, inviting people to continue practicing their faith in a compassionate, friendly and accessible environment. In this way, new Jewish residents have a place to go to make friends and reconnect with their religious community.
At every service, Jules and Sandy work as a team, each playing their own role in putting everything together. Sandy lights the candles, they take turns reading prayers, and Jules blesses the challah and wine.
Both Jules and Sandy fondly remember practicing their faith in their younger years. When he reflected on his experiences with Shabbat growing up, Jules happily recalled when he stepped in to lead the services at his hometown temple when he was 16. That was his first time hosting a service, and he is glad to be able to bring the community’s Jewish population together each week.
“It makes me happy that my friends are happy,” Jules expressed. “Some people can’t always go to an outside temple, and we’re glad that they can continue practicing here.”
Sandy loves seeing everyone enjoy the service, building a community of Jewish residents, and helping people make new friends. As a former history teacher, she quickly found a new passion in researching important figures in Jewish history to share with the attendees.
“I was surprised to learn that the woman who invented the Barbie doll was Jewish!” Sandy said. “It’s just amazing to find these little connections that we wouldn’t have known about before. It’s special to learn together.”
“I’ve actually been able to get back to practicing my faith and attending services again, which I hadn’t done in years. I’m glad to be able to reconnect with it,” shared Barbara Slater, an SLR Marlboro resident and a regular Shabbat attendee. She and her friend Lila Spivak sit together every week. “We enjoy listening to the prayers. It’s just a very nice thing to share with everyone.”
“I hadn’t gone to temple for quite a while,” Lila remarked. “So I started here, and I’m really enjoying it.”
The weekly gathering serves not only as a way for the residents to stay connected to their faith and bond over their shared backgrounds, but to share the spirit of inclusivity, warmth, and peace throughout the community as a whole.
“The Jewish religion is a warm religion that welcomes everybody, and a lot of it is grounded in peace,” shared Jules. “The people who come here can make new friends and enjoy one another’s company, and we pray for peace together. This service is how we can embrace peace in the world.”