Jewish Post, Indianapolis, Marion County, 12 November 2003 — Page 4

IN 4 November 12. 2003

Morningside, Friday, 4 p.m.

By MATTHEW J. SILVER Many have come from different parts of the country, some from Indianapolis. The Vernicks have come from Michigan City, Joseph Silver from Warren, Oh., Rose Sweig from New Orleans, Bernice Bell from Scarsdale, Cele Bluestein and Pearl Roth from Indianapolis, Irv Goldberg from St. Louis, Sylvia Silver (my mother) from Knoxville, the Freemans from Cincinnati, Sarah Gumbiner from Chicago, and about 25 others from near and far, mostly in their 80s but some in their early 90s, all gathered here for one purpose. Bridge tournament? No. It's Shabbos at Morningside of College Park, the independent

living community for seniors in northwest Indianapolis, and these are all residents gathered in the chapel to usher in the Sabbath. Several arrive using assistive devices - canes, walkers, caregivers - but all are greeted with heartfelt warmth and graciousness by Rosalie Gussow, who leads her “congregation" in worship. Gussow was born and raised in Cleveland, one of three daughters of a public school teacher mother who, after retiring, became a Sunday school teacher for 25 years at Park Synagogue, and a 50-year practicing dentist father. Her Orthodox grandfather lived with the family when she was young, and she describes a

warm traditional home where all the holidays were wonderfully observed, attending services at the Conservative shul, and being very proud of her Jewish heritage. “My great-grandfather, David Levy, was an itinerant rabbi who traveled all through the small towns of Michigan conducting services, finally settling in Cleveland as the first rabbi-cantor of Anshay Emeth Bet Tefilo, which later became Park Synagogue. 1 am named for him - my middle name is Davita. My father's mother, my bubbe, was called the little general -1 was taller than her when I was eight years old - but she maintained control over her entire family, her three daughters and her son, my father. "She called each of our homes every morning, and if she wanted us at her house for Shabbat dinner, we would be there for Shabbat dinner - even if it was Tuesday. And every Shabbat morning my aunt would deliver a freshbaked challah made by bubbe. All the holidays were at her house. My mother was a storyteller, traveling all around

Cleveland to different Jewish organizations, telling stories in Hebrew, Yiddish, and English. Our family was so close - it's different nowadays, but I see many families going back to this closeness." Rosalie and her husband, Elliott, knew each other from their fathers' pinochle game but did not really become a couple until after they had graduated from the University of Ohio. After they married, his job with the weather bureau took them to the bay area of California and then to the small town of Lompoc, Calif., near Vandenberg Air Base. They discovered 25 other Jewish families there and would take turns having services in each others' homes, often conducting the services themselves, sometimes bringing in a student rabbi. Butthey wanted to be closer to their families in the Midwest and in 1967 relocated to Indianapolis. They have since raised two daughters here - Michelle, who writes for this paper, and Beverly, a transportation specialist. Morningside did not always have a Jewish presence, much less a Shabbat service, but nearly 11 years ago Gussow and (then) resident Gertrude Schwartz began a Hanukkah Menorah ceremony in the private dining room with the handful of Jews who

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lived there. (Schwartz actually graduated from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, but at a time when women were not allowed to become rabbis. Two years ago she moved to Florida.) This beginning evolved into the 25-35 (out of some 40 Jewish residents total) who regularly gather for the Friday worship service. Gussow knows them all by name and greets them accordingly, welcoming the new, putting down prayers for the ill, sharing solace for the departed and well wishes for those moving away. The 18-page prayer pamphlets, Chemdat Yamim (Most Precious of Days), from the Indianapolis Hebrew Congregation and provided in memory of former resident Harry Bailie, are distributed, and Gussow reminds everyone to be thankful for another day. One of the participants is invited to kindle the Shabbat lights, and Ted Vernick chants the entire Kiddush in a voice that belies his 91 years. Everyone shares in all the prayers and readings and the songs. Gussow then leads in describing our partnership with God, from the Midrasfi: "When the world was created, God made everything a little incomplete. Rather than making bread grow out of the earth, God made wheat grow so that we might bake it into bread; rather than making the earth of bricks, God made it of clay so that we might bake the clay into bricks. Why? So that we might become partners in completing the work of creation." In a strong voice, and fresh each Friday afternoon, resembling that of the rabbi she could have become-"When I was 13, girls were not bat mitzvahed. I'm proud to say I, along with 12 others at Beth-El Zedeck, were bat mitzvahed in our later years" - she elicits a strong response from her congregation partners in reciting the Sh'ma, the V'-a-hav-ta (in Hebrew and English), chanting the Le-cha Dodi to join the bride of the Sabbath with her groom, and honoring the matriarchs and the patriarchs (in Hebrew and English). There is no ark and no Torah, but Gussow delivers a mini-sermon on the week's Torah portion. She emphasizes to these folks who are in their twilight that life is a gift for which we give thanks. Continued on page 6