EDITOR’S NOTE: The following is condensed from a post on Caring Bridge, where Elliott’s son Joel has been posting updates about his dad from time to time. (see article on past rabbis in The Ram’s Horn.) It would be nice to send a card.

Elliott’s got a big birthday coming
Journal entry by Joel Magalnick — August 10

Hi everyone,

I realize it has been over a year and a half since I last posted, so I thought I’d give an update. Overall he appears to be doing quite well. He has been largely stable for the past couple years with some ups and downs here and there. With the onset of Covid, he has been more or less in lockdown in his room at Brookdale, but starting to venture out a little more for meals in a physically distanced cafeteria.

Since visitors aren’t allowed in the building he has gotten a few visits from friends through the window, where they chat with masks on at a six-foot distance.

… Believe it or not, the old man turns 75 next Wednesday, August 19th. It would be great if you could call or stop by. Unfortunately it’s not as easy as just picking up the phone and reaching him. He has trouble using his phone, even if it does ring, so to have a chat you’ll need to reach out to Brookdale directly at 303-364-7149 and have them come to the room with the phone. They prefer that you set up time to do the call or you even set up a Zoom chat, which the front desk can facilitate.

…Brookdale is at 150 Quebec St. in Denver, 80230.

He would love to have visitors! Stay healthy everyone.

Joel

Shalom,

Here is Zoom information for an incredible program on Sunday. My 92-year-old Rabbi was on the Exodus and this program will talk about it. Rabbi Birnbaum is beyond incredible as is his entire family. He is originally from Slovakia and was liberated at the age of 14 – he’ll tell the story on Sunday. It will be fun to see you if you join in on the Zoom. Here you go.

Eye Witness Testimony
The amazing story of “Exodus 1947” – the ship that launched a nation

Part I: Sunday, August 9, 2020, 8:00AM MDT, 10:00AM EDT, 5:00PM IDT
Part II: Sunday, August 16, 2020, 8:00AM MDT, 10:00AM EDT, 5:00PM IDT
Join Zoom Meeting. Use this same link for both days.

Submitted by Natalie Fisher Guerin

Shalom CBA Members and Friends,

COVID-19 has affected us all in ways we couldn’t have guessed when this year started, but I want to tell you about Hannah Simkovic-Kitterman.

Hannah and I have been working together for a while now, and at the beginning of the year, the excitement was building for her to invite her family and friends, and fill the synagogue with people excited to welcome her into the Jewish community as a Bat Mitzvah, a “Daughter of the Commandments”. We had a date set, we had plans for what it would look like, and the party was being thought about.

And then COVID-19 happened.

At first, we decided to postpone it to late summer, in the hopes that things would normalize and we would be able to do it “right.” Unfortunately, things once again did not work out according to plan. Undaunted, but a little demoralized, we pressed on.

I personally can’t imagine what it is like to have any lifecycle event during this time, let alone one as important and central to a Jewish teenager’s life journey than a B’nei Mitzvah in a time where social distancing and Zoom meetings are a regrettable necessity.

It is with that in mind that I would like to invite you to Emily’s Bat Mitzvah on Zoom, which will take place on Saturday, August 15th @ 10:30am. I am personally sending an all-call to the community to join in to watch the service and her Torah reading. Even though we can’t come together in the synagogue, we can still come together virtually for this important event.

You can join the service with this link:

Erik Uriarte is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: Hannah’s Bat Mitzvah
Time: Aug 15, 2020 10:30 AM Mountain Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting

We will also be tentatively planning for an event next year, where we can gather for her to read Torah with a (safe) room full of people, and a real, honest-to-G-d party afterwards.

Respectfully,

Erik L Uriarte, MAHL
Student Rabbi and Director of Religious Programming
Congregation Beth Aaron – Billings, MT
Cell: (406) 413-5367