| Our care for the aged |
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| Friday, 03 October 2008 13:28 |
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Dear Reader, Member of the WHC – Shalom and Shana Tovah to you and your family. In the Torah it is written (Deuteronomy 32-7) “Ask your father and he will relate it to you, your elders and they will tell you”. We are also commanded (Leviticus 19-32) “In the presence of an old person shall you rise and you shall honour him”. The mitzvah to rise and honour everyone over the age of seventy is part of the other commandments. One of the very moving prayers in our Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur services, while the ark is open, is when we quote from psalm 71. A verse which says “Don’t cast me off when I am old, forsake me not when my strength faileth.” Being old is part of nature and also a test, sometimes a hard test for children and society. We are blessed with old and elderly people. As a Community we need to think if and how we can improve the care medically and socially etc. You can make it as a Rosh Hashanah resolution. It is very important that each and every one of us “adopts” an elderly man or woman, visits them at least once a month, takes them to the Centre or other places, learns something from them or phones them so that they do not suffer from loneliness. Next month the Care of the Aged will dedicate their meeting to this question and we would really appreciate your comments, suggestions and ideas to help our elderly. Shana Tovah
Rabbi Chaim Dovrat |
