On Rosh Chodesh Adar, March 3, Beit Tovei Ha’ir hosted a Jewish Music Conference for people aged 70 and above. It sold out. CEO of the Residence, Emanuel Globerman, explains why they organized this event.
Anyone who experienced the festive atmosphere of the Jewish Music Conference at Beit Tovei Ha’ir will have noticed the joyful mood of celebration. “Weeks later, the residents are still talking about the amazing event!” says Globerman. “Many people have asked me why we invested our energy and resources to host such an ambitious 12-hour event for seniors?”
For those who missed it, here is a short video of the highlights, but it is impossible to really capture the great music and the positive mood that resonated throughout the Residence. Three separate concert halls were set up, with lectures in Hebrew and in English, for mixed audiences and for women only. The star performers included world-renowned Chazan Yaakov Motzen, Klezmer clarinetist Musa Berlin and his band, Odelia Berlin and David Zeira. Lectures on Torah and musical topics were given by Rabbanit Yemima Mizrahi, Racheli Frankel, Paul Salter, Rabbi Anthony Manning, Elli Jaffe and Dr. Hillel Mali. There were also two panel discussions, moderated by the religious TV presenter Yedidya Meir, about the nature and future of Jewish music.
The event was superbly organized by a professional production company, and raised money for Yad Sara. Tickets sold out long before the event, and every seat was occupied.
“There is no doubt that we had been waiting for an event of this nature to hopefully mark the end of the COVID pandemic and a return to normality, please G-d!”, says Globerman. “But this was not our first major event. In the past we have hosted a Tanakh Quiz for Seniors and a live event for women with celebrity lectures and cooking demonstrations, and I hope we will host further events on this scale.
“Our goal is to bring the world into the Residence and ensure that older people do not feel left out. Many event venues are inaccessible to those who find it difficult to walk and to travel, so we use the beautiful venues within the Residence to bring joy to all. It was important to me that we limit the participants to those who are over 70 because this population often feels marginalized. Particularly after the COVID pandemic, when seniors felt isolated and could not always manage the technology to participate in online events, we wanted to create an event just for them.”
Beit Tovei Ha’ir is known for its warm community atmosphere, and its regular music events certainly contribute to the joyful mood, particularly on Shabbat and around the Chagim.
“When people ask me what we try to achieve here, I tell them that my goal is to create as much joy as possible. As religious people, we believe that Hashem created old age and gave us long lives, so He must have a reason. We want to explore the wonders of old age and celebrate being seniors! The world outside favors the young, so we are swimming against the tide and making senior living in our community as good as it can be!”
