Sept. 2026
Cara Bensimon
As Rosh Hashanah approaches, we make resolutions, set intentions, and ask ourselves what we might do differently. But perhaps there is another question worth asking: What do I still have to give, and who might need it?
At HJFS, we work with people at every stage of life. Some come to us seeking counselling, financial assistance, food security, or help adjusting to a major transition. Others join us through Café Europa, Seniors Living Well programming, or community gatherings. Across all these programs, one truth appears again and again: people need connection, purpose and the knowledge that they still matter. This is especially important as we grow older. Retirement, the loss of a spouse, changes in health or fewer opportunities for social connection can gradually affect a person’s sense of identity. Our community’s seniors hold decades of practical knowledge, cultural memory, resilience and lived experience. They are teachers, mentors, storytellers and contributors.
This idea is helping to shape a new Seniors Skill Share initiative at HJFS. We are exploring opportunities for older adults to share something they know with others. It might be cooking a traditional recipe, making art, knitting, gardening, birding, writing poetry, teaching a card game, leading laughter yoga, sharing basic Hebrew or Yiddish, navigating hearing loss, writing a memoir, offering estate-planning knowledge, telling a family story, or introducing others to positive psychology.
The skill itself matters, but the deeper value lies in the exchange. One person experiences the dignity of being needed. Another gains knowledge, companionship, and a connection to someone they may not otherwise have met. Giving and receiving are rarely fixed roles, and over a lifetime, most of us will do both.
As we enter a new Jewish year, perhaps renewal can also mean recognizing what is already within us — and offering it to someone else. Everyone has something to teach. And everyone deserves the gift of knowing they are still needed.
If you have a skill or life experience you would be willing to share, please contact Erika McMeekin at [email protected]. From all of us at HJFS, we wish you and your loved ones a sweet, healthy and meaningful new year. Shanah Tovah U’Metukah.
