55+
The 55+ Club at Temple Emunah is a social organization that promotes friendship and bonding among seniors in the community within the framework of a Jewish temple. 55+ is a member of Hazak, the seniors organization of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, but actually predates that organization. We are proud to have won a Sollie Gold award this year from the USCJ, recognizing our entire program.
Our programs include monthly Sunday morning breakfasts with speakers or entertainment, trips to interesting places, movie matinees during the winter months, and services to our members including a break-the-fast immediately following the shofar blowing that ends Yom Kippur.
55+ also sponsors several special interest groups (SIG's). These include a book group and a bridge group, and now a mah jongg group which will meet on Monday afternoons. The first four sessions are classes for beginners taught by Estelle Schwedock, which will meet on October 10th, 17th, 24th, and, if necessary, 31st at 1:30 in the Social Hall. If you are interested in this or in any of the already-formed groups, or have suggestions for additional groups (some suggestions include a more generalized "game afternoon" at the same time and place as mah jongg, with possibilities including poker, Scrabble ... you name it.) please contact us with your ideas at
.For membership information, contact Arthur Orenberg at (781) 862-0620 or just come to the next Sunday morning breakfast. Dues are $10 per person; our fiscal year is September through August.
A summary of upcoming events may be seen by clicking here.
The latest message from our president, Rose-Billie Canter, may be seen by clicking here .
You may click on one of the links below for more information on our activities.
Links
55+ Board
55+ Board 2011 – 2012
Elected Officers
| President | Rose-Billie Canter |
| VP, Webmaster & Fliers | Joe Canter |
| VP, Trips | Anita Feld |
| Financial Secretary | Jerry Wasserman |
| Recording Secretary | Gershon Goldberg |
| Treasurer | Arthur Orenberg |
Board Members
| Senior Advisor | Marcia Camac |
| Senior Advisor | Mort Camac |
| Past President | Lester Macklin | Movie Matinee | Marilyn & Mel Tracey |
| Trips | Barbara Hantman |
| Trips/Program | Barbara Newman |
| Program Chair | Jolley Anne Weinstock |
| Program | Ann Landau |
| Kitchen Chair | Debbie Kivel |
| Kitchen | Maxine Wasserman | Setup Chair | Roger Kravett |
| Book Group Co-Chair | Ellen Macklin |
| Book Group Co-Chair | Estelle Schwedock |
| Reservations | Charlotte Alterson |
| Reservations | Mickie Leff |
55+ Book Group
55+ sponsors a book group that is now in its sixth year. We meet on a monthly basis to discuss a book of Jewish interest. By now we have amassed quite a selection of books.
Click here for our 'bibliography',
For further information, please email us at
.55+ Breakfasts
Although it has not been a conscious decision, our group seems to have been periodically looking at Jewish communities around the world ... Ethiopia, Holland, and China at earlier breakfasts, Argentina, Mexico, Holland, and Canada at our Movie Matinees, and India, Bulgaria, Iraq and Iran in our book group. On September, we will be hearing from Desiree Gil, who will speak on the Jewish Community of Cuba. Desiree, a former president of Congregation Shirat Hayam in Peabody has led three missions to Cuba, with her fourth and final mission scheduled for February 16-24, 2012. See the attached flier (click here) for more details.
55+ Bridge Group
The 55+ Bridge Group meets every Thursday from 1 - 3 pm in the Social Hall.
For information call Mort Camac at 781-861-8834.
55+ Movie Matinees
Our Movie Matinees were originally conceived of as a way to get together during the winter months, when we tend not to schedule trips because travel can be iffy at best.
The Movie Matinee season is over, but movies will resume in November and continue through March. Movie titles will be published in your monthly mailing.
We encourage your input on film selections. We try to screen a variety of films of Jewish interest. If you have questions or suggestions, please contact us via email at
.55+ Trips
The 55+ Club sponsors a number of trips each year. These include day trips to local attractions as well as more ambitious overnight forays. In the past we have seen plays in Lowell, Boston, and Worcester, visited museums such as Peabody Essex and Harvard Semitic, gone to local concerts such as the Lexington Symphony, we've cruised Boston Harbor to see the Tall Ships, and we've taken a day trip to the Lower East Side of New York. Our most recent overnight trips have been to Tanglewood and the Berkshires, Lincoln, New Hampshire for some R&R, and Jewish Montreal. For all but our most local trips, we arrange transportation via bus for short trips or motor coach.
This summer we made three local trips, a Bicentennial Band Concert and an Encore HD Performance of Tosca, both in July and saw a baseball game in September.
The very successful inter-generational trip to Lowell, to see the Spinners baseball game on September 1. was a sell-out; in fact, we were oversubscribed! It was especially fun to see the excitement on the faces of the kids: "We've never been this close to the field before!"
Following the Holidays, on October 30th, 2011, we are in the process of setting up a day trip to Strawbery Banke (yes, the spelling is correct) in Portsmouth, NH. This is a restored (not recreated) community, dating from the early 1630's, which traces 375 years of the history of the seaport town. We'll leave from Temple Emunah on Sunday morning and travel by motor coach to Strawbery Banke. Among other sites of interest, we'll meet "Mrs. Shapiro" for a tour of her 1919 house. Lunch is at a local restaurant, on your own, followed by stops at other local attractions, including Yummies, a huge candy store in Kittery, ME and if time permits, a short visit to the outlet stores. The cost is $69 per person, admission included. you can see a preliminary flier with a reservation form by clicking here.
A few photos taken on some earlier trips are shown below.
In the Shed at Tanglewood before the performance
At the Clark Art Museum
The Bridge of Flowers (sadly destroyed in the recent flooding)
Shaar Hashomayim in Montreal
A "cruise" in New Hampshire