I agree with author Barbara
Kingsolver: “The very least you
can do in your life is figure out
what you hope for. And the most
you can do is live inside that hope.
Not admire it from a distance but
live right in it, under its roof.”
Numerous studies demonstrate that
the positive anticipation of events
boosts optimism levels. So, let us try
to live inside our hopes. Let us keep
our eyes on the horizon, envision
a future we can look forward to, a
future worth waiting for. As Emily
Dickinson reported: “I dwell in
possibility.” And Aristotle: “Hope
is a waking dream.”
An important point to remem-ber:
while hope can lift us up, it
can also be painful, because the
desired circumstance is not yet
at hand (and, moreover, is not
guaranteed). Perhaps it is better
to be modest in our hoping. As
the writer Margaret Mitchell said:
“Life’s under no obligation to give
us what we expect.” To maintain
a hopeful mindset, we must accept
the inevitability of disappointments:
positive expectations are occasion-ally
proven wrong. We must be will-ing
to cope with setbacks, mistakes,
and misfortunes. We must try not to
let disappointments squash hope.
Even if hope is temporarily lost,
it can be found again. Hope is
renewable. It is also contagious...
While waiting for a better future,
how can we make the (challeng-ing)
present more tolerable?
We can try to find comfort in
the small things. We can identify
(and perhaps write down daily) the
things that went well, intentional-ly
appreciating occurrences that
made the day better: a good talk
with a friend, FaceTiming with a
grandchild, being the recipient of
an act of kindness (like the package
of delicious home-baked pastries
I received from a friend, a superb
baker, who wished to lift my spirits
during a rough week), doing some-thing
nice for someone else, a great
book, a recipe that came out well,
finding the keys you thought you’d
lost, a beautiful sunset, the ways
clouds were reflected in the small
pond you pass on your daily walk
(a bit of heaven literally coming
down to earth...). One of my favor-ite
songwriters, the poet Leonard
Cohen, in his famous song, Anthem
advised:
“Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget the perfect offering
There is a crack in everything
That’s how the light gets in.”
For now, let us ring the bells
that still can ring, even if they
are few and far between. Let us
look for whatever goodness we
can still find in our day-to-day
lives: capture glitters. Things are
inherently imperfect. Let us try to
forget perfection. There is always
some brokenness, even in good
times: this is a part of the human
condition. But the brokenness is
where the light gets in, and the
light is worth hoping for...`
Happy Bat Mitzvah to Migdal Hadassah’s Revival!
Chapter was Rejuvenated in 2007
BY DEE-DEE
GOIDEL
The Migdal (which translates
to “Tower”) Chapter of Ha-dassah
at North Shore Tow-ers
was originally organized in the
mid-1970s. Unfortunately, due to
members moving or their inability
to attend, the Chapter’s activity lost
momentum over the years.
But Migdal had always been a
valued Nassau Region affiliate, and
in 2007 the Region reached out to
Migdal Regional Vice President
Joan Newman to revitalize the chap-ter.
That year, Caroline Dinofsky
became Migdal’s President; Lilly
Cohen became its Vice President
of Communication; Eva Kessner
its Program Vice President; Zona
Schreiber was named Treasurer;
Claire Hochberg became the V.P.
for Education; and Helen Frank
was the V.P. of Membership.
These women brought tremen-dous
talent and knowledge to
Migdal and provided North Shore
Towers’ chapter with new energy
and purpose. They held a renewal
open meeting in which 50 members
attended and discovered that the
Nassau Region of Hadassah was
correct: North Shores Towers
Hadassah members missed having
a chapter where they live.
Fast forward to when President
Caroline Dinofsky moved to
Chicago in 2014 and the Chapter
needed to install a new President.
Eva, Zona and Lilly had to decide
who among the remaining core
group would assume the presiden-cy.
Since each of them had addi-tional
commitments, they decided
to oversee Migdal as a presidium
committee to share the responsibili-ty
of leadership, and Roz Chumsky,
Marcia Jacobson and Judy Paris
also joined the core group.
Through the years, mem-bership
increased. Presently,
Marcia Jacobson, the V.P. of
Membership, informed me that
there are 344 Hadassah members
living here at the Towers. Before
moving to NST, some were active
members in other chapters from
various states and countries.
Did you know: Hadassah encour-ages
dual chapter memberships. It is
very simple to officially join Migdal
since this chapter is at your doorstep.
Over the years it has provided a vari-ety
of activities for our participation.
Some members have a lifetime mem-bership
and many others pay their
membership dues yearly.
When you officially join the
Migdal Chapter you find new
friends. They are women who are
part of a cause larger than them-selves,
encouraging one another to
continue to be leaders at any age.
They do not say “Been there, done
that”: they continue to uphold the
Hadassah heritage begun by found-er
Henrietta Szold in New York in
1912 (at a time, by the way, when
women did not even have the right
to vote). The organization’s name,
Hadassah, was derived from Queen
Esther’s Hebrew name.
Hadassah Chapters all over the
world are made up of women vol-unteers
who pool their energies
to raise funds for a productive
organization. (And let’s not forget:
There is an associate membership
category for men as well.)
Photo: Hadassah Med
The funds raised have built the
Hadassah Medical Organization,
two Hadassah hospitals and a
Medical College. In turn, the
Hadassah Medical Organization
helps all mankind with their
groundbreaking medical research
in diabetes, robotic surgery and
improved medical technology in
addition to a range of neurologi-cal
diseases including Alzheimer’s,
Parkinson’s Disease and Lou
Gehrig’s Disease. They are currently
working on a vaccine to combat
Covid-19.
Migdal has always been proud
of being at the forefront of help-ing.
To commemorate Migdal’s Bat
Mitzvah of its revitalization in 2007
we hope to be able in the future
to mark the occasion in some way.
Direct involvement will keep you
feeling vital. Thank you to all our
members and friends for your sup-port.
We could not accomplish all
that Migdal has done and continues
to do without your dedicated atten-dance
in our clubs, fund raisers and
open meeting activities.
Interested in joining? Call Marcia
Jacobson at 718-631-1067
Have any questions? Call Eva
Kessner at 718-631-7637
August 2020 ¢ NORTH SHORE TOWERS COURIER 23