New Jersey Jewish News
Monmouth County Story

Ocean Township couple gives back on journey from Arad to Addis

by Gil Hoffman
NJJN Israel Correspondent

JERUSALEM — Esther Schlisserman of Ocean Township wanted to go to Israel in 1948 to help the fledgling state, but her parents wouldn’t let her.

Schlisserman, 78, got to live her dream 56 years later when she and her husband, Aaron, 83, volunteered to help elderly people in Arad, the Partnership 2000 sister community of the Jewish Federation of Greater Monmouth County in the Negev.

The Schlissermans arrived in Israel on Dec. 20 for three weeks, then went on to tour in Ethiopia for two weeks and returned to Israel for a few days before returning to New Jersey on Jan. 29. The couple said that after having four children and six grandchildren, it was important to them to fulfill their goal of helping the State of Israel.

“If Israelis can give their lives, I could give three weeks,” Aaron Schlisserman said. “We are glad we did it, and we will do it again if we can.”

When the Schlissermans arrived, they were given a tour of volunteer opportunities by Arad’s “Living Bridge” coordinator, Nili Avrahamy. They decided to split each of their three weeks between the Beit Gilead Senior Center and the Matan Nursing Home, under the supervision of Estee Goldberg, the director of Arad’s Society for the Aged.

Beit Gilead is a community center for retirees who live at home but spend the day at the center, where the take part in a variety of activities. As expected in a multicultural environment like Arad, the center helps immigrants from many countries, including Russia, Argentina, Chile, Spain, Morocco, Ethiopia, and India.

Esther is a nurse in the Monmouth/Ocean educational system. Aaron, a lifelong Monmouth County resident, is a retired laundry salesman. In Israel, their job was to help the retirees with their projects, talk to them about their lives, and make them feel special. Despite their differences in language, they succeeded by all accounts.

“All they wanted was someone to talk to and to tell their life stories,” Esther said. “For instance, the Russian women wanted to show me their medals from World War II; everyone wanted me to take their pictures, and everyone wanted to talk.”

The Schlissermans helped the seniors with knitting, painting, doll making, and papier-mache projects. They also played dominoes with them for hours. They attended one Hanukka party for the seniors that featured American jazz music and another in which they were joined by a mission led by Rabbi Gordon Yaffe of Oakhurst’s Temple Beth El.

“The people in Beit Gilead wanted companionship,” Aaron said. “They didn’t want to feel that they were deserted or forgotten. I don’t know if there is anywhere else in the world where they can take people from 10 different countries and cultures, and there is no animosity because they are all Jews.”

Matan Nursing Home is intended for elderly people who are bedridden and require constant supervision. The Schlissermans’ role there was mainly to provide moral support.

They took walks and played bingo with the patients. Aaron told jokes in Yiddish. When the Schlissermans started singing a Yiddish song, many of the people in the nursing home joined in.

“We made them happy,” Aaron said. “When we came in the morning, people looked for us, so they could have contact with the outside world.”

The highlight of the trip for the Schlissermans was having an apartment in Israel and living as ordinary Israelis. One of the places they visited in Arad was its Ethiopian synagogue, which was built with the support of NJ federations.

‘We’ll do it again’

The Ethiopian leg of the Schlissermans’ journey was intended for tourism purposes but they ended up helping people in Addis Ababa just as they did in Arad. They met with future immigrants to Israel who will soon come to live in the Arad Absorption Center.

The Schlissermans visited synagogues in Addis Ababa and Gondar and the Axum Church, which, it is claimed, houses the tablets of the Ten Commandments and the Ark of the Covenant. They also attended the Timkat Festival, a colorful reenactment of the baptism of Jesus. They met many people in Gondar who said they were Jewish despite the crosses hanging from their necks.

“We heard a speech by people involved in Operation Solomon” — the 1991 lightning airlift that brought thousands of Ethiopian Jews to Israel — “and we were fascinated,” Esther said.

Upon their return to Israel, the Schlissermans were tourists, visiting friends and family and sites like the Davidson Archaeological Park in Jerusalem’s Old City.

Avrahamy called the Schlissermans “a wonderful, sweet couple” and said she would welcome them back in a minute.

“I have never had a couple this age volunteer, so for me it was unique,” Avrahamy said. “Anyone of any age who wants to come to Arad to help people is more than welcome.”

The Schlissermans said even before they left that they can’t wait to come back to Israel.

“The biggest mistake was waiting so long to do it,” Aaron said. “Health permitting, we will do it again. I hope other people don’t make the mistake that we made of putting it off. My message to the people back home is, ‘Do it while you can!’”

If you would like to volunteer in Arad, contact Howard Gases, Federation executive director or by telephone 732-531-6200.

Comments | Print | Subscribe