“Now this woman loves the program we do,” Tirado says. “She looks forward to Fridays.”

The facility, because of its original charter, is known as the “Baptist Division,” though it is now one of several campuses under the umbrella of the Hebrew Homes at Riverdale.

Residents’ needs here range from minimal assistance with bathing, dressing, eating and walking to skilled nursing and medical care. Tirado says that some of her Jewish clients are very frail. “But when you talk to them about the Shabbat program, they do show a little response,” she says. “They remember.”

Including music in the program is especially important. For some, the songs bring back particulars: “They talk about when they used to do these songs with their families, ” Tirado says, “and about how, after the service, they weren’t supposed to do any labor. They talk about their past experience.” W hen there is singing, Tirado says everyone, including a few non-Jewish residents, participates in their own way—perhaps by clapping or nodding. Everyone, she adds, recognizes the Shabbat as a special part of the week.

A Self-Taught Ceremony Is an Essential Part of the Week…

There is no chaplain or religious staff at Baptist. Volunteers conduct the Catholic Mass, for instance. The instructions in the Sacred Seasons kit, however, are clear enough that Tirado not only taught herself the additional rituals, but easily trained another non-Jewish colleague, as well.

Because staff members are able to follow the kit’s instructions, the Oneg Shabbat service has become a regular event, which is even more important now that some residents’ family members have started to visit each week to share in the celebration. The wife of one resident has become a regular. “She makes sure her husband comes in on time. She doesn’t want to miss the service,” Tirado says. Her husband isn’t able to eat, Tirado adds; he has a gastrointestinal tube. But he is mentally alert and understands and enjoys the observance.

And the celebration also has helped build Tirado’s rapport with the elders here. “They always ask me now about what we’re going to do on Friday,” she says. She takes some pride in the fact that residents also find humor in this particular Shabbat setting: “They make jokes like, ‘We have a Spanish rabbi!’” she says, laughing. “But it did build a better relationship: They feel more close to me.”