Days after Valentine’s Day, MorseLife resident Esther Feldberg signed copies of her debut memoir, “Sunshine and Moonstruck: My True Story of Love, Joy and Sadness,” for fellow residents and friends.

Published in September 2024, the book chronicles her first marriage to her college sweetheart who she met while attending University of Illinois. “The first minute I met him, we fell in love. He was very handsome and the love of my life,” she said. Her husband of 18 years was a lieutenant and communications officer in the Navy and sadly passed away of an illness at the age of 41, leaving her to raise their three children on her own.

Feldberg also goes back deeper in her family’s history to share her maternal and paternal grandfathers’ stories of moving from Europe to the United States, recounting the trials and tribulations Jewish immigrants faced.

“Sunshine and Moonstruck” is available for purchase on Amazon. One hundred percent of the proceeds from the sale of the book are donated to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

With too many stories to tell in its 110 pages, Feldberg is currently hard at work on her next memoir about her second chance at love with Sumner “Sonny” Feldberg. The future couple rode the school bus together when she was in seventh grade, and she thought he was cute. They later reconnected as adults and eventually married.

The pair moved to MorseLife in July 2019, and he passed away in July 2022 at the age of 98. Fashionistas and “Maxxinistas” will really enjoy Felberg’s second book. Sonny was the founder of such stores as BJ’s Wholesale Club, T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, HomeGoods and Homesense and she’ll share the backstories of their creation.

About to celebrate her 99^th birthday in April, Feldberg is still going strong and enjoys spending time at Palm Beach Country Club, where she’s been a member since 1990.

MorseLife’s Rabbi Erica Rosenkranz Leads Residents in a Sukkot Celebration

MorseLife residents and employees recently gathered to celebrate Sukkot, the “Feast of Tabernacles,” which celebrates the harvest and commemorates God’s miraculous protection for the children of Israel’s departure from Egypt. It is one of the three Jewish pilgrimage festivals, along with Passover and Shavuot.

The Purim celebration was part of MorseLife’s JewishLife initiative, created to engage residents, families, members of the community, and employees through religious, ritual, and spiritual events.

To mark the occasion, MorseLife created a foliage-covered sukkah. Rabbi Erica Rosenkranz, director of JewishLife and director of community engagement for the NOW for Holocaust Survivors Initiative at MorseLife, led residents in the ceremonial waving of the lulav (palm branch), aravot (two willows), hadassim (three myrtles), and etrog (citron), symbolizing levels of Torah knowledge and together representing Jewish unity.

MorseLife’s JewishLife initiative includes year-round religious services for Shabbat, Havdalah, Rosh Chodesh, Kaddish, and special healing services. Holiday programs such as Purim costume parties and Hamantaschen baking, Shabbat Challah Bakes, and Passover Seders, along with Klezmer bands and Israeli dancing performances, bring Yiddishkeit to life at MorseLife. Lively current events discussions focus on worldwide events through a Jewish values lens. In addition, pastoral counseling for residents and their families is available, as are Jewish lifecycle traditions such as baby naming ceremonies.

Volunteers Share Sweet High Holiday Traditions with Seniors in Need

MorseLife volunteers, residents and staff once again gathered to package and deliver kosher holiday meals to more than 1500 vulnerable seniors living throughout Palm Beach County.

“It’s wonderful to be able to bring the community together again this year to enjoy the sweet traditions of the High Holidays with seniors who depend on MorseLife for support,” said President & CEO Keith Myers. “We are grateful to have such dedicated volunteers who have made it an annual tradition to serve meals to isolated seniors through the MorseLife Homebound Mitzvah program.”

Seniors received traditional meals of homemade Matzoh Ball Soup, wine, challah, an apple and honey, and homemade honey cake for dessert.

“We continue to maintain social distancing measures for the safety of our seniors, which includes contactless meal drop-offs,” added Myers. “Even though these challenges exist, it’s a joyous occasion to share traditional holiday rituals.”

MorseLife’s Homebound Mitzvah Program for Passover and the High Holidays gathers hundreds of community volunteers to assist with pre-delivery meal packaging and/or meal delivery to Palm Beach County seniors. Volunteers assist in many programs that benefit community seniors in need, such as the Homebound Mitzvah Program, which are made possible through generous donations to the MorseLife Foundation.

A Connected Community: MorseLife Embraces Technology to Uplift Residents

With the new challenges brought about by COVID-19, MorseLife has quickly adapted with an innovative spirit and great compassion for all its residents. Technology has provided many opportunities to engage isolated and uneasy older adults, providing a human connect in their daily lives. From the introduction of a Learn & Share streaming class series to a virtual Passover seder, MorseLife is exploring new avenues to keep residents and community members thriving during a difficult time.

“Now is the time to find creative new ways to better the lives of those we serve, regardless of what’s going on in the world around them,” said Keith Myers, President and CEO of MorseLife Health System. “While safety is critically important, so is quality of life.”

When COVID-19 became a concern to the community, MorseLife went to work developing safety protocols while simultaneously familiarizing residents with new technology platforms like Zoom, Facebook Live and FaceTime so that they could stay in close contact with loved ones. The staff also made sure to help residents’ access online games, shopping sites and more in order to keep them engaged and entertained.

MorseLife with funding from the Commonwealth Project (TCP) also recently wrapped up its eighth program of a new Learn & Share virtual series, with television personality Suzanne Boyd. Program content has included enlightening educational discussions about selling collectables, creating the perfect cup of tea and the benefits of CBD, as well as interactive chair yoga and cooking classes.

With so many residents and their families separated this Passover, MorseLife also held its first virtual Passover seder on Facebook Live with close to 1,000 families joining the online celebration. The seder was an opportunity for the entire community to restore the feeling of hope that comes from feeling connected during these unprecedented times.

“We received so much positive feedback from our residents and their families who could not be together this holiday,” said President and CEO Keith Myers. “Having the opportunity to share the same traditional celebration, even while apart, was a meaningful act during such an uncertain time.”

These examples are just a few of the many wonderful ways MorseLife continues to innovate and adapt programs and services to provide comfort and security to the 3,600 seniors served daily on and off the campus.

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