Barbara Blum's 100th Birthday

On a beautiful Sunday in April, Beth Protea was transformed into a magical bubble of decoration, joy and splendor for a very special celebration. The residents gathered in the dining room to honor Barbara Blum on her 100th birthday with a scrumptious tea party. It was an unforgettable experience for all of us lucky enough to live under the same roof and to share in her celebration.

Barbara was a dentist with 15 years of service at the Royal Dental Hospital of London, followed by 5 years in Hong Kong as part of the team that opened a dental faculty at the local university. After her retirement in 1985, she and her husband Sidney came on Aliyah where two of their sons had already arrived as an advance guard for the family. They settled in Jerusalem. Fate unfortunately left Barbara a widow just a year later.

In choosing to volunteer at the Israel Museum as well as offering her dentistry as a free service where needed, Barbara made many contacts and friends. Luck played a big part in her opportunities.

It was at this time that ESRA expanded its activities to Jerusalem and Barbara was approached to join the committee and then later to present her musical programs for the public. That is where most English-speaking residents of Israel got to know her. ESRA became a guiding interest for this career volunteer! She presented her musical programs for more than 30 years, and also demonstrated very creative interests in handwork, jewelry-making glass sculptures and silverware.

Her sporting endeavors included lawn bowls, at which she was a champion. She was presented with certificates and emblems of gratitude confirming her generosity of time, spirit and interest from all the institutions she served.

She was elected ESRA lifetime volunteer honoree in 2012 and is particularly proud of that certificate, which is displayed adjacent to the framed letter received by Barbara from King Charles and Queen Camilla of Buckingham Palace on celebrating her 100-year birthday.

On the day of her birthday, Barbara enjoyed a journey on a balmy sea, another of life's pleasures, a family adventure with all together sailing to Rhodes. Her greatest joy today is the closeness of her sons and their families and the warmth and value of their relationship with each other and with her. They docked back home on the last day of Pesach.

A day later, Sunday dawned with Beth Protea the hosts to her 100th birthday centenary tea party. Welcomed by Lynn Bach for Beth Protea and Margie Goss for the Residents Committee, Barbara took the floor. She was presented with a beautiful bouquet of spring flowers sent for the occasion by ESRA with heartwarming wishes for her welfare. Her few words of appreciation were all words of gratitude - for her past, for her family and friends and for her home and care at Beth Protea - all contributing to her happiness. After a delicious tea, we made sure that Barbara was sent to her room to enjoy a bit of a rest with more entertainment scheduled for the evening.

Her family had booked the entertainment slot of the evening to share a musical bonanza in honor of the lady of the day and the doyenne of the family. The chairs of the dining room were all full, augmented by 35 special guests – her close family from Israel plus nieces, nephews and in-laws from London, including Barbara's youngest great-grandchild of eight months.

The program ,presented by the birthday girl herself and her son Leon, was a travelogue of memory. Leon played music related to each of the 12 countries on the video, with Barbara adding clips of experiences she recalled from years past when either visiting, living or working there. We listened to the yodelers in Switzerland, Edith Piaf in France, Zorba in Greece, but undoubtedly for us with so many ex South Africans in the audience, her stay in South Africa was the highlight of the presentation. It was illustrated by the whole Blum family being called to the front of the audience. Remember the Yerushalami dancing that swept the world during the Covid pandemic? Well we had our own private presentation performed for us by the unique Blum family in the dining room of Beth Protea.

The finale of a weekend to remember came with the exceptional musical poem produced by AI recounting our musical journey of the evening. No one left the room without a smile on their faces.