The Sinai Star - Sinai Residences

The Sinai Star
Rising to Exceed Your Expectations
February 2015
sinairesidences.com
561.338.9595
In Celebration of the
“New Year of the Trees,” February 4th
Jewish Arbor Day, Tu B’Shevat.
In Honor of Purim, March 5th
Monthly News From
Greetings Future Residents,
Amy Linder
We hope your 2015 is off to a strong start! Construction on Sinai Residences of Boca Raton is
coming along nicely, and as anticipated, the building will be topped off with the roof this month!
It was great to see you all at the mid-January Moving Made Easy® Real Estate sessions and
the February 2nd Resident Referral Luncheon. On that note, we’re pleased to welcome two
new resident referrals this month! As a reminder, residents who successfully make a referral
that results in a reservation will receive one $3,000 monthly fee credit 30 days after the resident
and the resident’s referral move into Sinai Residences. You must call Amy or Barbara and give
us your referral’s name to receive your credit. For more details on how to participate, call the
Sinai Residences Information Center at 561.338.9595.
Join us at one of the next scheduled events, a Singles Mix-n-Mingle on March 18th, or a
Couples Mix-n-Mingle on March 19th. You should have received an invitation in the mail. We
look forward to seeing you then! See the Save the Date section below for more details about
upcoming events, including the fast approaching Eastern Caribbean Cruise from April 18th–
25th. As long as space allows, you are free to book throughout the months of February and
March. All final payments should have been made to Carol by February 1st.
Enjoy the rest of your February and rest up for spring fun in March and April!
Sincerely,
Amy Linder
Director of Marketing
Sinai Residences of Boca Raton
MINGLE
In addition to the ones we shared last month, here are some more fun photos of your future
neighbors from Sinai Residences’ third annual holiday party. Enjoy!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
Future Residents with February & March Birthdays
February 1
February 4
February 5
February 6
February 7
February 9
February 10
February 10
February 10
February 11
February 12
February 13
February 13
February 17
February 17
February 20
February 21
February 22
February 23
February 25
February 25
February 25
February 26
February 27
February 28
February 29
March 1
March 1
March 2
March 3
March 4
March 5
March 6
March 8
March 9
March 9
March 9
March 10
March 10
March 11
March 12
March 12
March 13
March 13
March 16
March 16
March 17
March 18
March 21
March 21
March 21
March 21
March 23
March 23
March 24
March 24
March 27
March 31
Joy Binkovitz
Irwin Spinac
Rosanne Shapiro
Ronald Cooper
Irwin Weiner
Serene Paletz
Stanley Kupferschmidt
Leonard Paletz
Bea Sussman
Charlotte Stein
Samuel Iselin
Dorothy Aronson
Alfred Stein
Mardon Israel
Zigmund Quastler
Ruth Kupferschmidt
Alvin Freedman
Selma Kronish
Russell Jacobson
Leila Berkowitz
Herbert Glotzer
Eva Schapiro
Dorothy Shooster
Frieda Behar
Mikki Cohen
Rita Gruber
Jean Moss
Stanley Rubin
Grace Savel
Charlotte Hyman
Sonia Freedman
Joyce Mostovy
Eileen Zable
Bernard Mintz
Elaine Floom
Debra Klein
Mitchell Woldoff
Austin Lyon
Martin Mostovy
Fran Smolar
Lucy Katzman
Sharon Schornstein
Barton Waxman
Barbara Wogalter
Sidney Tartarkin
Dorothy Waxman
Elinore Mikels
Miriam Kaufman
Louis Cohen
Esther Schatz
Sandy Israel
Elsa Kramer
Lici Calderon
Florence Jakimo
Arthur Wachtel
Pepi Dunay
Bert Bloch
Lenore Wild
Construction Progess
As promised, here are some photos of Sinai Residences’ ‘topping off.’ It feels great to finally
have a roof over our heads!
Construction Progess
Construction photos by Lisa Linder
Q&A
Q: Will additional storage space be available at Sinai Residences of Boca Raton?
A: Individual storage units will be available for your use at various locations throughout the
Community. Each unit will be designed to accommodate a padlock (supplied by you) and will
be adequately sized for belongings such as seasonal items, luggage, holiday decorations, golf
clubs, etc. There will be one storage unit provided per apartment home. You will be assigned
a unit when you receive your orientation.
Q: What will be the policy for resident use of personal electric carts at Sinai
Residences of Boca Raton?
A: Some Sinai Residences of Boca Raton residents may require the use of electric motorized
carts. These devices will be permitted in all areas of the Community where there is adequate
space to maintain a safe and convenient environment for the user, as well as for other people.
Personal carts may only be used on Sinai Residences of Boca Raton property when prescribed
by a resident’s personal physician and approved by the Executive Director. The operator must
be deemed capable of safe operation as determined by a demonstration of actual use of the
cart. If, in the opinion of the Executive Director, a resident is no longer able to operate the cart
in a safe manner, they will no longer be permitted to use the cart.
Those who wish to use an electric, motorized cart will have to abide by the policies and terms
of the electric cart agreement, which will be made available to those who inquire.
SAVE THE DATE
Mix-n-Mingle for Singles and Couples
March 18th & 19th, 2015
We’ve got something new in store for your 2015 social calendar! You’re invited to join
us for some fun at the all new Mix-n-Mingle events specially planned with singles and
couples in mind. Refreshments will be served.
You should have received an invitation in the mail.
Who’s Invited: Future Residents
When: SINGLES: Wednesday, March 18th, 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m
COUPLES: Thursday, March 19th, 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Where: Maggiano’s, 21090 St. Andrews Blvd., Boca Raton
RSVP to Debbie Dowling at 561.338.9595 or [email protected] by
March 10th.
Open House for Cruisers
April 2nd, 2015
All aboard! Attention Cruisers. We’re hosting a special Open House—Come by the Sinai
Residences Information Center anytime between 9:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. on April 2nd to
collect your cruise documents. Carol Ann Leibman will be here to hand these out and to
answer any final questions you may have.
Light refreshments will be served.
Who’s Invited: Future Residents who are going on the cruise in April
When: Thursday, April 2nd, 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
Where: Sinai Residences Information Center
21090 St. Andrews Blvd., Suite B1, Boca Raton
Eastern Caribbean Cruise
April 18-25, 2015
April 18th through April 25th is right around the corner! SAVE THE DATE for an Eastern
Caribbean cruise on Royal Caribbean’s Oasis cruise ship. Get to know your future
neighbors better while playing at sea en route to Nassau, St. Thomas and St. Maarten.
We have reserved private rooms for cocktail parties and card games, all the Future
Residents will have the opportunity to dine together, and Amy and Barbara will be along to
keep you company.
While you are responsible for paying your own way, the trip will be organized and
chaperoned by Sinai Residences staff. Contact the travel agent listed below for pricing
information.
Who’s Invited: Future Residents
When: April 18th – 25th, 2015
Where: Eastern Caribbean (Nassau, St. Thomas and St. Maarten)
RSVP to Carol Ann Liebman at Boca Express Travel, 561.451.4511 or 561.876.3680
SINAI SPOTLIGHT
Leon and Leona Brauser: A Life of Service
During a ‘singles weekend’ at the Laurels Country Club in the
Catskill Mountains in 1953, Leon Brauser and Leona Bayles first
set eyes on one another and embarked on a whirlwind romance
that would set the course of their lives. “It is a romantic story too
long to tell here,” says Leona, “but Leon proposed the second
night after we first met, we married 14 weeks later. On June
7th of this year, we’ll celebrate our 61st wedding anniversary.”
Throughout their years together, the Brausers have enjoyed
success in starting and running numerous businesses, raising a
close family, and in giving themselves wholeheartedly to causes
in which they believe.
Born in Poland, Leon Brauser, along with his younger brother,
came to the United States in 1939 a few months before Hitler
invaded their native town, Zambrów. The boys, who had lost
their father at an early age and their mother some months
before fleeing Poland, were greeted at Ellis Island by their two
sisters and relatives who were already living in Brooklyn. Leon
moved in with his older sister in the Catskill Mountain area, where he graduated from high school. As soon
as he was old enough, he joined the U.S. Army and returned to Europe—this time, to fight in World War II.
Later, he would write in vivid detail about his experiences in the war in his published autobiography. Each
of his children and grandchildren now treasures a signed copy of their “Zayda’s” book, The Torn Lapel.
Meanwhile, Leona Bayles was born in the Bronx, New York City. An only child, she and her mother lived
in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn until she was ten years old, at which time they returned to the West Bronx.
As an honors graduate of William Howard Taft High School, she went on to study at Spencer Secretarial
School in Manhattan while attending the City College of New York in the evenings.
At the time that Leon and Leona met in 1953, Leon and his brother were in the midst of running the most
successful of numerous businesses they had started together over the years, a group of five automobile
dealerships on Long Island. Once married, the Brausers lived in Central Islip, and later in Woodmere, New
York, where they raised their three sons, Robert, Michael and Joel.
In 1973, Leon bought the well-known Kertz Alarm Company in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, relocating the
Brauser family to Hollywood, Florida, where they lived for 12 years. Each of their sons eventually joined
Leon in the family business. In 1985, the Brausers sold the company to renowned businessman H. Wayne
Huizenga, and Leon and Leona retired to Boca Raton.
That same year, they endowed the Brauser Maimonides Academy, a school located in the Ft. LauderdaleHollywood area, which continues to successfully teach almost 400 children in a combined Hebrew and
English educational setting. Two of the Brausers’ granddaughters have graduated from the school and
one of their grandsons is currently a 7th grade student there.
Leon and Leona have a long history of philanthropy and volunteerism. They have served as major patrons
for Hadassah (Women’s Zionist Organization of America), and have actively supported the Jewish
Federation of South Palm Beach County, AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee), and many
other Jewish organizations. As committed Zionists, they have visited Israel more than two dozen times,
and it remains the most treasured place among the many countries and cities they have visited throughout
the world, including those in Europe, Africa and Asia. They are proud that their granddaughter Chana
Brauser presently lives in Jerusalem where her husband is in Rabbinical School.
SINAI SPOTLIGHT
Leona has had an active volunteer career since joining Hadassah in 1954. She is a life member of Hadassah,
the National Council of Jewish Women and the Brandeis University National Women’s Committee, as well
as a member of other organizations. In May of 1991, Leona completed a three-year term as chair of the
Women’s Division of the Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County. From 1995 to 1997, she served
as chair of the Women’s Division for South Palm Beach County State of Israel Bonds, and she received
the first National Deborah Award from the State of Israel Bonds in January, 1999.
In 1996, Leona was instrumental in creating the Keepers of the Gate fundraising project for the Florida
Atlantic Region of Hadassah, the organization’s first annual gift program. The following year, Hadassah
National brought the program to chapters across the country, and to date, over 40 million dollars have
been contributed to research and development projects. Leona is very proud to be a member of the
organization’s national board.
“As proud as I am of my volunteer work,” says Leona, “the guiding force in my life has been my family.”
She is happy to be the mother of three grown sons, mother-in-law to three loving daughters-in-law, and to
have 11 grandchildren, and now, three great-grandchildren.
Having lived in Boca Grove for 12 years and in St. Andrews Country Club for 18 years, Leona and Leon are
eagerly looking forward to their upcoming move, when they’ll be downsizing from their large home with all
its responsibilities, to their more manageable apartment home at Sinai Residences of Boca Raton. “Most
people who are in their later years want to simplify their lives,” says Leona. “While I admit it is challenging
to move from such a large home containing so many things collected over six decades, I really feel that
we have to do this—not only for us, but for our children, so they won’t inherit the burden.”
In addition to a simplified lifestyle, the Brausers are looking forward to using the various amenities at Sinai
Residences, in particular, the fitness center, the swimming pool with its aquasize classes, and the library
with its book discussion groups. During the extra leisure time gained from the low-maintenance way of life,
Leona hopes to finally have time to publish her third book—a collection of short stories, letters to the editor
and poems. She published a book of poems, Hello, It’s Only Me, in June of 1991, followed by a book about
her mother a few years later.
Above everything else promised by the move to Sinai Residences of Boca Raton, the Brausers are excited
about the prospect of meeting new people and having new experiences. “Making new friends is really
important when you get older,” says Leona. She and Leon are looking forward to their upcoming move to
Sinai Residences with great anticipation.