Joyce Weinberger and her husband, George, raised their three children in Livingston. Now grandparents of nine, they are still members of Synagogue of the Suburban Torah Center, currently led by Rabbi Elie Mischel, which they joined 38 years ago. As the congregation has aged, there are those who can no longer attend services on a regular basis. Weinberger realized that a significant number of the shul’s members are over 60 and thus in the high-risk category for COVID-19. Utilizing her creativity in creating crafts from raw materials from her closets, she proceeded to create “artsy” masks for the senior members of the synagogue.

Weinberger alternates her days between creating the masks and delivering them around town. Needless to say, her deliveries are met with great joy and appreciation and often a desire to “shmooze,” always at a proper distance. This extra ingredient makes her delivery days almost as long as her sewing days. Weinberger enjoys the opportunity to catch up with friends. Word has spread of her creative masks and her charming visits, and Weinberger is making her visits in descending age order, giving kavod where kavod is due. She “guesstimates” that she will have created 450 masks before she is finished.

Weinberger’s many diversified activities include a daily email, which she calls “Wine and Wisdom,” which provides comforting and inspiring words during these challenging times.

Joyce Weinberger can be contacted at [email protected].