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Message: <br /><br /> If you are having trouble reading this email, you may view this article online at: http://www.jweekly.com/13660/full/13660/mensch-duo-delivers-live-tv-feed-of-shabbat-services/ <br /><br /> <b>Mensch duo delivers live TV feed of Shabbat services</b> <br /> Friday, July 21, 2000 | by <p>JOSHUA BRANDT </p> <br /><br /><p>In 1955, 34-year-old Erwin Ferer took 14-year-old Gordon Miller to Jewish households throughout Oakland and fixed their brand new TV sets.<br /><br /> They charged $5 per hour and donated the money to charity. The two remained close friends, even as Ferer continued to run a successful electronics business and after Miller went on to a career in residential real estate.<br /><br /> Last year, another Jewish home needed some work done on television sets—about 300 of them.<br /><br /> So 78-year-old Erwin Ferer went with 58-year-old Gordon Miller to install all the cable television hookups in Danville's brand new Reutlinger Community for Jewish Living.<br /><br /> This time, though, they didn't donate their earnings to charity.<br /><br /> They did it for free.<br /><br /> "I knew just who to call when the building got under way—It was an obvious choice," said Ferer, who has served on the facility's board for the past 12 years. He is also the fund-raising co-chair for the center, formerly located in Oakland and called the Home for Jewish Parents.<br /><br /> As a result of the $50,000 worth of equipment that Miller (along with his wife and mother), donated, Reutlinger residents who are unable to attend services at the community's on-site synagogue have another option: channel 74.<br /><br /> That's the channel that broadcasts live feeds of Shabbat services—with the help of video cameras donated by Miller.<br /><br /> "I've never seen anything like this program before," said David Denton, the facility's administrator.<br /><br /> "I think it's truly amazing, especially when you consider the choices it gives people," Denton said. "We've had groups of 10 or 15 people gathered in the performance area [the community's unofficial living room] and sing along in Hebrew while watching the services.<br /><br /> "And it's especially helpful for residents in the skilled-nursing units who can watch the program in the privacy of their own rooms," Denton added.<br /><br /> One such resident is Polish-born Isador Korz.<br /><br /> Korz, 94, said he prefers watching services from "the comfort of my favorite chair."<br /><br /> "I've never missed a Saturday service in the four months I've been here," said Korz. "I'm not a fanatic, mind you, but I enjoy every minute of the program.<br /><br /> "It's very nicely done, and it reminds me of when I was a kid, and attended shul in the old country.<br /><br /> "Except for my chair," he added. "It's much more comfortable than the seats in the old shul."<br /><br /> If the program helps spark fond memories for residents, it achieves a similar effect for the two people who installed it.<br /><br /> More so than any technological advances—or deep pockets—the Reutlinger Community's cable TV program is the product of almost 50 years of friendship.<br /><br /> "I gave Gordon his first solder gun [for melding wire] for his bar mitzvah," recalled Ferer with a laugh. "And at that time, it was pretty state-of-the-art."<br /><br /> Miller, who was 11 when he met his mentor, agreed: "Erwin always was a step ahead of the game.<br /><br /> "I think he had the first color TV set in all of Oakland."<br /><br /> Miller is a longtime member of Oakland's Temple Sinai, where Ferer was also a member for many years.<br /><br /> Their budding friendship was built on a common interest in electronics. "We used to really mess around with things in the infancy of television," recalled Miller. "I went with Erwin every Saturday to fix the TV sets in the [Oakland] Jewish community, and we must have fixed just about every one of them.<br /><br /> "It was a very tight-knit community, and everyone knew that if there was a problem with their sets, then Erwin was the guy to call."<br /><br /> The "apprenticeship" lasted until Miller got his driver's license.<br /><br /> "Then I had other priorities," he said, laughing.<br /><br /> Through the years, and through the advent of 8-track players, VCRs, the Internet and Palm Pilots, Ferrer and Miller shared in the thrill of the latest technology—while never losing sight of the ancient Jewish practice of tzedakah.<br /><br /> "We feel pretty proud of the Reutlinger Center, and it's nice to see evidence of our work," said Ferer.<br /><br /> Miller agreed, adding another note about his lifelong friend.<br /><br /> "I think it was a great celebration of the bond between us. You go through life and meet a lot of acquaintances, but not a lot of true-blue friends.<br /><br /> "And Erwin is definitely a true-blue friend."</p> <p> </p>

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