Lantern Hill's Jewish Life Group Connects Residents Year-Round

Residents at Lantern Hill, an Erickson Senior Living community in New Providence, N.J., enjoy a wide range of activities, clubs, and programs that make it easy for neighbors to build meaningful connections.

Among the community's most active resident groups is the Lantern Hill Jewish Life group, which offers worship services, educational programs, musical events, and holiday celebrations throughout the year.

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"We have a robust Jewish community here at Lantern Hill, and our planning committee produces programs each month throughout the year," says Rabbi Charles "Chuck" Kroloff, who moved to Lantern Hill in April 2025 with his wife, Terry.

"We lived in nearby Westfield, N.J., for almost 60 years, and we already knew several friends who had moved to Lantern Hill, so the transition here was easy," he says.

"Rabbi Kroloff, along with a great bunch of resident volunteers, plans out a year of programming and activities, and we work together with them to provide any support that they need," says Jennifer Gsell, resident event coordinator. "They are wonderful about asking for what they need and helping us promote their entertaining activities and events to the entire community."

All are welcome

Rabbi Kroloff, who serves as Rabbi Emeritus at Temple Emanu-El in Westfield and is the past president of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, says that the group provides a great opportunity for residents to build friendships and strengthen connections through shared experiences and traditions, including the weekly Shabbat service held at Lantern Hill every Friday at 4:15 p.m.

"Lantern Hill is such a welcoming community for all faiths," Gsell says. "In addition to Lantern Hill Jewish Life, there's a weekly Bible study, a rosary group, and different church organizations that come in to hold services. It's a meaningful part of community life."

Gsell adds that many residents continue attending their nearby churches and synagogues, and Lantern Hill can assist with transportation.

"That sense of community really continues on and then broadens once you move here to Lantern Hill and make new connections within those different faith communities," Gsell says.

Music, lectures, and more

Throughout the year, Lantern Hill Jewish Life hosts programs tied to major holidays and traditions.

"Each year, we do a program around the music of the High Holidays, which is very popular," says Rabbi Kroloff. "We celebrate Sukkot, which commemorates the 40-year period of the Hebrews wandering in the desert after their exodus from Egypt, during which time they lived in tents. Lantern Hill cooperates wonderfully, providing space and helping us construct a sukkah, a temporary tent-like dwelling used during the holiday."

Rabbi Kroloff and Gsell both say that most of the events that Lantern Hill Jewish Life organizes are attended by residents of different faiths.

A range of programs

"This spring we offered a musical program with Bonnie Rapp, a wonderful singer who grew up in Westfield, who presented a program on Broadway musicals written by Jewish composers, an amazing group including Rodgers and Hammerstein," says Rabbi Kroloff.

He also presented a program called "What They Didn't Teach Us in Rabbinical School," which focused on unusual weddings, funerals, and other Jewish life experiences. Next year, the group is planning an interfaith conversation with rabbis, ministers, and priests to share common concerns.

Each month, more than a dozen teenagers from Temple Emanu-El of Westfield participate in "Better Together," a robust inter-generational discussion program with Lantern Hill residents.

Rabbi Kroloff also recently taught a well-attended course on Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, a prominent Jewish theologian and civil rights activist who marched with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in Selma, Ala.

"We had several residents attend who were not Jewish, and we had a great discussion," he says, adding that lifelong learning is a passion for many residents at Lantern Hill.

Rabbi Kroloff is also the author of the book Open Up Our Eyes: Moments That Shape Our Lives and is planning another lecture on the book, as well as a short course on Ethics of the Fathers, an important book of Jewish moral teachings.

Holiday happenings

Other holiday celebrations throughout the year also bring residents together.

"For the second night of Passover, we conduct a seder, which has a wait list. The dining staff at Lantern Hill does a beautiful presentation," Rabbi Kroloff says.

"In the winter, our Lantern Hill singers perform a concert where they sing songs from all different faith backgrounds to celebrate the holidays. We also have a choral group from a local synagogue sharing a Hanukkah concert," says Gsell. "It's a great way for residents to learn more about different faiths, and the Lantern Hill Jewish Life group creates a wonderfully inclusive environment."

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By Gregory J. Alexander