Another Samson has devoted himself to God. But unlike his biblical predecessor, Michael Samson hasn’t fallen in love with Delilah or routed the Philistines.
Instead, he maintains his commitment to the Divine by volunteering to lead services at Bay Area senior facilities and synagogues.
It all started in 2001 after a visit to Rhoda Goldman Plaza, an assisted-living facility in San Francisco.
“I found out the residents there wanted a more traditional Kabbalat Shabbat [Friday evening] service,” said Samson, 68, a longtime San Francisco resident.
So eight years ago, Samson and his wife, Maureen, 66, started leading services there one Friday a month.
“The service is very lively, very participatory — basically a Conservative service,” he said. “We also say prayers over the wine, light the candles and eat the best challah I’ve tasted, except for my wife’s.”
In addition to that monthly service, which attracts around 25 to 35 residents, Samson also offers something he calls “a service that is not really a service.” It’s songs of Shabbat for people in the Terrace, an entire floor of suites at Rhoda Goldman Plaza for residents with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia.
“People there enjoy the singing and the socializing,” he says. “And it lasts about 25 minutes. The regular service is 55 minutes.”
Samson serves two other San Francisco retirement communities, as well, the Sequoias and Coventry Park. Thirty to 35 people attend services at Sequoias.
Ages of the participants at all three facilities range from the 70s to over 100, said Samson, who noted that he is not an ordained rabbi.
“My ‘training’ has come from attending services, from rabbis and cantors, and from reading and studying,” explained Samson, who grew up in an Orthodox family in East Los Angeles. “I consider myself a ‘shaliach tzibbur,’ a representative of the community, and not a chazzan. I’m definitely not a rabbi, although I’ll give a short drash [sermon] at the assisted living centers.
“I hope people get something out of it spiritually and emotionally,” Samson added. “I really enjoy leading services.”
In fact, he enjoys leading them so much that he is constantly busy.
He also leads Shabbat and holiday Shacharit (morning) services at Congregation Chevra Thilim, an Orthodox congregation in San Francisco’s Richmond District, and he leads services almost every week at San Francisco’s Congregation Beth Sholom. There are also afternoon and evening services at Torath Emeth, another Orthodox congregation just north of Golden Gate Park.
“I find when I am leading the prayers that I’m on a different plane than when I am just participating,” said Samson, who has lived in San Francisco for 37 years. In addition to leading services, he still works as a private moneylender, an international trade and transportation consultant and a customs broker. His wife, Maureen, used to be a social worker with Jewish Family and Children’s Services in San Francisco and is now an independent LCSW.
How did Samson end up leading services at synagogues that already have an ordained rabbi? He said those rabbis don’t come in every day. “They are busy, so having congregants leading [some] services makes it easier for them,” Samson said. “And as people become more knowledgeable, it gives us an opportunity to lead services.”
Though knowledgeable now, Samson said he struggled for a long time to truly understand prayer and its meaning in our lives. It wasn’t until 1994, when his mother died and people clamored for him to lead the daily shiva minyans (memorial prayer gatherings), that he found his place as a leader of prayers.
A few years later, though he still attends Beth Sholom, he began going to services at Chevra Thilim, and “I eventually started leading Shacharit services on Shabbat and holidays,” he said.
From Chevra Thilim, the paths to Rhoda Goldman Plaza, the Sequoias and Coventry Park seemed to come naturally for Samson. “I get a lot of energy from the residents. The people are vibrant, they care about things.”
Samson said that leading prayers, especially at senior homes, enriches him on many levels.
“I’ve learned a better understanding of prayer by going to these different places,” he said. “And you have to give thought to the people attending services. I’ve probably loosened up a bit. My leading has evolved.”
For example, he used to stand behind a table when leading services for seniors, but now he stations himself in front. “It’s less formal,” he said. Samson always spends a big chunk of time explaining the prayers, enlivening the songs and using English readings — all of which make his services highly anticipated events.
“We’re grateful to Michael and Maureen for coming monthly,” said Esther Nichol, the director of activities at Rhoda Goldman Plaza. “The residents love him. He’s a wonderful volunteer and we can always depend on him.”
Samson also depends on the services as well. “It’s good for me physically,” he said. “I need lung power. We don’t use microphones, so I have to project for the older people.”
And because his services tend to be highly interactive, Samson ends up burning his share of calories.
Ultimately, though, the physical and emotional benefits of leading services and sharing prayers take a backseat to the higher meaning of Samson’s volunteerism.
“As [Chevra Thilim] Rabbi [Shlomo] Zarchi recently said,” Samson notes, “it’s really our deeds that count. And prayer should help people go out in the world and do the right things.”