Rabbi Richard Address is the Director of Jewish Family Concerns for the Union for Reform Judaism.

So, today is the day. The deadline of may 15 is upon us and hopefully
you, your mom and dad have made their choice from the myriad of options for the
Medicare "D" plan. Hopefully, your synagogue or communal organization
sponsored some sort of educational forum to try and de-code the "DaVinci"-esque
secrets of this new plan. If it was anything like the conversations I had with
my own mom, well, good luck.

The issue really is not the drug plan. There is the larger issue that so
far, our government has succeeded in ignoring. Another one of those"hot
button" issues no doubt that is politically sensitive in that it impacts most of
the population. Sooner or later, we, as a society need to address the
revolution in longevity that is now here. Sooner of later we need to pay very close
attention to what it will mean to grow older in the society. If the
statistics are anywhere near correct, and the baby boom generation, after 2010 (when
they begin to turn 65) will place unusual demands on entitlement programs,
then we continue to ignore this fact at our own peril as a society.

The implications for the Jewish community are staggering. Close to 20%
of our community is now 65 years of age and above, with the fastest segment
those over 75.Add the baby boom generation now coming into their sixties (one
person in the USA turns 60 every 7.5 seconds as of January 1st 2006) and mix
in a flat birthrate and you have an amazing recipe for demographic
restructuring. We all know people who are in this mix and who are in the process of
redefining what it means to work, retire, transition, and even what it may mean
to remain Jewish.

Yet, for the most part, our community is just as much in denial as is
the government. Maybe now is the time for synagogue and communal leaders to see
about developing discussions, strategies and creative responses to this new
revolution. It is past due to begin this dialogue. Please, before it is too
late!