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Janet Levine decorated this Chanukah table with the theme of cookies, since her family has a cookie party every year.

Table maffliapTraditions

The Levine and Torgow families share their Chanukah table settings.

CARLA JEAN SCHWARTZ SECTION EDITOR

he Levine and Torgow fami-
lies shared some Chanukah
family traditions and secrets at the
recent table setting exhibit, which
was part of the Kosher food fair,
at Teitel Federation Apartments
in Oak Park.
"We wanted to have an inter-generational
project and involve people in the communi-
ty," said Pat Milner Sachs, administrator of
the Teitel Apartments.
Bertha Merzon, age 88 and a Teitel res-
ident, was overjoyed when she saw her
daughter's Chanukah table setting made
with the help of her 13 great-grandchildren.

"I wanted the table to be child-directed,"
said Bertha's daughter, Bonnie Torgow, of
Southfield. "The kids did everything, from
painting paper plates, cutting out Chanukah
pictures and making computer pictures,"
said Mrs. Torgow.
It was an easy task for Mrs. Torgow who
had the help of her 13 grandchildren from
the Torgow, Halpern and Rothstein fami-
lies.
Janet Levine, of Huntington Woods, set
her Chanukah table with a special theme:
COOKIES. The Levine family Chanukah
cookie making party is a 27-year-old tradi-
tion. "When our first child was two years

old, this tradition began with our very first
set of Chanukah cookie cutters," said Mrs.
Levine.
Over the years, even the neighborhood
children join the Levines a few days prior to
Chanukah making cookies, singing songs
and learning about the Maccabees. 'This is
a warm, noisy and messy creative endeav-
our. . . and immensely good for the soul,"
said Mrs. Levine.
Part of the tradition is to send a
Chanukah pack to newlyweds, which in-
cludes the recipes, the Chanukah cookie cut-
ters, song book and a tin of freshly baked
Chanukah cookies.