Nothing less than
E BEar
at the JC.C.
The Jewish Community Center offers
over 500 classes, all taught by highly
qualified instructors.
We invite you to meet some of them:
Lori-led* received her bachelor's degree in social
work from Eastern Michigan University in 1990, She
has worked and volunteered in the recreation.
field since 1986 in various capacities such as day
camp counselor and director and teachers aid
for childcare. Lori has also taught aquatics and
sports classes and is currently the Director of
Sports and Recreation at the JCC JPM
facility.
Nancy Gurwin has taught classes at the
JCC for eleven years. Nancy directs and
produces plays for her youth theater
company - Tedd E. Bear Productions.
She is a graduate of Neighborhood
Playhouse School of the Theatre in New
York and has a bachelor of arts and
masters of arts in speech and drama.
Marc' Feinbaum, is a member of the
Festival Dancers, and a former member
of the Contemporary Civic Ballet
Company. 5he teaches creative dance
classes for children with Harriet Berg.
To receive your copy of the 1998 JCC Fall
Class Catalogue listing all JCC classes,
please call (248) 661-7600 in West
Bloomfield or (248) 967-4030 in Oak Park.
Jewish Community Center of Metropolitan Detroit
D.Dan 4. Betty Kahn Building
6600 West Maple Road • West Bloomfield, MI 1483.22
8/21
1998
36 Detroit Jewish News
Jimmy Prentiss Morris Building
15110 West Ten Mile Rood • Oak Park, MI 0.237
OPINION
The Maccabi Games
Stir Old Memories
RACHEL CANAAN KAPEN
Special to The Jewish News
loudspeaker in the school yard. We
had only two dress rehearsals with the
entire dancing group, which num-
s, awaited the arrival of the
bered a few hundred; but our instruc-
three girls whom I volun-
tor was pleased with the results.
teered to host during the
When the day of-the opening
JCC Maccabi Games —
arrived, we were all nervcus and excit-
one of them Tamar, the lovely daugh-
ed in our long, black skim with three
ter of an old friend whom I first met
colorful stripes at the bottom, which
20 years ago when we both took a
we sewed ourselves in sewing class.
refresher course for ulpan teachers at
Our white "Yemenite" blouses we
the famed Ulpan Center in New York
embroidered ourselves as well -- these
— I can't help but remember my own
blouses were a staple of every girl's
Maccabiah, the Third Maccabiah that
wardrobe in the '50s — and there was
took place in September 1950, the
a kerchief tied up in the back.
first Maccabiah in independent Israel.
As we waited our turn with great
We in the Achad-
anticipation, we lis-
Ha'am school in Tel Aviv
tened to the speaker
had the unique good for-
of the Knesset, Yosef
tune to have the head of
Shprintzak, officially
Maccabi-Tzaiir (Young
open the Maccabiah;
Maccabi) as our own gym
then Prime Minister
teacher. He was known to
David Ben-Gurion
all as Shumi, a nickname
with his familiar
that could be derived
mane of white hair
from either his first name
spoke in his typical
— Shmuel — or his last
fashion. The first
name — Shumacher.
president, Chaim
Anyway, our Shumi was
Weizmann was
in charge of the Maccabi
there, too, but his
HaTzaiir's performance at
eyesight was failing
the grand opening of this Rachel Canaan Kapen and
and he was feeble
most significant Maccabi- her granddaughter.
and, in two years,
ah, a first for us; and he
we were all going to
wanted us, his pupils in
go to his funeral in
the Achad-HaAm school, to partici-
Rehovot.
pate both in the Israeli folk dancing
Then there was the time for the
performance and the mass gymnastic
delegations to start marching, carrying
performance, which he himself chore-
their respective flags and the flag of
ographed.
the State of Israel. Some were large,
We were supposed to stay after
such as the American delegation, and
school day after day — girls only —
some consisted of two or three, but
until the selection process was com-
they all were equally received with
pleted and 50 of us, I among them,
warmth and enthusiasm by the nearly
were chosen. All the rest, who were
50,000 people who filled the brand
ready to make the commitment for
new Ramat Gan stadium at the unfor-
weeks of after-school rehearsals, were
gettable evening in 1950.
to participate in the mass gymnastics
When our turn finally came, we did
performance, joining hundreds from
our pair dances and joined together in
the Maccabi Tzaiir.
a huge circle; as we started our last
Our dancing instructor was from a
number, the bonfire hora, thousands
famous Yemenite folk dancing troupe
of youths carrying torches emerged
and we were to dance in pairs and in a
from the four corners of the darkened
big circle, all 50 of us. Among the
stadium, illuminating it as we did our
dances we rehearsed were staples such
dance to the deafening cheers of the
as "El Ginat Egoz," "Dodi Li," "Bona
happy crowd.
Bona Habanot," etc.; and the two cir-
Judging by today's standards, the
cle dances were "Hey Harmonica" and
opening of the Third Maccabiah was
"Hora Medurah." Luckily, we knew
corny and unsophisticated, but to us,
the basic steps but we had to perfect
this was the greatest show on Earth.
them and learn to dance to the music,
For me personally, participating in
which was playing on a simple record
that significant event of the Third
player and heard through the school's
Maccabiah was a memory to cherish
for a lifetime and something to tell to
my beautiful granddaughter, Kayla
Rachel Canaan Kapen is a West
Sara, one day. El
Bloomfield resident.
A