The Jewish News and Style Magazine
Congratulate
Kathy Johnson, Account Executive
on her selection as a 1999
Sales and Marketing Executive Fab Five.
10, 20, 30, 49!
Children learn that counting
the days of the omer can be fun.
SHELLI DORFMAN
Editorial Assistant
T
To reach Kathy, call 248-354-7123, ext.217
STYLE
DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
magazine
Marvin L. Kofender,
MD
specializing in Endocrinology and Internal Medicine
takes great pleasure in announcing
the association of
James A. Golden, MD, JD
Dr. Golden's background includes:
University of Michigan Law School
graduate 1980 Magna cum laude
University of Michigan Medical School
graduate 1984
12 years of Private Practice on Long Island, NY
from 1987 until 1999
Beaumont Medical Building
6900 Orchard Lake Rd.
Suite 207
West Bloomfield
(248) 539-9084
Office hours by appointment
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he room was filled with 49s.
There was a game with 49
pieces, and there were 49
days on the calendar.
The group, participating in the pro-
gram "From Pesach to Shavuot:
Countdown to Receiving the Torah"
was learning about the days between
Passover and Shavuot, the days con-
sidered the omer, of which there are
... 49.
A simultaneous lesson was held
April 18 for families with children
ages 4-12 at both the D.
Dan & Betty Kahn and
Jimmy Prentis Morris
buildings of the Jewish
Community Center of
Metropolitan Detroit.
The JCC's Jewish
Educators Council was
the sponsor.
The meaning and
stipulations of the omer
were taught at hands-on
craft stations. The group
learned about the bless-
ing recited nightly dur-
ing the omer and partic-
ipated in omer-related
activities, such as coloring a map of
Egypt and Israel, and making their own
Ten Commandments (Shavuot, the hol-
iday that concludes the omer period,
celebrates God's revelation of the Ten
Commandments on Mt. Sinai).
At the No No station, participants
created a picture of what is not permit-
ted during the omer period, a time
when a plague struck down students of
Rabbi Akiva in the 2nd century C.E.
The picture was covered with a diagonal
red banner, indicating that it included
things that are not allowed during the
49 days, such as weddings and haircuts.
Lisa Bernstein, program coordinator
of the JCC Judaic Enrichment
Department created the program. It was
facilitated at the Kahn JCC in West
Bloomfield by Amy Brode, who is the
JCC cultural events coordinator. A high-
light of the event there, she said, were
the dozens of teenagers from Ruach
Chapter, B'nai B'rith Girls, who volun-
teered to helped the children with their
projects. Program Coordinator Andy
Roisman led the activities at the JPM
Building in Oak Park.
In West Bloomfield, BBG members
Pam Goldfaden and Shawn Brickner,
both 15, explained to the children the
Above: Brenda Oventhal-
Saperstein and her-
daughter Sari, 10, com-
plete their omer calendar.
Left: Daniel Blechner,
4, fills in a map of the
Jews' exodus from Egypt.
meaning of the important holiday of
Lag b'Omer, a celebratory day when the
usual restrictions are lifted. "Lag b'Omer
is the 33rd day of the omer," noted
Brickner, who instructed the children to
remove the banner covering their No
No picture, to symbolically remove the
restrictions of the omer.
With Israeli music playing in the
background, the children learned the
meaning of the word omer, a measure of
grain indicating the harvest. It was gath-
ered by the ancient Israelites between
Passover and Shavuot and taken to their
Temple in Jerusalem. Children were
given the opportunity to create their
own "wheat" using licorice sticks.
Many found that activity a high
point of their afternoon, but Jeremy
Levine, 11, disagreed. He preferred the
creation of an omer game, saying, "This
game (with 49 spaces) is something I am
going to be able to use over and over
again. But, once you eat the bundle of
wheat, it's gone."