1. Event chairs Stuart and Valerie Sandweiss, and
Sara and Michoel Eisemann revel in the evening.
2. A selecton of all-American board games makes a fun
prize.
3. Francine Frandell of Huntington Woods and
Aviva Gelberman of Southfield scan their lists.
4. Sara York of Oak Park enjoys the food.
5. Meryl Greene of West Bloomfield eyes
a doll for her daughter.
6. Jeff Maza of Southfield and Aaron Eisemann or
Oak Park prepare the ticket boxes for the drawings.
PHOTOS BY BILL HANSEN AND LINDA RADIN
Passport to the World" was the
theme of Machon L'Torah's first
annual Chinese Auction, January 7.
More than 300 auction-goers sup-
ported the Oak Park-based Jewish education
and outreach organization. Clutching mock
"American passport" prize catalogues, guests
milled about the Southfield Centre for the
Arts, placing bids on enticements like vacation
packages, furniture and jewelry.
With six drivers and three cars in their fami-
ly, Southfielders Dr. Gary and Patty Ross had
high hopes for winning the two-year lease on a
Jeep Cherokee. Betsy Leib-Feldman, also of
Southfield, was busy placing bids on the trip to
Israel, weeklong stays in Florida condos, and
professional massages.
"I need a vacation!" she laughed.
Birmingham resident Sheila Siegel wanted the
Samsonite luggage set. Her fiancé lives in
New York and, she said, "my luggage is really
beat-up from commuting so much."
Decorating chairmen Ilana Berlin and Beth
Adler provided an international motif to the
evening: Replicas of the Eiffel Tower and the
Statue of Liberty, Chinese flowering plum
trees and flags of different countries adorned
prize stations. Clusters of balloons, color coded
to prize tickets, floated alongside correspon-
ding tables.
A buffet prepared by Jewel Kosher Catering
featured American, Italian, Chinese, and
Israeli cuisine.
Groups of friends and families seemed to
have "contagious" luck. One of the weeklong
condo stays in Ft. Myers, Fla. was won by
Gitty and Ahron Shlomo Golding of Atlanta,
Ga. A second Ft. Myers vacation week was
won by Esther and Abe Schwartz of Oak Park
— Gitty's parents. Quipped MC Ungar, "Boy,
nothing like a vacation get-away with your in-
laws!"
This Chinese Auction was a first for Linda
Stein, of Oak Park. "Even though I didn't
win," she said, "it was still so much fun!"
— Susan Tawil
STYLE AT THE JN • FEBRUARY 2001 • 2 1