Spirituality

Chanukah: Party Time

Dreidels, lathes, families and fun bring the
Jewish community together in celebration.

SHELLI LIEBMAN DORFMAN
Staff Writer

111 ore than 100 party-goers celebrated the holiday of
Chanukah at a Dec. 3 Jewish Association for Residential
Care Chanukah gathering.
The Annual Shetzer Independent Living Services
Chanukah Dinner Dance, hosted yearly by Marc and Stacey
Wittenberg of Birmingham and
Ron and Anita Taylor of Bloomfield
Hills, brings together JARC clients,
board members, families and volun-
teers.
After lighting the Chanukah
menorah, the group danced to
music provided by Steve Jasgur of
Joe Cornell Entertainment in
Southfield, who
donated his disc
jockey talents.
"This was an
opportunity for
the folks served
by JARC, who
live in their own
apartments in the
community, to
get together and
celebrate
Chanukah," says
Rena Friedberg,
development
director of the
Farmington Hills-
based JARC.
"The party is
always lots of fun,
but it's also a
wonderful oppor-
tunity for those
served by JARC
to socialize and get to know the board members and their families.
Watching clients dancing in their wheelchairs, having fun, sends a great
message."

SHELLI LIEBMAN DORFMAN
Staff Writer

Iff

usic — familiar, nostalgic and religious — was the theme of a Dec. 9
Chanukah party for Jewish Home and Aging Services Fleischman
Residence/Blumberg Plaza residents and their families.
The event featured a presentation of From Anatevka to Broadway by the
Michigan Opera Theatre, Yiddish and Chanukah music by the Sam Barnett Orchestra and
a special rendition of "I Have a Little Dreidel" by 5-year-old Shoshana
Silow of Huntington Woods, who performed in honor of her grandmother,
Sara Silow, a Fleischman resident.
The musical groups intertwined when Sam Barnett was asked by the
theater group to join them with his clarinet, according to Carol Rosenberg,
associate director of JHAS in West Bloomfield, and liaison between the
facility and event hosts.
Each year, different members of the Benefactors of the JHAS and their
families sponsor the Chanukah party. For this year, the 12th, hosts were
Michael and Laurie Banks of Farmington Hills, Marty and Robin Begun of
Bloomfield Hills and Marc and Michele Borovoy of West Bloomfield and
their families.
Gifts were wrapped by the children of host families and awarded to resi-
dents, including the 98-year-old winner of "oldest resident honor" and
"person with most great-grandchildren," winning with 16.
In all, 250 guests
shared traditional
Chanukah latkes, fried
jelly donuts, blueber-
ries and halavah. In a
moving moment,
Rosenberg remembers,
"each Chanukah can-
dle was lit by a mem-
ber of the Benefactors'
group along with one
resident." ❑

❑

Clockwise from top right:
DJ Steve Jasgur of Oak Park sings a song with
Barbara Peck of Wixom.

Esther Nenner of Southfield and Alan Bortman of
Bloomfield Township dance, dressed as characters
from the movie Grease.

Nicole Rubin of Farmington Hills on the dance floor.

Clockwise from top right:
Sam Barnett entertains.

Volunteer Josh Rott, 14, of West Bloomfield
chatts with Melvin Kaver, with
Bernard Frankel in the background.

Chaya Bracha, 4, and Yaakov Ross, 8,
of Southfield enjoy the party.

12/14
2001

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