Double Simchah

Ann Arbor Chabad join Lag b'Omer and Mother's Day.

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KAREN SCHWARTZ
Special to the Jewish News

Ann Arbor .
lyi other's Day and Lag
b'Omer happened to
coincide this year, and
the Chabad House of
Ann Arbor brought the two events
together to honor mothers and pro-
mote Jewish pride.
While Chabad House Rabbi Alter
Goldstein said the Jewish calendar
"keeps him busy enough" and that it is
unique for a "national recognition day"
to be part of Chabad programming, on
a day when it is customary to take chil-
dren into fields and parks to have a
good time and be proud that they're

Jewish, he said it made sense to inte-
grate the celebrations.
The May 9 event featured a bar-
beque dinner and special programs for
children, including kite-flying and arts
and crafts. Mothers received roses and a
special cream, and young people
stepped up to a microphone to talk
about why they loved their moms.
"Mothers were put on a higher
pedestal at this event for the fact that
they've always been great mothers, and
especially a day like today that naturally
we recognize it as Mother's Day," said
Rabbi Alter, who helped coordinate the
event.
"I don't think that it's a coincidence
that Mother's Day and Lag b'Omer
coincide because the mother is known

to be the foundation of the Jewish
home, so I think it coincides very well
with Lag b'Omer," he said. "It is the
mother who actually gives birth to the
children, who brings in the new gener-
ation to the world. It's ultimately the
term of a Jewish home — you always
have the Jewish mom, the 'Jewish
Mother.'"
For Ann Arbor resident Stacey Lee,
who attended the event with husband
Evan and 15-month-old daughter
Jessica, the event allowed them to
spend time with friends from the com-
munity. "What a wonderful occasion
— it's a beautiful day and what a great
opportunity to celebrate both Mother's
Day and Lag b'Omer," said Lee.
"I think the more things to celebrate

the better," she said.
In this case, she was in favor of
blending festivities. "Certainly Mother's
Day, of all things, with the emphasis on
family, it's a more Jewish-friendly holi-
day. It's not a holiday that could rub
you the wrong way."
The Lag b'Omer picnic didn't draw
as large a crowd this year as last, possi-
bly because it fell on Mother's Day, said
Rose Pinsky. She was glad it worked
out for her family to attend.
The annual picnic for her marks the
changing of the seasons and the end
of winter, she said. "Just getting outside
for the spring and the picnic and
it's
getting together with friends
being outdoors, finally, after a long
winter."

5/28
2004

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