to watch the lighting of the menorah. After it was lit,
we all stayed in the snow for a while and danced," she
said.
While some area Chanukah celebrations focused on
the size of menorahs, at Yossi's Israeli Cuisine in the
Robin's Nest Plaza on Orchard Lake Road in West
Bloomfield, it was an unusual venue that stood out.
Looking to share the holiday traditions with cus-
tomers at his restaurant, owner Yossi Benjamin told his
sons Dean, 9, and Jeremy, 6, of his idea to ask those
who come into the eatery, each night of Chanukah, to
bring their menorahs and candles to light them
together.
"Dean was really the PR person," Benjamin said.
"He told all his friends at Hillel [Day School of
Metropolitan Detroit] about the menorah lighting.
My son Jeremy, who's in first grade, had a few friends
there too. The place was packed." All those who
attended received st&niot (jelly doughnuts, tradition-
al of Chanukah) in honor of the holiday.
Benjamin, a Haifa native, wants,Yossi's, which
opened eight weeks ago, to be more than an Israeli
restaurant. He also wants it to be a gathering spot for
the Jewish community and a place that families can
come to celebrate the Jewish holidays. His wife,
Lisette, from the Netherlands, helps inspire that
atmosphere.
Perhaps the most unique-looking menorah was a
hand-made creation of guests of a Dec. 12 Chanukah
on Wheels program at Bonaventure Rollerskate Center
in Farmington Hills
Co-sponosored by Friends of Refugees of Eastern
Europe [F.R.E.E.] and the Sara Tugman Bais Chabad
Torah Center, the event combined skating with the
building of what was billed as "the biggest working
Lego menorah."

The' Parksban Family of Southfield: Eli, 4, Avi, 7.
Sbira, 9, and mom Lisa get ready to ride in the
Lztbavitch Yeshiva parade.

Dov Seifi 2an, 6, of
Bloomfield, holds hisV
proudly at Yossi's.

Rabbi Schneor Greenberg of the Chabad Jewish
Center of Commerce gets the menorah ready for the
lighting ceremony.

Twelve-year-old Jared Hirsch of West Bloomfield and
his brother Aaron, 6, watch as Jeremy Benjamin, 6,
of Farmington and his brother Dean, 9, get their
menorahs ready at Yossi's.

"All the kids who came to the program helped put
together the big menorah," said Etty Misholovin, 13,
of West Bloomfield, whose mother, Tzippy
Mishulovin, organized the event.
While its construction was fun, the most involved
part of the project, according to Etty, was the prepara-
tion.
"Before we could build the menorah at the skating
rink, we had to put it together at home to see how to
build it," she said. "Then we took it all apart again
and kept each section in separate bags to make it more
organized for when the kids put it together again."

For more photos, www.detroitjewishnews.com

Levi Stein, 16, of Oak Park, with Sgt. Gene
Aldrich of the Michigan State Police and
Yechezkel Stein of Oak Park get ready for the
menorah parade.

12/17
2004

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