„t'@

wish famili

taftimit,
owtowah
mit*

Make Mine
Matzah!

Why there's no place like
the Matzah Factory.

Story by ELIZABETH APPLEBAUM
Staff Photos by ANGIE BAAN

Top: Rabbi Aaron Amzalek helps Yonz Weisberg, 8, and
brother Eitan, 5112„ of Oak Park shape the dough.

Above: Rabbi Amzalek of Oak Park explains how to make
matzah dough.

Right: Jordan Eyal, 7, rolls his dough, watched by his father,
Amir of Royal Oak, and Linda Stern of Walled Lake.

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4/14

2005

38

enny Eaton, 3 1 /2 , was on a
roll. Covered almost head-
to-toe with flour, Kenny, of
West Bloomfield, had both hands
firmly on a rolling pin as he trans-
formed a little piece of dough into a
nice-sized square. Back and forth, he
went. "It's getting big!" he cried
happily.
Then he added some holes with a
plastic fork and carried his creation to
a huge oven where it was cooked for
four minutes exactly. Finally, there it
was: a piece of matzah.
Passover is just a matter of days
away, which means it's time for the
annual Matzah Factory, held at
Shalom Street at the Jewish
Community Center in West
Bloomfield. This year, it all began in
a tent — a very large tent right out-

side the JCC.
Rabbi Aaron Amzalak was host of
the program. Boys and girls sat on
the flour-covered floor and learned
about Pharaoh, flour and making
matzah.
Each was invited to hold bits of
wheat, which where then collected
and ground into flour by the children.
Mixed with a bit of water, the flour
transformed into a sticky dough inside
a big pink bowl. Every child took a bit
of the dough, then made his or her
own matzah.
Rafi Lerman, 5, of Oak Park was
having a great time making matzah.
But the best part, he said, was "the
grinding."
After the matzah presentation under
the big tent, the children went inside
for craft making. Tables were covered
with paper squares, each with a pic-
ture of matzah on one side and a mag-
net to be affixed on the other.

