metro >> calendar PAIN IN YOUR LEGS? IT COULD BE YOUR VEINS HOW TO SEND IN LISTINGS: Send listings by noon Tuesday, nine days prior to publication. Email listings and questions to calendar@thejewishnews.com . For telephone inquiries, call David Sachs at (248) 351-5140. Much To Do! FUTURE EVENTS Featuring: Nicole Kennedy, MD, vascular surgeon Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital Syed T. Ahsan, MD, vascular medicine specialist Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital IRP SPEAKERS Institute for Retired Professionals presents its fall mini-series on Fridays, Sept. 5,12 and 19, at the Oak Park JCC. $15 for the series or $6 per day at the door; free for IRP members. From 10:15 am-noon Sept. 5 will be WDIV meteorologist Paul Gross on "The Truth About Global Warming." From 10:45 am-12:30 pm Sept.12 will be former Detroit News reporter Berl Falbaum on his book Shanghai Remembered. From 10:45 am-12:30 pm Sept.19 will be Detroit Free Press business reporter John Gallagher on "Detroit's Post-Bankruptcy Future." Information: call 248-967-4030 or email Sharon Levine at slevine@jccdet.org . Swollen, painful veins - known as varicose veins - are a common source of leg pain. As many as 55 percent of women and 45 percent of men have them. But you don't need to put up with the pain, which can also be accompanied by a feeling of burning or itching. Doctors at the Vein Center at Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital provide a variety of treatments that can put an end to leg discomfort. LEARN MICROSOFT Individuals who are unemployed or under- employed can improve computer skills by learning Microsoft Office 2010 in a 12-week course. Begins Monday, Sept. 8, 9 am- noon, or Tuesday, Sept 9,1 4 pm. At David B. Hermelin ORT Resource Center at West Bloomfield JCC. $720. Scholarships avail- able. RSVP: Lisa Bahm, 248-432-5411, or see brochure, www.jvsdet.org/betterjobs. SOUTHFIELD REUNION Southfield High School Class of 1969's 45th reunion will be 7 pm-midnight Saturday, Sept. 20, at Baronette Renaissance Hotel, Novi. Information: shs1969reunion@gmail. corm Or buy tickets on PayPal at shs69. myevent.com . In most cases, varicose veins are caused by venous reflux disease, meaning the small valves in the veins stop working. "It occurs most often in the legs because those veins are working against gravity to pump blood back up to the heart," says Dr. Ahsan. "When the valves stop working, the blood pools up, which causes swelling, pain, and aching tired legs." THURSDAY, AUG. 28 'JEWS OF CHINA' 1:30 pm. Seniors are invited to hear Rabbi Mark Miller discuss the little-known, but ancient and intriguing story of the Jewish presence in China before Temple Beth El's Ambassadors group at the Bloomfield Twp. temple. Free. RSVP: Laura in the rabbis' study at Ilucassiai@tbeonline.org or 248- 851-1100, ext. 3142. THURSDAY, SEPT. 4 AUDITIONS AT BERMAN Auditions for children and adults for The Sound Of Music will be Thursday, Sept. 4, and Sunday, Sept. 7, at the Berman Center in the West Bloomfield JCC. Information: www.skysthelimitproductions.net or Lisa Muscio, artistic director, at Stl_productions@yahoo.com . SUNDAY, SEPT. 7 EAST LANSING TRIP SUNDAY, AUG. 24 BIKE FESTIVAL 12:20 pm. The Fourth Annual Birmingham Bike Festival begins with a parade of bikes in downtown Birmingham followed by a fair at Shain Park from 1-4 pm. To register for a race, learn about official sponsorship and vendor opportunities, or volunteer, visit www.birminghambikefestival.org . A wide variety of treatments A full range of care is available for people with varicose veins. "We look at each patient individually to determine a plan of care that's right for that person," says Dr. Kennedy. In many cases, doctors start with the most conservative treatment, which can be something as simple as wearing compression stockings. "If this doesn't help, we can do an ultrasound right in our clinic to see if a patient might benefit from other treatments," Dr. Kennedy adds. These treatments may include vein ablation, which uses high heat to close off the problem vein, or sclerotherapy, which is done by injecting a salt-based solution directly into the vein. 'SoulMates' Course For Women Offered This November, the Rosh Chodesh Society — the women's division of the Chabad-Lubavitch move- ment's Rohr Jewish Learning Institute (JLI) — launches its newest course, SoulMates, a new seven-session series for women. The Shul's Women's Circle will bring this opportunity to Metro Detroit. The course will be taught once per month for seven consecutive months and is designed for women at all lev- els of Jewish knowledge. "Today, the timeless teachings of our 3,000-year-old tradition on love and marriage are more relevant than ever," says Itty Shemtov of The Shul, Back on your feet Since the minimally invasive procedures can be performed right in the doctors' office, patients are back on their feet the same day, although they need to take it easy for a while. "People are generally very happy with the results," adds Dr. Ahsan. For more information or to make an appointment with a vein specialist at Henry Ford West Bloomfield, call (248) 325-3434 or visit www. henryfordwestbloomfield. com/veincenter HENRY FORD WEST BLOOMFIELD HOSPITAL '0890 JN 2 pm. Ruth Ebenstein, a Jewish breast can- cer survivor who formed a close friendship with a Palestinian with the same condition, speaks at the Unitarian Universalist Church, 855 Grove St., East Lansing. Sponsors include Congs. Kehillat Israel and Shaarey Zedek of East Lansing. - Fighting gravity 42 August 21 • 2014 BREAST CANCER STORY 8:45 am. A bus leaves the West Bloomfield JCC for a Jewish Historical Society of Michigan trip to East Lansing. At 10 am, tour the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum at MSU. At 11:45 will be a lunch & learn with two MSU professors. Kirsten Fermaglich will speak on "Studying Jewish Name Changing in America," and Kenneth Waltzer will speak on "Jews and MSU: Building Jewish Studies at Moo U." For JHSM members: $38 (Bus) $32 (No bus). For others: $44 (Bus) $36 (No bus). Lunch & learn only, $25; MSU students. $5. Information: bit.ly/1oAXsXu or 248-432-5517. local facilitator for the society. SoulMates draws upon millennia of Jewish wisdom, from the mystical to the down-to-earth, allowing women of all ages and walks of life to explore the intricacies of love and marriage from a Jewish perspective. The course will delve into a diverse array of Jewish sources — biblical, Talmudic, halachic, Kabbalistic and Chasidic — seamlessly weaving together the philosophical, the spiritual and the practical. For more information, visit www. roshchodeshsociety.com/courses . Shemtov will be teaching SoulMates at The Shul on the first Monday of every Jewish month, after a kickoff event and Shabbat dinner on Nov. 21. Call (248) 255-2451 for information.