MOVING ON BETH SHALOM HOSTS ANNUAL WOMEN’S SEDER Women of all faiths are invited to a Women’s Seder at Congregation Beth Shalom in Oak Park at 6 p.m. Wednesday, April 13. The pro- gram includes a kosher Passover-style dinner. Vegetarian meals are available upon request. Beth Shalom President Marie Slotnick will lead the program with help from Cantor Pamela Schiffer of Congregation Shaarey Zedek in East Lansing. Participants will sit on pillows under a billowing tent for part of the program that will celebrate women’s contribu- tions to the Exodus from Egypt and through- out Jewish history. Participants will follow The Journey Continues: The Ma’yan Passover Haggadah by Tamara R. Cohen, Deborah L. Friedman and Suelevi Elwell. Linda Bell and Mandy Garver Reservations are $25 for adults and $10 for girls age 12 and under. Sponsorships are welcome at $54. “Angel” sponsorships are $72. Anonymous sponsorships for guests at $25 are also welcome. Paid reservations must be made by April 7. Mail checks to Congregation Beth Shalom, 14601 Lincoln, Oak Park, MI 48237. For more information or reservations, call the syna- gogue office at (248) 547-7970 or email cbs@ congbethshalom.org. — Barbara Lewis * Credit: Milton Viorst VIORST TO SPEAK Judith Viorst Geoffrey Melada/Washington Jewish Week metro » n ews yo u c a n u se Renowned author Judith Viorst will be among the four present- ers at “Mourning, Transitions and Love: Recurring Realities in Psychoanalysis, Psychotherapy and Life,” a daylong symposium at 8 a.m. Saturday, April 16, sponsored by the Michigan Psychoanalytic Society at the Inn at St. John’s in Plymouth. While the emphasis of the meeting has a clinical focus, issues related to death, loss, mourning and vitality will be discussed. Breakout groups with local psychoana- lysts will be held in the later part of the morning session. All are wel- come. For more information, go to www.mpi-mps.org. * For nearly three years, former Detroiter Matt Nosanchuk has served President Obama and his administration by work- ing in the Office of Public Engagement as the liaison to the American Jewish com- munity. Last week, he announced it was time to move on and that his in the Office of Public Engagement would be March 25. “The White House remains firmly committed to robust engagement with the American Jewish community, so I have a terrific successor who will begin working here within the next few weeks,” Nosanchuk said in a statement. “So many aspects of this role have been extremely gratifying. The American Jewish community has tremendous depth, Matt Nosanchuk breadth and expertise. Time and again, I have appreciated the opportunity to part- ner with organizations and individuals who embody the values we share as Jews and as Americans, and who maintain a steadfast commitment to tikkun olam.” Without giving specifics, Nosanchuk says he will continue working as an appointee in the Obama administration and will remain involved with the admin- istration’s outreach to the American Jewish community. * RUBE GOLDBERG PASSOVER MACHINE To get you in the mood for Passover, check out the Rube Goldberg machine Israeli students at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa, put together to tell highlights of the Passover story. You might remember it from last year, but it’s always fun. The Technion students are from the Faculties of Mechanical Engineering and Architecture and Town Planning departments. To watch, go to www. on.fb.me/1R0rTn1. * MUSIC FOR HUMANITY Reggae rapper Matisyahu, who has been targeted by those who boycott Israel, will tour U.S. colleges with acoustic hip-hop artist Nadim Azzam, who has an Egyptian Palestinian father and American Jewish mother and has said he is able to see both sides of the conflict. The tour is cosponsored by Hillel chapters. Matisyahu, formerly Chasidic, wrote on his website that the decision to play with Azzam is “to replace boycott and finger pointing with music as a reminder to find the compassion and humanity we share.” Matisyahu and Azzam will play an April 4 concert for students only at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. He will play for general audi- ences at Freedom Hill in Sterling Heights July 12; opening act is 311. * Matisyahu and Nadim Azzam DREAM MAKER GALA Hillel Day School will fete community leaders Beverly and Arthur Liss, and Norma and Michael Dorman, at the Annual Dream Maker Gala on Sunday, May 22, at Hillel in Farmington Hills. Beverly and Arthur Liss will receive the Dream Maker Award for their strong support of Hillel, as both past parents and current grandparents, and for their involvement in numerous organizations and activities in the Jewish and greater community. Norma and Michael Dorman, also past parents, will receive the Rabbi Jacob E. Segal (z”l) Award for their countless hours in support of Hillel, which have 24 March 31 • 2016 Michael and Norma Dorman made a lasting impression on the school, and for their longstanding dedication to Jewish Detroit. The gala will also recognize Distinguished Alumni awardees arts patron Elanah Nachman Hunger (Class of 1988), Pulitzer Prize-winning journal- ist Charles Ornstein (Class of 1988) and Arthur and Beverly Liss Dr. Ron Gaba (Class of 1990). Tickets are $180 per person. The com- munity is invited to celebrate all the honorees in the Shulman Scholarship Journal, which will be distributed at the gala. For information on submitting a tribute, contact Marni Cherrin, director of annual giving, at (248) 539-2920. * BAKED WITH LOVE Kayla Mayerfeld, 21, of Oak Park makes homemade treats that sell like hot cakes. Always a fan of baking, she was urged by family and friends to try selling her specialty-flavored kosher mini-cupcakes. She started advertising her Bite Sized Bliss business on Facebook and Instagram in September 2015 and liked the reaction. Mayerfeld, who is studying food science at Wayne State University, offers a range of flavors, including some she invented herself, such as lemon basil — all with fla- vored frostings and custom-made fondant designs to match. Hoping to branch out and add more specialty cakes to her rep- ertoire, Mayerfeld is enjoying what she’s doing in the meantime. “I really like mini-cupcakes because they make people so happy,” she said. For more information, check out her website www.bsbcupcakes.com. — Rochel Burstyn *