FEBRUARY 17 • 2022 | 49

Cohen’s presentation will 
be about her most recent 
writing project, My Life 
on the Autism Spectrum: 
Misunderstandings, Insight & 
Growth, set for 1 p.m. Sunday, 
Feb. 27, and will be in con-
versation with Katie Oswald, 
executive director at the Full 
Spectrum Agency for Autistic 
Adults. 
“I don’t like revealing things 
about my life that are less 
than successful, but I believe 
it’s important to hear about 
struggles,” said Cohen, who 
has served with the Peace 
Corps in Namibia. “Nobody’s 
perfect, and it’s important to 
push on. I will touch on dif-
ferent coping strategies and 
resources.”

FANS OF FICTION
Brenda Brook, Book Fair 
co-chairperson, was instru-
mental in choosing a presen-

tation of the novel that won 
the National Jewish Book 
Award’s Goldberg Prize for 
Debut Fiction — A Play for 
the End of the World by Jai 
Chakrabarti. The author will 
first appear at 7 p.m. Tuesday, 
April 5.
“This is one of my favorite 
books especially since I’ve 
traveled to India,” said Brook, 
who considers the Book Fair 
an important event for the 
community. “It’s beautifully 
lyrical.”
The theme is based on 
resilience as it moves from 
1940s Warsaw to 1970s New 
York City and rural India. 
At the center of the story 
is a children’s play and the 
surrounding circumstances 
of its presentation as young 
people are confronting the 
likelihood of brutal end-of-
life conditions.

MORE INSIDER 
FAVORITES
Lauren Marcus Johnson, 
assistant director of 
Cultural Arts at the Jewish 
Community Center, tells 
about two choices — fiction 
and nonfiction — and her 
enthusiasm for them.
“As part of the Mitten 
Moments program of the 
Jewish Book Fair, we spot-
light Jewish Michigan 
authors like Beth Kirschner, 
whose novel, Copper Divide, 
introduces readers to a small 

Jewish community in the 
early 20th century mining 
town of Calumet in the upper 
peninsula,” Johnson said. 
“Book Fair is excited to 
have Catherine Cangany, 
executive director of the 
Jewish Historical Society of 
Michigan, interviewing Beth 
as part of this dynamic virtu-
al discussion.”
The originating session is 
scheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesday, 
March 22.
“What better time than 
Women’s History Month 
to welcome Jennifer 
Armstrong to talk about her 
new book, When Women 
Invented Television: The 
Untold Stories of the Female 
Powerhouses Who Pioneered 
the Way We Watch Today,” 
Johnson said. 
“As a dynamic storytell-
er, Armstrong takes us on 
a ride through American 
television history, including 
the many-decades history of 
Betty White. Local veteran 
journalist Laura Berman will 
moderate this lively talk.”
The presentation about 
television is scheduled at 4 
p.m. Sunday, March 13.
For information on the free 
Detroit Jewish Book Fair pro-
grams and updates, go to cul-
turalarts.jccdet.org\bookfair. 
Registration for each event is 
necessary through the web-
site by clicking on the image 
of the book. 

Congregation B’nai Moshe will 
be joining together for HIAS 
Shabbat on Saturday, March 5, 
at 9 a.m. to dedicate a Shabbat 
to refugees and asylum seekers. 
The congregation will welcome 
Jennie Mizrahi Lieberman who, 
as a child, with the help of the 
Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society 
(HIAS), escaped Cuba to the 
U.S. A question-and-answer 
period will follow morning 
services.
 “This past year our hearts 
have swelled at the massive 
global effort to evacuate and 
find safe homes for Afghans 
fleeing for their lives; and they 
have broken seeing people 
whose lives are in danger of 
being turned away at border 
crossings around the world. 
This is a critical moment for all 
of us to reaffirm our support for 
refugees and asylum seekers,
” 
said Executive Director Steve 
Fine.
 B’nai Moshe will also be pur-
chasing and packing school 
supplies for Afghan refugee 
children. They have created an 
Amazon HIAS refugee registry 
list where you can purchase 
school items to be delivered 
directly to B’nai Moshe. 
 If you would rather make a 
monetary donation, you may do 
so by contributing to the Rabbi 
Kantor Discretionary Fund and 
including “HIAS” in the notes 
or memo section. 
 On Sunday, March 13, at 10 
a.m. volunteers are welcome to 
join in stuffing backpacks with 
the school supplies for refugee 
children. These backpacks will 
be delivered to Jewish Family 
Services in Ann Arbor during 
the following week.
 For more information or to 
donate, visit www.bnaimoshe.
org or call the synagogue office 
at (248) 788-0600. 

B’nai Moshe 
Dedicates Shabbat 
to Asylum Seekers 

