MARCH 23 • 2023 | 45

A

staple of Passover 
experiences for Metro 
Detroit children since 
the 1980s is back once again. 
The Barbara and Douglas 
Bloom Matzah Factory will be 
held on Sunday, April 2, from 
3-5 p.m. at The J-Detroit in 
West Bloomfield. 
The annual event from 
JFamily, a program of The J, 
sees hundreds of local Jewish 
children learn the story of 
Exodus, enjoy hands-on activ-
ities and, of course, learn to 
make matzah.
This family celebration is free 
and open to all families in the 
Metro Detroit Jewish commu-
nity. 
This year’s event is full of 
hands-on experiences. Families 

will arrive and enjoy a Passover 
play in the Berman Theater 
with Rabbi Shneur Silberberg of 
Bais Chabad Torah Center. 
“We’re trying to do a more 
elevated performance this year 
by adding different backdrops, 
narrator music and additional 
actors,
” said Rachael Gerstein, 
JFamily program associate, 
who’s leading the program. 
After the play, Rabbi 
Silberberg will lead families 
“out of Egypt” from the theater 
to Handleman Hall and teach 
them how to make matzah for 
Passover that they can take 
home and enjoy. 
Craft stations will be set up 
in the main lobby. All crafts 
are themed to create Passover 
memories at the dinner table, 
including making flower 

arrangements, placemats and 
acrylic matzah holders that the 
children can paint. The children 
can also make a pillow and stuff 
it with a Passover memory for 
reclining at the Seder table.
Also in the lobby will be a 
matzah bar with a whimsical 
Willy Wonka theme of sorts 
where families can top their 
matzah with candy, cream 
cheese, jelly, frosting, sprinkles 
and more. “It will be a nice, 
sweet treat they can enjoy with 
their families,
” Gerstein said.
The event is sponsored by 

Barbara and Douglas Bloom, 
and their continuous support 
for the program is something 
The J and JFamily are thankful 
for. 
“Barbara said, ‘Making 
matzah is making memories.
’ 
That gives me goosebumps 
because Passover is all about 
spending time with your family, 
and with the crafts we’re doing 
and the play and the story 
behind everything, it really 
brings it back to the founda-
tion of what this program is all 
about,
” Gerstein said.
A total of about 300 people, 
around 130 families, are expect-
ed for the event. Gerstein hopes 
this year’s event provides people 
the opportunity to make con-
nections and enjoy a day engag-
ing with their family and other 
families as well. 
“It’s been a successful event 
year after year, and one that 
families have created their own 
traditions by attending.
” 

To register, visit https://jlive.app/.
events/4194.

Matzah and 
Memories
Bloom Matzah Factory returns to The J.

DANNY SCHWARTZ STAFF WRITER

Barbara and Douglas Bloom, 
and their continuous support 
for the program is something 
The J and JFamily are thankful 
for. 

A scene from the 
last in-person 
Bloom Matzah 
Factory

Spring Musical

FJA to present Little Shop of Horrors. 
F

rankel Jewish Academy’s 
Performing Arts 
Department will present 
their spring musical, “Little 
Shop of Horrors.
” The story 
centers around Seymour, a naive 
orphan taken in and given a 
job by Mr. Mushnik, the Jewish 
owner of a run-down florist 
shop in Skid Row, the seedy 
part of town. What accidentally 
grows in the florist shop is a 
surprise, even to Seymour. Yet 
his plant, Audrey II, draws a 
steady stream of customers the 
shop truly needs. 
While caring for Audrey II, 
Seymour learns of the plant’s 
rather unique appetite for blood 
(and later flesh!). This leads to 
all sorts of complications for 
Seymour in response to the 
plant’s ever-increasing demands. 
 

FJA junior Rozalia Aronov, 
who plays Seymour, says, “I 
couldn’t be more excited for 
the greater community to come 
and see our show! Singing and 
dancing four days a week is no 
easy feat, but our cast has been 
working hard on the downtown 
streets of Skid Row to transport 
all of you to ‘Somewhere That’s 
Green.
’”

This show is under the 
guidance of Mitch Master, 
director of the Performing 
Arts and theater manager, 
who has been with FJA since 
the school’s founding in 2000. 
The cast includes 12 very 
talented FJA students who have 
been rehearsing this show for 
months.
Performances are at 7 
p.m. Wednesday, March 29, 

and Thursday, March 30, in 
the Berman Center for the 
Performing Arts, 6600 W
. 
Maple Road in the JCC in West 
Bloomfield. 
General admission tickets 
are $15 each. The Berman will 

apply a $3 service fee per ticket. 
Go to theberman.org or call/text 
248-406-6677. 

Little Shop of Horrors is presented 

through special arrangement with 

Music Theatre International (MTI).

Top Row: Eliyah Fradkin (Dr. Orin Scrivello/Homeless), Emmanuela 
Arkashevsky (Mrs. Luce/Patrick Martin/ Homeless), Alex Upfall 
(Customer/ Homeless), Ava Paige (Crystal), Jacob Miller (Ronnette). 
Middle Row: Samantha Caminker (Skip Snip/Interviewer/Homeless), 
Rozalia Aronov (Seymour), Scout Philips (Chiffon), Eugenia Aronov 
(Audrey), Celia Levy (Mr. Mushnik). Front Row: Maya Upfall (Mr. 
Bernstein), Katelyn Winkelman (Audrey II/Homeless).

FRANKEL JEWISH ACADEMY

