DECEMBER 28 • 2023 | 33
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a prayer was said for the IDF, and
Sider’s husband, Bill, an attorney
with vocal abilities, sang the piece
dedicated to the IDF.
“I wanted these seven people to
feel like they weren’t alone and were
in a supportive environment,” Sider
said. “It was OK to express whatever
they wanted. I gave them free form
to do something with the glass to
express whatever was inside of them
and let out their feelings in a safe
way.”
Tammy Movsas, who learned
about the class through an email,
was one of the appreciative partici-
pants. Although she had done cray-
on art before, she had not worked
with mosaics. She also had watched
her late father work with stained
glass, and the projects reminded her
of his talents.
“The class came to be a fun eve-
ning out,” said Movsas, who has
traveled to Israel several times to be
with those she knows. “It gave me
insight into mosaic work, and I saw
Michelle’s talents. She has her own
beautiful artwork on display, and
that was very inspiring.”
Movsas planned on giving the
lamp she made to her mother for a
Chanukah present. Her daily work is
with science projects, and she found
making the lamp to be another cre-
ative outlet that took her mind off
tensions for the time that it lasted.
Joanne Lorkis learned about the
art session through a WhatsApp
digital group to which she belongs.
The group consists of military force
relatives.
“I’ve never done art formally,” said
Lorkis, who lives in Oak Park. She
does technical hospital work and has
close relatives in Israel. “I went to
Israel for a gap year and have been
visiting frequently to see family.”
Lorkis, who plans to put the lamp
in a place where it can be seen,
found the class very relaxing. She
was glad everyone was asked to not
look at their phones while they did
their artistry. She describes the time
as “peaceful and quiet.”
“The three hours passed by in a
blink,” she said. “I don’t have a lot
of time in my life to do this sort of
thing, so I really enjoyed it. I think it
was so kind and giving of Michelle
that she came up with this idea.”
Southfield retiree Myra Selesny
also appreciated the opportunity
to attend the Sider workshop. She
learned about the class through a
mutual friend.
“We could relax and enjoy each
other’s friendship and do a little cre-
ative thinking as a benefit for all of
us going through the tough times,”
said Selesny, who has family in the
Israeli military. “We’re in touch all
the time. One person was on a hik-
ing trip out of Israel and cut his trip
short to go back.”
Selesny, who has been in Israel for
a wedding since the fighting started,
has never done mosaic work before.
She plans to put the lamp on a book-
shelf and would take another class.
“It was a very nice evening,”
Selesny said. “Michelle put on classi-
cal music, and we were intrigued by
what other people were doing. It was
comforting to know that we weren’t
the only ones feeling these issues
and worry.”
Sider, who plans to offer anoth-
er free class, set the mood the day
before. While some people are tak-
ing down mezuzahs in fear of the
antisemitic actions that are growing,
she invited Rabbi Asher Lopatin of
Kehillat Etz Chaim in Oak Park to
join her.
Searching the web and stores for
a mezuzah, Sider found one from
a Polish manufacturer. It was made
from impressions of materials that
held mezuzahs before the mezuzahs
were torn down by the Nazis.
“Now is the time to show our joy
and pride in being Jewish — just
when antisemitism is rife on college
campuses and in demonstrations of
hate-filled protests against Israel,”
Rabbi Lopatin said.
“Restoring a mezuzah shows we
will not let antisemitism defeat our
people and stop us from being the
Jews and human beings we need to
be.”
Bill Sider sang a prayer for Israeli soldiers.
Rabbi Lopatin and Michelle Sider put up a mezuzah.
Another example from the workshop.