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.