L'Chayim!
Continued from Page L-1
roles as educational resources.
Additionally, efforts are being
finalized to integrate The Jewish
News — and L'Chayim — into the
curriculums of our Hebrew schools
on a pilot basis.
Special mention needs to be
made of the efforts of News Editor
Heidi Press and Jewish Experiences
For Families Director Harlene
Appleman, who helped put life into
L'Chayim.
We would be honored to have
you join us at a community-wide
iilhars Oa
" A IV
Jerrod Blows
The Shofar
By LOWELL E. STEARN
Once there was a boy named
Jerrod. Jerrod lived in a small town.
Jerrod thought he could do
anything. One day, he was offered
the job of blowing the shofar on
Yom Kippur. Without even learning
how to blow the shofar, Jerrod said,
"Yes I will be happy to do it." He
grabbed the shofar out of the
cantor's hands and ran home with
it.
He was very excited and ran
through the door of his house
yelling, "I got the job of blowing the
shofar on Yom Kippur." His mom
then said to him "Good, my son,
then why don't you start practicing
now!"
Jerrod had never blown the
shofar in his whole life. Jerrod then
said, "How am I going to blow the
shofar if the cantor did not teach
me!" But he said to himself, "I
know I can do it."
He then took a big "woof" of
Next Month
Our environment, and its
significance for Jews
throughout the ages, will be the
theme of next month's
L'Chayim. Rabbi Paul Yedwab
of Temple Israel will write the
overview. Additionally, there will
be plans for an exciting
community wide havdalah
service, followed by telescopic
star gazing with noted
astronomers. And there will be
fresh columns, stories, market
bags — and a few more
surprises!
L-8
FRIDAY, SEPT. 18, 1987
wind and blew as hard as he could
putting his mouth to the shofar, but
not a sound came out! He tried
again and again and still nothing
came out! Then he said "Oh! Oh!
I'm in trouble" Days of trying
passed. He tried and tried. Still
nothing came out.
Finally, the night of Yom Kippur
came. He walked to the temple with
his head held up high, bravely
walking up onto the bimah, slowly
brought the shofar up to his lips
and all of a sudden, guess what
happened. Jerrod blew very hard on
the shofar and the sound came out
loud and clear, and that went on
until the end of the service. It was a
miracle! Why did it work? Because
Jerrod tried very hard and he
earned it.
Lowell Steam, 7, is the son of Robin
and Scott Steam of Farmington Hills.
Newcomers
Get Support
The Jewish Welfare Federation
Women's Division, through its
Shalom Detroit outreach program,
has been offering friendship
and hospitality to transplanted
families since 1977.
Like a "Jewish Welcome
Wagon," Shalom Detroit volunteers
visit families that are new to the
area.
To arrange for a Shalom Detroit
visit or for those interested in
hosting a newcomer to the
community for Shabbat, call the
Women's Division at Federation,
965-3939.
celebration this Sunday, from 2 to 4
p.m. at the Maple-Drake Jewish
Community Center in West
Bloomfield to toast L'Chayim and
celebrate the fall holidays with
music and fun for all.
As always, we welcome your
comments and suggestions and
look forward to continuing to serve
you.
L'Chayim!
Arthur M. Horwitz
Associate Publisher
From Adler To
Goldsmith
Did you ever wonder where your last name came from? Did it
come from an ancestor's profession? Was it derived from the town in
which an ancestor lived? Would you like to know the origins of your
family name? Each month Betty Provizer Starkman will discuss,
according to available information, the probable source of a Jewish
family surname. If you would like to know the derivation of your family
name, send it to Mrs. Starkman clo L'Chayim, The Jewish News,
20300 Civic Center Dr., Suite 240, Southfield, 48076.
Betty Provizer Starkman is the past president and founder of the
genealogical branch of the Jewish Historical Society of Michigan.
The subject of Jewish surnames and their origins is a fascinating
one. It involves the study of history, genealogy and geography. The
earliest Jewish surnames can be traced to the Middle Ages in Spain,
Portugal, Italy and the Frankfort, Germany ghetto. Until the 19th
Century, most Jewish people, however, used a given name plus the
name of their father (Meyer Ben Chaim). Sometimes the name of a
grandfather was also added for identification. Early in the 19th
Century, the rulers of Germany, Russia and Australia and the new
laws of the Napoleonic Code, forced Jews to adopt surnames.
Many names were taken from occupations, (Becker-baker), from
places of origin, (Moskowitz-Moscow) or from physical characteristics
(Gross-Large, Klein-small). Other names were matronymic in origin.
My late grandmother had an interesting name, Bayla Bailin. Bailin was
the matronym of Bayla meaning beautiful. Of course, some names
were patronymic, such as (Nathan-Nathanson or David-Davis). Cohen
was a designation of priestly lineage and Levy denotes that one is a
descendant of Levi. Following are some Jewish surname origins:
Adler stems from the sign of an eagle (German-Adler) on a home
in the Frankfort-am-main ghetto. This was a family of priestly origin
(Kohanim), many of whom were rabbis, bankers, businessmen and
scholars. According to Benzion Kaganoff, there were two houses in
Frankfort using the sign of the Adler — number 27, the black eagle
and number 86, the golden eagle. Another Adler family originating in
Worms, Germany was also of priestly descent. It is not known if there
was a relationship between the Frankfort and Worms families. The
Encyclopedia Judaica has a family tree of the Frankfort Adlers. They
were related through marriage to Fraenkel and Schiff families. An
interesting side note: In Yiddish there is an expression referring to an
"aidler mench," as a person who is refined, good and dignified.
Goldsmith / Goldschmidt / Goldsmid / Goldsmidth / Goldsmit /
Soref (Hebrew) / Zoref (Hebrew) / Orefice (Italian), were names used
by goldsmiths. There were many fine goldsmiths in Europe who were
Jewish. In Persia, Yemen, Iraq and Tunisia, Jewish gold and
silversmiths were noted for the fine quality and beauty of the jewelry
they produced. The gold and silver work of the Yemenites has been
encouraged by the Bezalel School of Arts and Crafts in Israel.
Goldstein/Goldstone is a name derived from a tool used by
goldsmiths. Some goldsmiths adopted this surname as a symbol of
their trade.