For Openers When Left Is Right I f you are familiar with the words "gauche" or "sinister," your aware- ness of left-handedness has begun. Being married to a "lefty" myself, I am quite sensitive to the fact that the left-handed citizen is still at a distinct disadvantage in our society — whether it is from the standpoint of negative terms involving the left or from the SY MANELLO lack of convenience in find- ing tools or household arti- Editorial cles. (By the way, when the Assistant latter are found they invari- ably cost more.) The Latin word sinister (meaning, "on the left") indicates that which is evil or, at best, unlucky. The French word gauche (meaning, "left") indicates social awk- wardness. The extremists in politics are the left wingers. All this must stem from the days when the left-handed person was thought to be not only strange, but possibly possessed or evil in some way. Let me share with you some interesting facts that will throw a positive spin on the left. Some of the famous "lefties" among U.S. preSidents include Garfield, Hoover and Truman. Garfield was also ambidextrous and enjoyed dazzling people by writing in Latin with one hand and Greek with the other. In the 1992 U.S. presidential election, three candidates were left-handed: Bill Clinton, Ross Perot and George Bush. (We will not discuss what that election LEFT us with.). Other notable left-handers: Joan of Arc, Queen Victoria, Binyamin Netanyahu, Helen Keller, Dave Barry, Jay Leno, Uri Geller and even Bart Simpson. Since Jimi Hendrix could not afford to buy a left-handed guitar when he was starting out, he learned to play a right- handed guitar upside down. Kermit the Frog was left-handed, as was his creator, Jim Henson. Then there are directions. "Natural" rotation for most of he Jewish surnames of Barron, Shatz and Roshal us is really from left to right. In the northern hemisphere when you empty the bath, the water spins in a clockwise abbreviate or represent cer- direction. We perceive the sun to rotate from left to right tain Hebrew words or and that has determined the direction of the hands of a terms. Do you know which ones? — by Goldfein watch and the rotation on sundials. Did you know that the spiral forming the DNA chain, -!qqe.! snourEj alp Jo lu -ep which contains all of an individual's genetic material, turns -uaosap 2maq avSQUIEU atp clockwise? (More important — do you care?) uoulms Iqq-611 ioj s! The American favorite pastime of baseball has a Jo c.inv27 qopgycis Joj s! zlEus greater percentage of left-handed pitchers in the 110.1.1Eq :JO/Miry uos cuo.myy 1vq .ioj si American League than left-handers in the gen- eral population. The aversion to "left" is seen in the fact that all races that take place on an . oval track, including those for the Olympics "Whatever style, the sukkah is the only and horse races, are run counterclock- mitzvah in which we are completely wise. Hmmm. surrounded, from head to toe, by the The next time you're at the art muse- mitzvah itself, enveloped, as it were by urn, check out the painting of God's presence." Michelangelo's David and Goliath and — Jay Korelitz, Farmington Hills resident note that David's sling is in his left and a local minyan leader for the elderly hand. at Coville Apartments, Danto Family To show that some lefties had an Health Care Center and Menorah House. advantage, Leonardo da Vinci wrote all of his personal notes from right to left, "God waits for human initiative. On forcing those who read them to use a mirror. our own, we would not get very far. In ancient Japan, a man could ask for a Hence, we thank God 'who has hal- divorce if he discovered that his wife was left- lowed us with acts of holiness.' The reli- handed. gious life is not a monologue. As we do Not that we want to encourage violence, (though many the mitzvah, we sense an infusion of "lefties" used to have to defend themselves from an early holiness intermingling with our own." age) but if you lead with your left fist, you would have a — Rabbi Ism ar Schorsch, chancellor of distinct advantage when your opponent protects himself the Jewish Theological Seminary of with his right. America in New York City in his Sukkot If you wish to acknowledge the revised attitude toward 5763 message. the "southpaws" among us, remember to celebrate Left Handers Day next Aug. 13. It's a celebration that started in "The Middle East is still replete with 1999 in the suburbs of Detroit. 0 national, religious and territorial dis- putes. The land is small. The agony is great. But the real tragedy is that with- out tenor, we could have already resolved them. Terror entrenched them." T Quotables Shabbat Candlelighting "The burning flame of the candle represents the Jewish mother, who is the torch to pass on the Torah values to the next generation. The woman is the pillar of her home, and all is dependent on her." — Miriam Amzalak, mother, Oak Park Sponsored by Lubavitch Women's Organization. To submit a candlelighting message or to receive complimentary candlesticks Candlelighting Candlelighting Friday, Sept. 27: 7:03 p.m. Friday, Oct. 4: 6:51 p.m. Shabbat Ends Shabbat Ends Amzalak of Oak Park at (248) 967-5056 or c-mail: Saturday, Sept. 28: 8:01 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 5: 7:51 p.m. amzalak@juno.com Yiddish Limericks My bubbie* once counseled, "You'll see, Between brains and brawn all agree, Vu me dal moyech, Helfi- nit kain koyech.' Hands down, it's the kup mentsh*** for me." — Martha Jo Fleischmann and information on Shabbat candlelighting, call Miriam — Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, in his Sept. 18 address to the United Nations General Assembly. grandma ** Where you need intellect, stren will not do. *** brainy person 9/27 2002 u,