Something Extra

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Food for Thought

A

That led me to think
a simchah
(actually one of the
recently, I found
guests opined that the
myself with an
discussion would
amiable group sitting
make its way into a
around the table dis-
column) that many of
cussing food.
the
expressions we use
What better time or
have
food as a basis;
place than that? We had
does
that make you
our basis right in front
Sy M anello
wonder
about our pre-
of us. No, we were not
Ed i torial
occupation?
criticizing what was
Ass istant
Have you ever need-
served. We did, however,
ed an appointment
run the gamut from food
somewhere and been
favorites from our youth,
offered to be sandwiched in by
great restaurants both here and
the busy executive or doctor or
in other countries, as well as
manager?
meals coming up later that day.
If this were the case, you
Ah, yes, the great equalizer —
might also have found yourself
food.

in a waiting room with others,
packed in like sardines.
If you were meeting with this
person to get some business
directed your way, you might
have been hoping that he would
throw you some crumbs. This
would not be if it were discov-
ered that you handled some
cheesy product. You, of course,
would never do this, knowing on
what side your bread is buttered.
When our admiration of
someone comes to the fore, you
may be sure we are still thinking
food. For example: A woman
who is a looker might be a real
tomato (Who says bygone slang
doesn't count?) An admired

cherries. Though author Erma
Bombeck then wondered why
was she "always in the pits"?
Some jobs may be regarded as
being real plums.
Lest you think that beverages
never enter in to such a discus-
sion, consider: When you are in
trouble, you are in the soup; if
you have something good going
for you, you may want to milk it
for all it's worth; if not, it may
not be your cup of tea.
Well, this leads me to end
with the unforgettable words of
the agronomist who walked into
religious services and
announced, "Lettuce spray.

A Little Jewish

Eliminating Jewish Hunger

When Yad Ezra, Michigan's
only kosher food pantry, holds
its annual fund-raising dinner
this weekend, a highlight of the
evening will be the honor
bestowed upon Jewish commu-
nity activist Joel E. Jacob.
"Joel is being recognized for
his efforts on behalf of Yad Ezra
and the issues of hunger," said
Lea Luger, development direc-
tor of the Berkley-based agency
and co-executive director along
with Elaine Ryke, who also
Jacob
serves as human services
director.
Jacob supports the fight
against hunger on the local,
national and international lev-
els."He is constantly checking
out food banks across the
country and in other coun-
tries:' Luger said. "He is also
looking to address issues of
hunger in Israel."
In addition to service to Yad Ezra, nearly since
its founding 15 years ago, Jacob also is involved
in other organizations, both Jewish and non-
Jewish, including MAZON, the United Way (from
whom he received the Heart of Gold award in
2000), Seeds of Peace, Students in Free
Enterprise, JARC, Jewish Federation of

male of your acquaintance
might be a real peach of a guy.
Surely, many of us are aware of
siblings who are alike as two
peas in a pod.
The ease with which we are
able to perform certain func-
tions can be best expressed in
food terms. If a task seemed to
cause no great challenge, it was
a piece of cake. If you met the
challenge easily, it was easy as
pie.
Perhaps you were led to
accept the challenge to begin
with because someone dangled
a carrot in front of you. Many
such successes would lead you
to feel that life truly is a bowl of

Metropolitan Detroit and JVS.
Jacob is the president and
founder of the Bottle Crew of
West Bloomfield. He also is the
founder and president of CEOs
under 17, a program that teach-
es inner-city youth entrepre-
neurial skills.
Yad Ezra provides food, toi-
letry and cleaning supply pack-
ages to 2,500 Jewish clients each
month as'well as special holiday
distributions and hot lunches to
disadvantaged students at area
day schools.
"A great supporter of Yad
Ezra, Joel regularly works to
spread the word about the issue
of hunger;' Luger said. "He is
constantly brainstorming and
working to attack the problem
from both a business perspec-
COMMUNITY
tive and a communal perspec-
CARE PROJECT
tive. Joel has really made it his
personal mission to do what he
can to end hunger in the world and he is doing
everything he can to make that happen."
For information on the 6 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 16,
Yad Ezra event at Congregation Shaarey Zedek,
call Yad Ezra at (248) 548-3663. Cost is $180 per
person.

— Shelli Liebman Dorfman, staff writer

He may not play "Jewish
Geography',' but Detroit mayoral
candidate Freman Hendrix will
take every vote he can get next
month.
The Metro Times' Jack
Lessenberry wrote about
Hendrix's mother, Rudolfine
Emegger Hendrix of Romulus,
after hearing a whispering cam-
paign that Hendrix wasn't "black
enough."
Rudolfine, a white, blue-eyed
Austrian, met Manny Hendrix, a
black U.S. soldier from Detroit, in
post-World War II Austria. Her
father was half-Jewish, some-
thing she and her sister had to
conceal during the Nazi and
Russian occupations.
Lessenberry concluded his
lengthy article with: "Yet if being
black does count, Freman
Hendrix's mama is the blackest
woman you'll ever meet. When

Hendrix

thousands tried to 'pass' as white,
when just being black could get
you killed, a girl with skin as
white as snow chose to live as a
black person in a city where
racial hostilities were never far
from the surface."

— Alan Hitsky, associate editor

RUES' 'cha Don't Know

Who is the only native-born Israeli to head a Jewish fed-
eration in North America?

— GOldfain

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October 13 . 2005

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