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Right Down The Middle
C
an you belt out a
song? Have you ever
been plagued by get-
ting the right-sized belt? Do
you see where I'm going with
this?
The word belt has many
applications.
The basic belt is a strip or
band of leather used for hold-
ing up one's trousers or merely
slug about the hips to make a
fashion statement (by those
who do not need a belt to
hold things up; a pox on them
and their metabolisms!). Men's fashion
magazines dictate that one's belt and
shoes should match and that a belt and
Remembering
Mary Travers
The latest issue of
Reform Judaism recounts
Rabbi Daniel Syme's
eulogy of his friend
Mary Travers of the folk
singing trio Peter, Paul & Rabbi Syme
Mary. She died Sept. 16
at age 72 from complica-
tions of leukemia.
Spiritual leader
of Temple Beth El in
Bloomfield Township,
Syme is quoted in the
spring issue of the Union
for Reform Judaism's
Mary Travers
magazine as saying in
his eulogy:
"I remember Mary's visit to the former
Soviet Union, accompanied by [Reform
Action Committee Director] Rabbi David
Saperstein, where she sang in Hebrew for
the refusniks [Soviet Jews denied permis-
sion to emigrate] the song which David
taught her: `Dodi Li — am my beloved's
and my beloved is mine."'
Syme went on to note that she became
(
(one of America's leading champions of
Soviet Jewry"
Rabbi Zoe Klein of Temple Isaiah in
Los Angeles joined Rabbis Syme and
Saperstein in speaking at a second memo-
rial service in New York. Rabbi Elliott
Kleinman, director of advancing Reform
Judaism for the New York-based URJ, was,
a friend of Travers and attended that ser-
suspenders are not sartorially
splendid (not that those who
would wear both even know
about sartorial splendor).
When one had occasion
to remove one's belt, it often
signified that a beating was
forthcoming. The mere sight
of Dad starting to remove his
belt could strike terror in the
young recalcitrant's heart.
In slang usage, a belt has
come to be used to indicate a
large gulp, especially of liquor.
Many a loser in a Western
flick has his downfall initiated by belting
down one too many.
If one has known hard times, he may
also be aware of having to "tighten one's
belt" or learn to do without.
As for streets, we have Middlebelt,
which at one time ran around the city
and was a dividing line between city and
suburbs. Such streets also can be found
in other areas of the country: the Corn
Belt, Sun Belt, Rust Belt and — hallelu-
jah! — Bible Belt.
No driver should venture out without
buckling his seat belt and making sure
that his passengers do likewise. It should
not take a visit from a black belt to con-
vince you of the import of this safety
device.
The next time you are so inclined, you
can leave the middle of the road, hitch up
your pants and break into song. 721
vice. He remembered her as "larger than
life — in body, spirit and energy. Her car-
ing and love were as grand as her life'
to our heart. That door is the portal of
goodness, repentance, and faith.
Our Own
Prisons
Rabbi Aryeh
Levin was called
the Holy Man of
Jerusalem. He
spent his adult
life in Israel,
where he vis-
ited prisoners,
bringing them comfort, food, spiritual
sustenance.
Once after Passover, some of the Jewish
prisoners told Rabbi Aryeh that although
the seder had been good, something impor-
tant was missing: Because they were in
prison, they could not perform the tradi-
tional rite of opening the door for Elijah, an
act that invites redemption, for Elijah is the
herald of the Messiah. Surely, there was no
enslavement more absolute than the inabil-
ity to coax forth redemption.
Rabbi Aryeh replied, "Every man is in a
prison of his own self. He cannot leave by
going out of the house but only by pass-
ing through the door of the heart. And to
make an opening for himself in his own
heart — that anyone can do, even a pris-
oner behind bars. And then he will be in
true spiritual freedom:'
At each significant moment during the
year, each of us should seek to understand
where we are enslaved and open the door
by Rabbi David Wolpe of Sinai Temple in Los
This is an excerpt from "Floating Takes Faith"
Angeles. ©Behrman House; used by permission
(www.behrmanhouse.com ).
Yiddish
Limerick
For Pesach
We said the Hagaddah, getrunken di vine.
Gezungen di zmiros, not skipping a line.
Di knaidlach were tasty and even
di chrain
Elijah's old glaysel is filled once
again.
And then at the end, oy, mid vel ich zayn.
getrunken di vine — drank the wine
Gezungen di zmiros — sang the songs
Di knaidlach — the matzah balls
di chrain — the horseradish
glaysel — little glass
mid — tired
vel ich zany — I will be
Rachel Kapen of West Bloomfield prepared
this limerick in memory of the late Martha
Jo Fleischmann, longtime JN Yiddish
limerick writer.
Our JN Mission
The Jewish News aspires to communicate news and opinion that's useful, engaging, enjoyable and unique. It strives to reflect the full range of diverse viewpoints while also advocat-
ing positions that strengthen Jewish unity and continuity. We desire to create and maintain a challenging, caring, enjoyable work environment that encourages creativity and innova-
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JN
March 25 2010
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