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Gee, I Did Not Know That!
Of course you read the paper and watch
the news so you can be in the know. Each
day you absorb all that can be learned to
improve your conversational skills.
Well, my friends, while you are busy
being depressed by what passes as the news
of the day, I am enjoying the discovery of
things that are strange but true.
For example, there are 18 different ani-
mal shapes in the Animal Crackers cookie
zoo. And I still like biting the ears off first!
While you are going
about your daily rou-
tines, your body is
creating and killing 15
million red blood cells a
second.
Being facially hirsute,
I was amazed to discover
that the king of hearts
is the only king with a
Sy Manello
moustache on a standard
Editorial
playing card. However,
Assistant
the Mona Lisa has no
eyebrows because it was fashionable in
Renaissance Florence to shave them off.
The next time you feel like berating
your guests for being so messy at the table,
remember that tablecloths were originally
meant to serve as towels with which dinner
guests could wipe their hands and faces
after eating.
Were you aware that when glass breaks,
the cracks move faster than 3,000 miles per
hour and to photograph the event a camera
must shoot at a millionth of a second? I am
especially amazed that someone had the
time to document this!
For those of you growing more depen-
dent on the call-waiting feature to preserve
your sanity, you should know it is estimat-
ed that 4 million junk calls are made every
day in the U.S. I am positive that 2 million
are coming to me alone!
For all of our animal lovers out there:
Porcupines float in water; hummingbirds
can weigh less than a penny; and the
longest recorded flight of a chicken is 13
seconds. (The latter was obviously without
hand luggage.)
I never thought of the email system as
an aid to dieting, but every time you lick
a stamp you are consuming one-tenth of
a calorie. Self-sticking stamps are saving
you saliva and putting you on your way to
fitness!
I do not know about you, but I feel that
all this information will make for some
really lively conversational inserts. I just
need to find a group of like-minded trivial-
ists. *
editorial
Inspiration And Joy ... At The Well
W
ith a flourish, the newest player
in local efforts to engage more
young adults in Jewish life has
burst onto the scene.
On a gorgeous afternoon the second day
of Rosh Hashanah, The Well drew nearly
500 people to the Detroit riverfront to recite
Tashlich prayers — where Jews "cast their
sins" into a body of the water to symboli-
cally discard their shortcomings while wel-
coming the new year.
With this large crowd, "Rosh Hashanah
Rush Hour" became the signature event
to date for The Well, a pluralistic, Jewish-
identity outreach initiative.
Curiosity could have played a part, but
the main attraction likely was what The
Well hopes to offer: a way to learn together
Jewishly and be uplifted spiritually.
POTENTIAL WELLSPRING
The Well (www.meetyouatthewell.org) seeks
to provide a central meeting point for young,
unaffiliated Jews searching for new or rein-
forced Jewish connections. Its name derives
from our ancestors, a desert people whose
lives centered around the community well.
Rabbi Dan Horwitz, 31, the founding
director, told the IN in a May 28 cover
story, "I'm trying to model what it is to
simultaneously live a life that is authenti-
cally both Jewish and American ... and
filled with joy!"
That's a tall order.
Shaping opportunities to be immersed
spiritually in Jewish values, practices and
traditions — and to make it inviting against
a modern backdrop — sounds daunting.
For The Well, success over the long haul
is a real possibility thanks to having an
innovative leader (namely Rabbi Horwitz),
a sage mentor (Rabbi Paul Yedwab of
Temple Israel of West Bloomfield), a believ-
ing benefactor (Lori Talsky Zekelman of
Bloomfield Hills) and the luxury of time (a
four-year trial grant through the Lori Talsky
Zekelman Fund at Temple Israel).
IT IS TIME TO ACT!
I'm approaching
or crossed 60, is
there anything I
need to know?
Yes - remember, you're still
young - as long as you believe
it! Speaking from experience,
there is a certain "OMG, I'm
60" trauma that ensues. There is a lot to
learn. Social Security is coming. Should
you take the money at 62, 66 or wait until
70? How does it work with my spouse and
what happens if divorced or widowed,
what are the rules? Medicare begins at 65
and you need to learn about Parts A-D. If
parents are still living - you need to learn
the options available for nursing care
and attendance benefits in case the need
arises. Nursing homes run $10,000 per
month and will usurp what is left of the
estate unless you plan. You need to make
sure your estate plan is in order.
FREE SEMINAR
REPEATED!
THAV GROSS is hosting a free
seminar - Wednesday, October
14th - 6:30 to 8 PM, "Crossing Sixty
- The Estate & Financial Planning
Decisions You Need to Make" - for
FREE tickets go to
www.lawandreality.com or call
888.235.4357.
Rabbis Paul Yedwab and Dan Horwitz
JOINING FORCES
The Well stands among the pantheon of
local Jewish alliances (beyond our syna-
gogues) that share the goal of guiding more
young adults toward a meaningful Jewish
journey.
Each organization has embraced a distinc-
tive niche: The Well, Federation's NEXTGen
Detroit, Yeshiva Beth Yehudah's Partners
Detroit, Hillel of Metro Detroit, Moishe
House, Chabad in the D, Aish, others.
All recognize the potential of working
together on programming, where possible.
The goal they share is more collaboration
than competition; invigorating Jewish
Detroit is what matters most.
In the cover story, Yedwab told the IN
that a Temple Israel planning committee
Your Legal
Issues
sought to address the subject of millennial
detachment from Jewish life. The commit-
tee imagined a "network weaver" not just
to pluralistically tie together the strengths
of existing young adult groups, but also, to
daringly reach beyond institutional walls.
Amid the relentless tug of complete
assimilation into a secular way of life, the
kind of weaving imagined by Temple Israel
may seem a lost art.
Still, if upwards of 500 people can be
inspired to flock to a modern-day version
of the ancient community well, in this case
the Detroit riverfront, to observe a simple
Jewish ritual, The Well and its partners in
young adult engagement indeed may be
positioned to create a dynamic weaving.
L
THAV GROSS
has been solving
its clients' business, tax and financial
problems since 1982. Be sure to tune
in to the new Law and Reality -
Sunday mornings at 11 AM on TV 20
and Tuesday afternoons from Noon
to 1 PM on WCHB 1200AM/99.9FM.
0 THAV GROSS
888.235.4357 (HELP) or
248.645.1700
For information, visit us online at
thavgross.com • lawandreality.com
30150 Telegraph, Suite 444
Bingham Farms, MI 48025
October 8 2015
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