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What’s In A Name?

J

Elementary School in Southfield. And
ane is not just “plain.”
all of a sudden my name was Jean!
Lately, “My name is Jane” feels
The worst part of my name being
itchy. The kind of squirm-in-your-
Jane now is I actually threw a tan-
clothes itchy to which an allergist
trum for my name to be Jane. I
might ask, “Have you started
demanded it. Little third-grade
using a new laundry deter-
me refused to respond to Jean.
gent?” And I would respond,
The staff called my parents,
“No, I have been Jane for 27
who barely spoke English but
years.” I am 36.
saw no reason to deny me.
What do I talk about
One fake nickname is as good
in therapy? Among other
as another fake nickname.
things, I talk about life as
Hopefully, my parents said
Jane.
Genia Gazman
that much to the staff and
At some point in the
told them to go and teach me
U.S.S.R., at the impression-
something.
able age of 8 or younger, I
And then I was Jane.
spoke with a wise man who
I obsess over names. Not just
knew of life beyond the
my own. When I meet someone and
Iron Curtain. I asked him, “How do
he introduces himself as Alex, yet he
you say Genia in America?” He said,
looks like his family originates from
“Jane.”
So when my family suddenly arrived a part of the world where Alex is not
in the world of two gallon pop and Big even a word, I ask, “What is your real
name?” When I go to a local massage
Macs, I figured it was only a matter
spot and the woman introduces herself
of time until the locals started calling
as Candy, and she doesn’t look like she
me Jane. That’s not how things went
just came off a Playboy shoot, I ask,
down. It was worse.
“What is your real name?” I ask people
In March 1990, I started at the
all the time, “What is your real name?”
end of third grade at Schoenhals

In America, we don’t just give peo-
ple fake nicknames. We give people
the most generic Caucasian names
we can think of. Do we do it to help
foreigners assimilate? Or do we do it
so when an American calls customer
service they complain a little less
about the foreigner who knows more
about technology than they do, but
speaks with an accent.
Introducing myself as Genia won’t
even get the job done. Sure, people
who do not speak Russian will even-
tually take a deep breath and rec-
ognize they are perfectly capable of
pronouncing Genia. But my family,
doesn’t just call me Genia. There are
so many plays on the name depend-
ing on the emotion and situation.
Genichka is probably the sweet-
est version. There is also Gen’ka.
Gen’yulya. You get the point. I miss
my name. And not just my name. I
miss all the versions of my name and
all the terms of endearment that are
part of the Russian language.
Jane is not just plain. It is not my
name. It is a means of whitewashing
me into America. •

essay

A Proud Local Tradition

S

urrounded by a world apparently
gone crazy, it feels natural to seek
out some good news. It isn’t easy
but it is doable.
Living in our community with its
long tradition of caring and support
of one another, I feel
compelled to share
with you an event
notable both for its
longevity and its
contribution to the
education of chal-
lenged Jewish youths
Dr. Conrad Giles around the world.
Forty-two years ago,
Doreen and David
Hermelin invited 50
couples for a morn-
ing of bagels, lox and laughter in their
garage along with the opportunity
to “rub off ” the earliest edition of
Michigan’s first instant lottery tickets.
Each couple contributed $100 and
incredibly each received $57 from

winning tickets.
It could have all ended there, but it
didn’t! David, being “David,” thought
that while this event was a pleasant
social occasion, it could be trans-
formed into something more meaning-
ful. The following year, he suggested
that the group reconvene, contribute
$100 and rub off the instant lottery
tickets. All proceeds would then go to
ORT in support of Jewish education.
Thus, what was called Rub-A-Dub
was born, and it has continued each
year since 1975. Held for many years
at the Hermelin home, most recently it
has been held at Franklin Hills Country
Club. The event has raised more than
$4 million in the past 10 years. One
feature of the event included an auc-
tion originally led by David Hermelin
as the auctioneer with the gavel now
being passed to his son, Brian.
David would have been proud to
know that as a result of his vision,
thousands of youngsters in Israel, the

former Soviet Union (FSU) and 35
other countries have benefited from
this event.
The more than 500 Detroiters who
participated this year’s Rub-A-Dub will
have provided disadvantaged young-
sters in our youth villages in Israel an
opportunity to succeed first education-
ally and then vocationally. Additionally,
the funds aiding the 17 schools in the
World ORT network in the FSU will
provide the tools not only to educate
but also to help secure Jewish life in
the FSU for these families.
We at World ORT owe a debt of grat-
itude to the dozens of sponsors and
leadership of ORT America’s Michigan
region. In particular, I would like to
congratulate Executive Director Nicole
Miller, President Robbie Sherman, the
board and Rub-A-Dub event co-chairs
Jason Brooks, Mark Tapper and Scott
Marcus. •

Dr. Conrad Giles is president of World ORT.

Our Story

Amy and Noam Stein moved
to Southfield from Memphis when
Noam accepted the position as
high school principal of the Farber
Hebrew Day School. The couple
and their seven children were tasked
with a move to suburban Detroit
where they had no family or close
friends to advise them, and to find
the right home and neighborhood
sight unseen.
“What we found was a supportive
community in and around Young
Israel of Southfield,” said Noam.
“Howard Korman, who is a Board
member at both Young Israel and
Farber, and his wife, Michal, were so
helpful, even going so far as to
attend our home inspection before
the closing, since we were still in
Tennessee.”
“Hebrew Free Loan entered our
lives because homes aren’t typically
built for families with seven young
kids, tweens and teens,” Amy said.
“But the basement in our new home
was simply one empty room.
Howard had mentioned an effort
between Young Israel and HFL to
support Jewish neighborhoods
and make the area attractive to
families, so we approached HFL to
help us renovate the lower level. It
gave our kids their own space, and
helped our family make a good
transition.”
“Hebrew Free Loan struck me as
a modern agency, reaching out to
serve different constituencies,”
said Noam. “It was a polished,
professional and respectful process.”
“We now know that HFL helps our
community with a variety of needs,
not just emergencies,” said Amy.
“The home improvements helped
us settle in here and make a life.”

Click. Call. Give Now.
www.hfldetroit.org
248.723.8184

Health. A fresh start.
A good education.
The next great business idea.

Hebrew Free Loan gives interest-
free loans to members of our
community for a variety of
personal and small business
needs. HFL loans are funded
entirely through community
donations which continually
recycle to others, generating
many times the original value
to help maintain the lives of
local Jews.

6735 Telegraph Road, Suite 300 • Bloomfield Hills, MI 48301

Hebrew Free Loan Detroit

jn

@HFLDetroit

August 24 • 2017

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