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Trains, Planes And …

T

he Industrial
the demise of house calls made by
Revolution — surely,
the horse-and-buggy doctor.
you remember that.
Taking an opening to dream
(Well, my grandchildren
big, we are encouraged to hitch
are sure I was there!) As
our wagons to a star. Failures who
machinery began to influ-
succumbed to Demon Rum were
ence our lives, terms involv-
said to be off the wagon.
ing travel — mechanized
Water mobility was heard in
Sy Manello
and otherwise — began to
words that urged us to do our own
Editorial Assistant
make their way into our
thing — paddle our own canoe.
speech.
We were also cautioned not to
We begin simply enough
overextend ourselves lest we be
with expressions that
up the creek without a paddle.
encouraged getting a move on: leg it or
Sympathizers of a situation found
hoof it. Before mechanical horses (yes,
themselves in the same boat. They
horsepower) took over completely, we
would avoid confrontations by not
knew not to rush things — not to put
rocking the boat. If, however, an oppor-
the cart before the horse. We also saw
tunity was overlooked, they missed the

boat. Sometimes we even felt like ships
that pass in the night.
The railroad led to many colorful
expressions. Going ahead with vigor?
Full steam ahead! If someone tried to
sabotage you (railroad you), you might
find yourself side-tracked or derailed
due to losing your train of thought. You
could then skate around the issue or
jump on the bandwagon to get yourself
back in gear. Once you are again fir-
ing on all pistons, you could ignore a
motor-mouthed naysayer and just keep
on trucking.
We can learn from all of this to stay
alert — never be asleep at the wheel —
and to get a move on. Happy trails! •

wandering jew

Why Do It Jewishly?

I

recently interviewed for a job with a
Jewish charitable organization. I’m
usually great in an interview. I can talk
about things I accom-
plished in previous
jobs, problems I solved
and lessons I learned
with just the right mix
of braggadocio and
humility. But, this time,
one of the questions
Joshua Lewis
threw
me for a loop.
Berg
“Why not just do
charity, become an
activist for the sake of
the cause alone? Why do it Jewishly?”
The answer will be obvious to those
who identify as Jewish, religiously. How-
ever, as a secular Jew and a humanist, I
have been struggling with the question
and puzzling until my puzzler is sore.
I spoke with a Jewish community
professional who reminded me that we
can relate to struggle because we are an
oppressed people. We are oppressed and
we should never forget that. However, as I
walk down the street, I am viewed first as
a white American male, and I reap all the
privileges born of that bias. Oppression
may inform my actions, but I can never
put my feet directly in the shoes of a per-
son of color.
After the recent events in
Charlottesville, I finally arrived upon
somewhat of an answer. “Jewishly” is a
valid way, but not the only way. It may
be Judaism, Islam, Christianity, human-
ism, a combination of things or just our
own personal insight that motivate and
guide us. What is important is not what
informs our action, but that we take
action effectively.
Jews have gathered in the wake of
Charlottesville so that we may never for-

get the wrongs done to the Jewish people.
I applaud the recent efforts of local
Jewish groups to come together with the
greater Detroit community to talk about
race, prejudice, the struggle for justice,
and the proper response. But, doing it
Jewishly must mean using that commu-
nity strength motivated by our own expe-
riences of oppression to lead us to action
to help the truly underprivileged and all
who are currently being oppressed daily.
This means not just those hurt overtly by
fringe groups, but at every level and by all
societal prejudice and discrimination.
So, if I am ever asked the question
again, “Why do it Jewishly?” my answer
will be this. If it is meaningful to you to
do it Jewishly, more power to you. But,
regardless of how you arrive, we must
acknowledge our privilege today and
truly become allies as outlined by the
Anti-Oppression Network, paraphrased
here:
“Allyship” is an active and arduous
practice of unlearning and re-evaluating,
in which a person of privilege seeks to
operate in solidarity with a marginalized
group of people.
• We must actively acknowledge our
privileges and openly discuss them.
• We must listen more and speak less.
• We must take guidance and direction
from the people we seek to work with
and keep our word.
• We continuously do our own research
on the oppression experienced by the
people we seek to work with.
• We must build our capacity to receive
criticism and recognize that being called
out for mistakes is a gift.
• We must realize that our needs are
secondary to the people we work with.
• We must not accept awards or special
recognition.

• We must support and make use of our
privilege for the people we work with.
• We must turn the spotlight away from
ourselves and toward the voices who
are currently marginalized, silenced and
ignored.
• We engage people with whom we
share identity and privilege in conversa-
tions about oppression of others. •

Corrections

• In “Secular Traditions” (page 78, Sept.
14), the incorrect address for Sholem
Aleichem Institute was given. The cor-
rect address is: P.O. Box 251564, West
Bloomfield, MI 48325. Its website is www.
secularsaimichigan.org.
Also in that story, it was incorrectly
reported that the Birmingham Temple
requires tickets for its High Holiday ser-
vices. The temple does not require tickets
for its services, including Yom Kippur.
• In the story, “To Cast Or Not To Cast”
page 76, Sept. 14), the writer stated that
the Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue
(IADS) was “gathering with Detroit’s other
synagogue, Congregation T’chiyah,” for
Tashlich “at Millikin (sic) State Park” and
neglected to include the Reconstructionist
Congregation of Detroit, which is, in fact,
the only synagogue that has held High
Holiday services in Detroit continually for
the past 18 years. The Tashlich services
referred to in the article have been con-
ducted by RCD on the Detroit River for
almost that long. This year, for the third
consecutive year, T’chiyah and RCD will be
holding their High Holiday services together
in the City of Detroit, including the Tashlich
service to which this year they have invited
IADS to participate as well. The Jewish
N ews regrets the error.

My
Story

Ken was searching for a place to
live, and was on a tight timetable.
“I was looking and looking for the
right place, and the time was
quickly approaching when I had to
move,” Ken said. “I’d gone to
Jewish Family Service for help with
leads, and in among the paper-
work, there was information about
Hebrew Free Loan.”
Ken recalled using HFL for other
things earlier in his life, and it
caught his attention. It was an ‘Oh,
yeah!’ moment.
“It was the middle of winter at the
time, I needed to relocate in a short
window, and having the money to
make the move opened up
options,” Ken said. “I could have,
literally and ﬁguratively, been out in
the cold.”
Even though Ken had previous
experience with HFL, he was still a
bit nervous to make the call.
“I remembered they were there
when I needed them before,” Ken
said. “I also have to give a lot of
credit to [Loan Program Manager]
Cheryl Berlin, and the HFL Board
members who interviewed me.
They listened, they were warm and
caring and very welcoming. It may
have seemed a small thing, my
needing to change housing quickly,
and wanting assistance with the
moving costs, but they treated it
like it was exactly why they came in
that day. I can’t say enough.
“If you’ve never approached
Hebrew Free Loan, and it someday
becomes an option, please do it,”
Ken said. “Don’t close the door on
opportunity. You never know how
your life can change.”

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

September 21 • 2017

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