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My
Story

for openers

Th e Good, Th e Bad ….

Y

fallen angel? (Well, now
ou are faced with a choice.
you know.)
The stereotypical image of this
The truly charitable
decision-making is the angel
person is often said to
on one shoulder and the devil on the
be on the side
other.
of the angels. A
You do not have to be a
good-hearted
believer of either of these
person is some-
“beings” to incorporate refer-
times described as an angel.
ences to them in your daily
Be aware, though, that fools
conversation. Here are some
rush in where angels fear to
examples.
tread; so if you are thinking
If you speak vehemently
of being an angel in a theater
for or against an issue, you
Manello
venture
(a backer or financer)
may be identified as either an Sy
Editorial Assistant
you have been warned.
angel’s or a devil’s advocate. If
On a track to being lazy?
your argument is emotionally
Remember that the devil
wrought, it could be one that
finds work for idle hands.
would make the angels weep.
Idleness may then lead to trouble
If you win, you may be said to have a
making and you may be described
guardian angel.
as being full of the devil and may be
Were you aware that a stock that
has declined or a company that is
addressed as “You devil!” When you
are caught, there may be the devil to
now failing has been referred to as a

pay. When you next appear in public,
someone may remark, “Speak of the
devil.” When you do not care what
others may think, you are said to have
a devil-may-care attitude.
Someone who is on the straight-
and-narrow path is fearful of catching
the devil otherwise. When faced with
a tough decision, such a person may
feel he is between the devil and the
deep blue sea.
I personally have been known to do
a devil of a job making a devil’s food
cake and an angel’s food cake. But
why not? They’re both sweets — a no-
brainer there! •

commentary

Th is Shavuot, I Th ought Of Gaza

T

not to cheat the stranger (22:20), and
his month, Jews in Detroit and
even to love the stranger (Leviticus
around the world celebrated
19:34, Deuteronomy 10:19). We must
receipt of the Torah, reaffirm-
do this because the Torah reminds us
ing a contract our ancestors made
— again and again and again
to remember and keep its
— “You were a stranger in the
teachings. We did this in a
land of Egypt.”
variety of ways — reading
In essence, Jews are com-
the Ten Commandments
manded to have empathy.
in synagogue, eating dairy
(It’s worth noting the Hebrew
treats at home (I still don’t get
word for “stranger” is often
that one) and studying deep
translated as “convert.” Yet,
into the night. I did all those
in these instances, the Torah
things, but my mind was also
uses that same word, ger, to
focused somewhere else.
David Zenlea
refer to Israelites in Egypt,
This year, I thought about the
who are never described as
people of Gaza.
converting to Pharaonic wor-
Your eyes are already roll-
ship).
ing. Here comes another
Commandments that are repeated
snowflake preaching modern notions
tend to be the most important. Also,
of social justice and privilege to a
perhaps, the most tempting to forget
region that plays by a much older,
harsher ruleset. Hey, I get it. I’m a mil- or ignore. (Which is why, for instance,
speed limits are posted at regular
lennial, born and raised in America.
While Mr. Rogers was telling me I was intervals.)
Empathy for strangers — particu-
special, Israelis were experiencing
larly for those strangers — doesn’t
waves of suicide bombings.
come easily. Not for me, anyway.
Yet the values that compel us to
I am a Zionist from a long line of
relate to the suffering of Palestinians
Zionists who dreamed of and fought
are not “New Age.” Millennia before
for a Jewish state. Even as images
Western culture embraced values of
of wounded and dead Palestinians
toleration, the Torah implored us not
poured onto screens, arguments in
to oppress the stranger (Exodus 23:9),

favor of Israel came to me as naturally
as breathing: The demonstrations
were orchestrated by Hamas; some
of those killed were armed; every
state has a right to defend its borders;
armies around the world show far
less restraint; Israel left Gaza and got
rockets and tunnels in return. I can
even quote passages from Torah that
condone and, in some cases, com-
mand the killing of enemies. Again,
this empathy isn’t easy.
The contradictions and complexi-
ties, however, are not an excuse to
shrug and walk away. Torah is not
in heaven (Deuteronomy, 30:12). So,
this Shavuot, I grappled with how the
Torah obligates us to the strangers in
our land today. Does the blockade of
1.9 million people constitute oppres-
sion of the stranger? What is it like
to be one of those strangers? To be
so bereft of hope, you’ll walk into a
line of fire? I don’t have the answers,
and I’m not even sure how to think
through them, but we should all, in
effort to accept the Torah in its entire-
ty, try to feel them. •

David Zenlea is an editor at Road & Track and
a member of the Isaac Agree Downtown
Synagogue, where he’s been the primary Torah
reader the last two years.

Eli Golshteyn was six years old
when his parents brought him to
the United States from the Soviet
Union. The Golshteyns arrived in
Michigan and began the enormous
task of settling into new jobs,
schools and a new culture. Along
with other relatives, the Jewish
community and Hebrew Free Loan
were valuable resources.
“I was young and I thought it was
all a big adventure, but we were
starting over, and we needed help,”
Eli said. “Several times HFL helped
my family as we acclimated – with
our first car, with a computer, and
with medical expenses. My parents
are brilliant, they’re both engineers,
but navigating a huge life shift like
that wasn’t easy. The Jewish
community was there for us. As I
got older, I realized what an amazing
concept it was to have a Jewish
community that helps others, and
I’m glad to even slightly repay the
debt, first as a NEXTGen Liaison to
HFL, and now as an HFL Adjunct
Committee 0002216720
member.”
Right away, Eli was impressed by
HEBREW
FREE
LOAN ASSOC.
the dedication of the HFL Board.
1 x 13
“Each time HFL
Board members
interview potential
borrowers it’s a
Full Color
new opportunity to help someone,”
Eli said. “The HFL Board, who are
so diverse in their approach and
experience, act with teamwork and
heart, and with the specific goal in
mind of making a difference for
others. I understand what it’s like
to have to ask for help, and it’s a
great responsibility to be on the
other side of the table.
“HFL helps secure the future for
so many people. Whatever the rea-
son, HFL can help Michigan Jews
attain a goal or a better situation,
and I’m proud to be a link in that
chain of possibility,” Eli said.

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248.723.8184

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May 31 • 2018

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