views for openers Yad Ezra’s Food Stamps Challenge Participants were limited to spending only $4.20 for a day’s worth of food. H no snacks? Eat only twice in the day? ere’s something to chew over: So many choices. But you know what The daily SNAP (aka food wasn’t a choice anymore? Pizza. stamps) allocation in Eating out. Most of my favor- Michigan is $4.20 per person ite foods. The good-looking per day. cookies that someone had put The good folks at Yad Ezra, on the wrong shelf that I got the Berkley-based kosher food excited about until I scanned pantry, asked: How far does them … $4.20 worth of groceries really Keeping kosher made the get you? challenge even harder. But then I thought it might be fun to Rochel Burstyn again, who doesn’t have dietary see if I could shop for grocer- restrictions? There are plenty ies on such a limited budget, of folks who are diabetic, low- but what I didn’t realize was sodium, have allergies, etc., and that the challenge involved sometimes those restrictions eating exclusively those few mean their food costs triple the usual measly groceries for the next 24 hours price (helloooo, gluten-free aisle!) so I as well. reckon the “added” kosher challenge I wasn’t going to chicken out once I kept things authentic. realized; but let’s just say that if I had Then there’s the matter of fruits and known what I was in for, I would have veggies. They are generally so much made sure to eat a double portion of more expensive than cookies and chips. dinner that evening before I headed I mean, it’s a shame that folks on food out on our communal shopping trip to stamps can’t afford healthier options Meijer on May 23. too often, but I suppose they’re also So how did I do on Yad Ezra’s annual likely getting government health insur- food stamps diet challenge? ance. I wonder how much of it covers For starters, I don’t think I’ve ever illnesses due to bad food choices? (And spent so long shopping for so little; I is it really considered a “choice” if they spent ages roaming the aisles, study- couldn’t afford anything healthier in ing the sale prices. Some of the other participants banded together to double the first place?) At the risk of boring the pants off their “allowance.” Others, like me, who you like any inspired new dieter who did it alone suddenly had to decide wants to tell you about her food in how to divvy up such a small amount over the course of a day. $1.40 per meal, painstaking detail, I will tell you what I purchased: one box of macaroni (on sale! 89 cents!), one dozen eggs (the half-dozen wasn’t available), a single corn on the cob (woo-hoo! A metziyah at 10 cents!) and one tube of barbecue Pringles. I know the challenge isn’t an exact portrayal of the way the system works. Families really get their allotted food stamps in one monthly swoop and it’s likely they already have some staples, spices, oil, etc. (part of the challenge was not to use what we already had at home …) Still, close enough. I left Meijer feeling like I was prepar- ing for Yom Kippur (albeit without all the repenting). I kept thinking, “I’ll be fine; it’s only 24 hours and then I can eat normally again.” I was super aware that I had very lit- tle food for the next day. So that night, every time I heard footsteps and creak- ing floor boards, I yelled out to which- ever kid was out of bed, “You better not be touching my Pringles!” In the end, I actually fared OK. It wasn’t fun. I didn’t like my food much (besides the Pringles), but I didn’t starve, which I suppose is the goal of the Powers That Be who get to decide exactly how much to allocate for the hungry in Michigan. But i s it really enough? Granted, I only ate like this for one day. Eating this way for much longer would get stale fast. • letters Presbyterian Church Is Anti-Israel I read with interest your article “Keeping The Faith” in the May 31, 2018, issue (page 36) about the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival. Over the years, I’ve enjoyed many concerts at this high- quality music festival. However, I regret that I will not be attending this year because of the involvement of Kirk in the Hills Presbyterian Church, which is a mem- ber of the Presbyterian Church USA (PCUSA). PCUSA has for many years had an obsessive focus on criticism of Israel and has passed anti-Israel resolutions, disin- vested in companies doing business in Israel and supported, praised and even given awards to committees in its midst that are frankly anti-Semitic and sup- porters of the BDS campaign. 5 June 14 • 2018 jn The PCUSA has been called anti-Israel and anti-Semitic by many Jewish organi- zations, including the Anti-Defamation League, American Jewish Committee, B’nai B’rith and the Israel Embassy USA. In recent years, I have attended the festival but skipped events at the Kirk. This year I will not attend any of the events. Although I have great respect and admiration for the people involved in the festival, at this point, I feel that their cooperation and partnership with an PCUSA member amounts to com- plicity in a bigoted enterprise. Barry Tigay, Ph.D. Bloomfield Hills Evangelical Response I am an evangelical Christian, and I have a different view than Mr. Falbaum concerning Pastor John Hagee’s and Pastor Robert Jeffress’ participation at the opening of the U.S. Embassy cer- emony (June 7, 2018, page 6). A conservative rabbi friend of mine said to me, “If you don’t give out the Gospel, you are not an evangelical.” As evangelicals, we support Israel on a biblical basis, not just a political or economic one. We love Israel and the Jewish people, and the presence of the two pastors showed that. Pastor Jeffress shared from his heart the message that leads us to support Israel: the Gospel. It in no way diminishes his heart for Israel and the Jewish people. Our stance on Israel won’t change because we are misunderstood or mis- aligned by those who don’t believe our support for Israel is genuine. Some Jewish people can trust evan- gelicals and some cannot. We will con- tinue our support for Israel because of our love for the land and the people and because it’s the right thing to do. Rev. Tim Munger Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry Inc. My Story Marlene and David Gross have had several loans from Hebrew Free Loan through the years, including one in the 1980s to make home improvements at their Oak Park home, and another to help their daughter with expenses for a Bat Mitzvah. Not long ago, when Marlene needed hearing aids, they again approached HFL. “I work as a school lunch aide, and I realized I wasn’t hearing the kids very well when they spoke to me,” Marlene said. “It seemed best for me to get hearing aids. One thing I found out was that they are very expensive, and that’s what made us decide to go to Hebrew Free Loan, because the cost is not covered by insurance, so the entire expense would have come out of our pockets.” “Before we thought of Hebrew Free Loan, we were considering taking money out of our retirement fund to cover the cost,” said David. “Going to HFL helped us avoid that.” “Everyone we’ve talked with at HFL has always been very kind and professional,” Marlene said. “This is a great service for our community, and it’s interest-free. I would recom- mend it to everyone if they need it.” Marlene’s hearing aids were funded by the D. Dan and Betty Kahn Older Adult Care Loan Fund (KOACLF) at HFL. In part- nership with Jewish Family Service and Jewish Senior Life, the fund helps adults age 62 and older, and their families, better afford life- enhancing services, equipment and home adjustments. “HFL has made our lives easier several times,” David said. “What a benefit for us all to have it.” 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 June 14 • 2018 5