July 25 • 2019 5 jn views W e’ ve all got one; we use it regularly and it’ s some- thing our parents likely spent ages agonizing over for us before we were even born. Yup, our names! Some people have something cute or fun about their names. Their initials spell a word or are the same as an airport code, for instance. Pamela Alexis Madgy and Amy Michelle Yashinsky have it super handy — their initials spell out their names. When Robin and Jon Goldstein’ s miracle baby was born 11 years ago, they named her Olivia Mira — thrilled that her OMG initials fit perfectly. Others may find their initials spell something a little less pretty. For example, Lauren Dembs Lesson, who said about her initials, “Just call me cholesterol … The bad kind!” Then there are folks like Andrea Simone Stierna, who can never get anything monogrammed! Then there are those who don’ t think there’ s anything unusual about their names until they get a work email account. It’ s often first initial, last name, at work- place dot com. Poor Sarah Kinny, Susan Tinker and Simon Lob. And then there are all the new name com- binations that come from taking someone else’ s name. One delicious anecdote: Francie Fruitman said her mother-in- law married a Fruitman and her sister married an Apple. I’ ve heard of someone named La-a, pronounced Ladasha (yes, you read the dash) and another kid named Abc (pronounced A. B. C.) Sometimes it seems that the world’ s playground is so big we’ re practically taking it as a challenge to come up with more cre- ative and memorable names for kids these days. There’ s no shortage of jokes about names. Here’ s a handful: What do you call a woman with a frog on her head? Lily. What do you call someone hanging on a wall? Art. What do you call a girl with one leg shorter than the other? Eileen. What do you call a guy who falls overboard and can’ t swim? Bob. What do you call a man on the barbershop floor? Harry. And this is all before we even start exploring the wonderful world of last names. Some last names really lend themselves well to a story. One poor kid got punned all over the place when he got injured on a skiing trip (“Oh, no … Ben Feld”). And headlines are more interest- ing when politicians have good last names: “He was Putin his place.” “He was Biden his time.” Speaking of headlines, I’ ve already picked one out for when I win the state lottery: Rochel’ s Burstyn with joy. Don’ t worry if your name is unre- markable. Some folks with the most “boring” of names can do remarkable things. (Think Harry Potter.) There’ s a Jewish thought that your name is special; it says some- thing about your potential and your essence. Traditionally, we also often name after ancestors, which connects us to the past, helps give families con- tinuity, honors the departed and can give people a sense of belonging. Even if it’ s a popular one (you name it, someone’ s got it), you make yours unique simply by being you … so go out there and make a name for yourself! ■ for openers The Name Game letters He Who Saves One Life There is a Hebrew adage which goes: He who saves one person is as if he saves an entire world. Teenage lifeguard Maya Greenstein did just that when she saved the drowning little girl by applying her knowledge of CPR on her and saved her life (July 18, page 18). In Hebrew, the name of a lifeguard is matzil or matzilah for a female, which means a “saver.” Brave teenager Maya Greenstein certainly fits this beautiful designation. Rachel Kapen West Bloomfield Importance of Holocaust Education Recently, a high school principal in Florida stated, “Not everyone believes the Holocaust happened.” This is surely significant to so many of us who winter in Florida and actively support Holocaust education. Florida’ s legislature was one of the first to mandate that the “systematic planned annihilation of European Jews and other groups by Nazi Germany” was “a watershed event in the history of humanity” and it should be taught “as a means of teaching the ramifications of prejudice, racism and stereotype.” This 1994 act was particularly welcome in view of the large population of survivors who live in Florida, who were grateful that their history and experiences would be presented in classrooms throughout the state. To implement the mandate, the Palm Beach School district hired a full-time Holocaust program planner. Nonetheless, the mandate was poorly funded, and for the program to succeed, teacher training and classroom materials would be essential. In 2009, inSIGHT Through Education, a nonprofit organization, was founded in Palm Beach Gardens to support Holocaust education and raised more than $1 million for grants to do so, including a grant that has paid for annual visits to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, a life-changing experience for students, teachers and administrators. Seven or more states have mandated Holocaust education. Rochel Burstyn Contributing Writer continued on page 8 Our Story Our Story Click. Call. Give Now. www.hfldetroit.org 248.723.8184 Hebrew Free Loan Detroit 6735 Telegraph Road, Suite 300 Bloomfield Hills, MI 48301 @HFLDetroit The f ami l y of Dr . Char l es Tenner ( z ’ l ) des c r i be hi m as bot h an educ at or and a per pet ual l ear ner . Dr . Tenner pas s ed away f our y ear s ago, hav i ng jus t t ur ned 85. I t t ook s ome t i me f or hi s wi f e, El l en, t o be r eady t o do s omet hi ng i n hi s memor y , but s he k new s he want ed t o honor hi m i n t he c ommuni t y . Wi t h hel p f r om daught er s Kar en T enner Sac hs e, a f or mer Hebr ew Fr ee Loan Boar d member , and Mi c hel l e T enner Cant or , t he f ami l y es t abl i s hed t he Dr. Charles Tenner Family Education Fund, as par t of t he William Davidson Jewish College Loan Program at HFL. “Chuck never r eal l y fini shed l ear ni ng, ” El l en s ai d. “He l ov ed t he pr oc es s of educ at i on, he l i k ed k nowi ng t hi ngs and he never r eal l y st opped r eadi ng and ques t i oni ng. He was a phar mac i s t and al s o a doc t or of i nt er nal medi c i ne, wi t h s pec i al t i es i n pul monol ogy and endoc r i nol ogy , and he s pent 50 y ear s at Bot s f or d Hos pi t al t r ai ni ng i nt er ns and r es i dent s . ” “Dad was a l ar ge pr es enc e i n t he l i v es of hi s s t udent s , ” s ai d daught er Mi c hel l e. “Ther e was a t er m t hey al l us ed at t he hos pi t al : T ennerizing.I t was bec aus e he was t ough on t hem, and we’ v e hear d f r om doc t or f r i ends t hat he was c ompas s i onat e and gi v i ng of hi s k nowl edge, as wel l . ” Kar en s ay s her f at her pl ac ed a hi gh v al ue on an educ at i on, not jus t f or hi ms el f and hi s s t udent s , but f or hi s daught er s . “He s ai d empower y our s el f , pur s ue y our i nt er es t s and f ol l ow y our dr eams . ” “I ’ v e al way s admi r ed Hebr ew Fr ee Loan, ” El l en s ai d. “I t ’ s an or gani z at i on wi t h hi gh st andar ds, bui l t ar ound i mpr ov i ng our c ommuni t y . Thi s f und wi l l f ur t her f und educ at i ons f or Jewi s h s t udent s i n Mi c hi gan. I t hi nk he woul d be pr oud t o put hi s name on l ear ni ng, s i nc e t hat was s o muc h of who he was . ”