July 25 • 2019 5
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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
.
”

 
 
 

