MARCH 12 • 2020 | 5

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If It Ain’t Broke …

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Y

ou are watching TV 
and there it appears 
on the screen: 
“Breaking news …” You are 
on vacation 
at the seaside 
and you get 
up early to 
enjoy the dawn 
breaking. Just 
how often are 
we employing 
the break con-
cept in our conversations? 
Let’
s see.
Going to Las Vegas? Why 
not play all the machines? 
Go for broke in the hope that 
you will break the bank!
Of course, if you get 
involved with any money 

lenders, you may end up 
with broken bones by ignor-
ing a payback date. This is 
not a concept to confuse 
with the good-luck wish to 
a performer, “Break a leg.”
When things go espe-
cially right for you, are you 
tempted to break into song? 
Having to perform any task 
can be a joy if you do not 
have to break a sweat.
We may read in the news 
about someone who broke 
out of prison. He had been 
incarcerated for breaking 
and entering, which he had 
accomplished by hacking 
security — breaking a code. 
Recaptured, he is now a bro-
ken man.

If your daily grind gets to 
be too much, you may wish 
to break for lunch before you 
break down. A real break 
away may involve seeing 
waves break on the shore.
An intense wave of sum-
mer heat may break a record; 
you will seek air conditioning 
until the heat wave breaks.
A referee at a boxing 
match often has to brea 
k a 
clinch between the oppo-
nents. This is not the same 
as having to break up with 
someone.
If you’
re thinking I need to 
put a brake on all this, you 
will not trap me with your 
homonym tactics. Just give 
me a break! 

Jews of Color
I would just like to start out 
by saying thank you to the 
Detroit Jewish News for start-
ing the conversation on the 
issues that Jews of Color face 
in the Metro Detroit Jewish 
community (“Hues of Jews,” 
Feb. 20, page 14). 
Since the article has been 
published, I’
ve been receiv-
ing a lot of comments from 
people that seem to have 
misinterpreted the article in 
ways that made it seem like I 
wasn’
t happy in the Orthodox 
community. To be clear, I 
love my life as an Orthodox 

woman and embrace that 
part of me. I am also grateful 
for the many warm families 
and individuals in the Metro 
Detroit Orthodox Jewish 
community who have treat-
ed me with kindness and 
respect. So, it saddens me 
when I get comments asking 
why I became religious or 
encouraging me to join a dif-
ferent sect of Judaism. 
As someone who has 
had many different Jewish 
experiences, from Reform 
to Orthodox, I can say that 
racism or unconscious bias is 
a widespread issue across the 
Jewish community. That said, 
there needs to be less blam-

ing and finger-pointing at 
different sects of Judaism and 
more solution-focused think-
ing. Also, don’
t assume that 
your fellow Jew of Color is 
not having any issues in the 
Jewish community because 
they’
re not Orthodox. There 
is ignorance everywhere, 
and there is no escaping 
that. To end, we don’
t always 
know what someone is going 
through until we walk in 
their shoes — so it’
s import-
ant to be kind, have compas-
sion and remember to treat 
others the way you’
d want to 
be treated. 

— Aliza Bracha Klein

Oak Park 

continued on page 10

Sy Manello
Editorial Assistant

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