Views

for openers
If it Fits ...
T

here are several cloth-
ing items which we 
refer to in everyday 
conversation. I’
d like to recall 
expressions that 
may enliven 
your speech; 
some are still in 
meaningful use.
Since gen-
tlemen’
s hats 
are making a 
comeback, con-
sider: a feather in your cap (the 
action will be fodder for your 
resume). If you are a person 
of many talents, you may wear 
more than one hat. If your 
latest gossip item is no longer 
news, it will be referred to as 
old hat. Get into dire straits 
and we may need to get you on 
your feet by passing the hat.
When you deal with some-
thing you have experienced 
many times before, you may 
indicate that the action is as 
comfortable as an old shoe. 
A person very set in his ways 
may be described as tough as 

an old boot. Fearful at every 
turn? You may quake in your 
boots. Gamble a lot? Well, if it 
is with the company’
s money, 
you may soon get the boot 
as you lose your shirt; then 
you will have to get along on 
a shoestring. (Those of you 
only familiar with Velcro will 
have to have an older person 
to explain that one.) Knowing 
the worst is yet to come? You 
are waiting for the other shoe 
to drop.
Have you ever been so 
proud that you were bursting 
at the seams? Have you gotten 
extremely angry? Then you 
have been hot under the collar. 
Be wary of what you say when 
you speak off the cuff; you do 

not want to put a foot in your 
mouth (shod or not). Do not 
appear to be a know-it-all (a 
stuffed shirt).
If you are very creative, you 
may undertake a project with 
little or no instruction and find 
that you must fly by the seat of 
your pants. If this is the case, 
roll up your sleeves, tighten 
your belt and get to it. When 
you accomplish the goal, try 
not to be a smarty pants and 
brag about it.
If you make a successful 
career choice, it may be said 
that the job fits you like a 
glove.
Well, there are some expres-
sions for you to use as a clothes 
horse; and that ain’
t hay. 

continued on page 8

 OCTOBER 8 • 2020 | 5

Sy Manello
Editorial 
Assistant

Need More Than Slogans
Representative Levin’
s call for 
support of the Black communi-
ty, however convincing, didn’
t 
explain what actions are ap-
propriate (“Blowing the Shofar 
of Racial Justice,” Sept. 24, pg. 
6). I believe Black lives matter, 
but I don’
t believe Black Lives 
Matter. Written in lower case, 
it is a principle. Capitalized, 
those words name an organi-
zation, created by followers of 
Louis Farrakhan, that posted 
anti-Israel propaganda until 
pressured to take it down. 
It’
s ironic that BLM sided 
with the Palestinians, who have 
no genetic claim of Blackness, 
while Israel is home to actual 
Black people who happen to 
be Jewish, much to the chagrin 
of the BLM founders from the 
Nation of Islam. Their lack of 
focus and leadership allowed 
the movement to go off the 
rails to become an undisci-
plined mob that provides cover 
to rioters and looters and now 
is doing more harm than good.
Chanting in front of police 
stations or city halls won’
t fix 
the problem, especially if the 
chants are for foolish and in-
coherent ideas. Good policies 
require more thought than a 
slogan. Levin didn’
t fill in any 
blanks for me.
There is one form of protest 
that cannot be ignored, and 
that is the protest voiced on 
a ballot. That motivation to 
march needs to be redirected 
to marching down to the city 
clerk’
s office to vote and then 
marching to their friends and 
neighbors to get them out to 
vote. Those who know Donald 
Trump in private report nearly 
unanimously of his racism, 
misogyny, exclusive self-in-
terest and sociopathic lack of 
empathy. It couldn’
t be more 
obvious that persuasion is 
beyond any possibility, so only 
regime change can make Black 
lives matter.

— Dennis L. Green

Farmington Hills

letters

guest column
We Will Prevail in Peace
O

ver the next several 
days as we continue to 
celebrate the chagim 
in this new year of 5781, we 
look forward to what hope 
and promise 
the year will 
bring. To many, 
myself included, 
Rosh Hashanah 
meant “good 
riddance” to 
5780 and sin-
cere wishes that 
5781 will be a good, peaceful, 
healthy year.

Enough ink has been spilled 
and tears have been shed from 
COVID-19. We all know the 
devastation it has caused and 
the uprooting that may take 
decades to replant. As Israel 
has begun another strict 
lockdown, I pray the next few 
weeks will mean compliance 
that will translate to numbers 
that allow us to reopen safely.
Despite the chaos, there is 
always a silver lining. And a 
certainty that we as Jews and 
Israelis will prevail. 
This theme is pervasive 

throughout Jewish history and 
provides the backdrop for the 
message I carry with me at this 
time of self-reflection. That 
message can be summed up in 
one word: belief. Belief that a 
sense of normalcy will return; 
that we will forge a new path 
through turbulent waters; that 
better days are ahead.
There have been moments 
throughout our people’
s his-
tory when hope seemed futile 
— when it seemed certain 
we would join the long list of 
peoples who are now just a 

Aviv Ezra

