8 | NOVEMBER 12 • 2020
for openers
Are You Coming or Going?
editor’s letter
Tired, But Still Here
S
ometimes we get so
harried that we do not
know if we are coming
or going. That situation, howev-
er, does not keep
us from using
front and back
regularly in our
speech.
Wars and
even belligerent
exchanges may
be grounds for
a frontal attack
of some sort. This may then
lead to a lot of back and forth
action.
Anything that requires your
immediate attention is said to
be on the front burner. A line
chef who creates a popular dish
may find several requests for
it back-to-back, which would
keep the literal front burners
busy.
It is a good idea to be up
front with people. You would
then avoid being accused of
creating a business which was,
in truth, only a front. Such a
creation would lead many to
distrust you.
If you should discover that
someone has been downgrad-
ing you, it is like a knife in the
back. Such action may occur
during an election of any kind
and the front runner, who is
often front and center and
doing back-breaking work, will
be shown the back door. Should
the accuser’
s statements prove
false, they might backfire on
him.
Are you musical and seeking
a gig? You may desire to be the
front man for the group and lis-
tening for the back beat would
be crucial to your performance.
The frontage (façade) of
Britain’
s houses of parliament
is most impressive; inside we
find the members who are
either front- or back-benchers,
depending on their standings in
the party.
If you are feeling philan-
thropic, you might consider
putting up front money for
a business or production or
event. Do not, however, get
used to back dating checks for
this may lead to shady business
practices and a backhanded
invitation to step down. Then
you must put on a brave front.
If foggy weather keeps you
from being unable to see your
hand in front of your face, stiff-
en your backbone and march
on. This will work best in the
back country where there are
fewer obstacles to pose threats
(in front of your nose) and you
won’
t seek to back out grace-
fully.
Well, keep facing front; avoid
being backed into a corner and
always know if you are coming
or going.
Sy Manello
Editorial
Assistant
VIEWS
W
hen the last of
the Michigan
votes finally came
through late in the day on
Wednesday, Nov. 4, we rushed
to get the news
up on thejewish-
news.com. And
then I collapsed
in exhaustion.
It was quite
the week. That
final vote tally
in Michigan,
a squeaker of a win for Joe
Biden and an even slimmer
victory for Sen. Gary Peters,
followed a long period of
uncertainty that began on
Election Day and continued
after the state’
s polls had
closed Tuesday night. The race
for president took another
three days to call for Biden,
but the national spotlight had
moved on from our neck of
the woods.
This election period has
been incredibly stressful on
Michigan’
s Jewish community,
no matter who you voted for.
We’
ve seen moments of unity
and strength, but also acts of
anger and aggression. We at
the JN have witnessed this
firsthand, in reporting and
firsthand accounts that you’
ll
see in this issue and online.
Taken together, the events
of last week — from the
pre-election vandalism of a
Jewish cemetery in Grand
Rapids to an intense final vote
count in Detroit — reaffirm
the work that still lies ahead of
us, to heal some tremendous
divisions: not only between
Democrats and Republicans,
but between Jews and our
neighbors, and even between
Jews and other Jews. Anger,
hate and division still persist
in this country, in this com-
munity; elections have become
wars waged over our shared
human condition and moral
values. And our alignments
are not as clear-cut as some of
us may have believed before
Nov. 3.
To put it another way, our
Judaism has very little to do
with the guy in charge … and
everything to do with us.
It takes real work to move
on from here; but moving
on is what we have to do. We
have no choice in the matter
because the sun is going to
rise tomorrow and the day
after that and so on. How we
choose to respond to it is what
we will be remembered for.
So, let’
s talk. But first, I need
to get some rest.
Andrew
Lapin
Editor