In honor of my dear Mother's birthday - Happy Birthday Mom!
(To dedicate a future TT, send an email.)
For a conversation-starter, try showing this photo around the table and ask everyone what they think it depicts:
(If you cannot view the photo in this email, click here.)
Hint: The snap shows a street at Foxconn, the Shenzhen (China) factory that makes our iphones, ipads, ipods and many other gadgets.
So what are those nets for?
They were installed in 2010 in response to the high rate of suicide at the factory that year.
That's the screaming headline.
In fact, even at the peak of its problem, Foxconn (which employs a mind-boggling 400,000 people in Shenzhen) had a lower suicide rate than the national China average.
But I'm re-hashing this topic because it makes an interesting conversation starter and an opener to the bigger question of the week:
What is wrong with suicide?
I'm sorry if that sounds morbid, but it's really a question about life and meaning, and purpose. So now that the High Holidays have passed and Jewish life is "back to normal", I'm challenging you to ask this at your table: Why shouldn't suicide be a moral and legal option?
I hope that the discussion will lead to an affirmation of the value of life, and perhaps greater scrutiny of what makes life itself precious.
Shabbat Shalom
PS - If you haven't already, please download our (corrected) fall bulletin here.
PPS - This week's title is borrowed from a terrific book by Rabbi Pliskin well worth your time.
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