The purpose of this blog is to get things ticking at the Shabbat table. Please print and share.
All faucets become leaky. — Ancient Chinese proverb
OK, so it's not so ancient and not so Chinese.
Maybe it's only true chez Seinfeld.
But every leaky faucet makes me think that Chinua Achebe was right.
The dairy sink's leak had been easy enough - remove the handle, pop in a new washer, cleaned up in under 10 minutes.
But last night's struggle with the other side was meatier. I felt like I'd met my match and it's name is Moen which rhymes with moan. It was one of those DIY jobs that gets you rationalizing: Is a leaky faucet really such a big deal?
Or: Can't this wait until after Rosh Hashana?
So....(for your table), What does matter before Rosh Hashana?
This is a follow-up to last week's question, "Why does Rosh Hashana matter anyway?"
You've had a whole week to think about it. Ready for an answer?
If statisticians are to be believed, there's a high probability that everyone reading this (or hearing it read) has or had 2 parents.
(Maybe in this day and age I should say "at least" 2 parents.)
And I'm no statistician, but I'm fairly certain that these odds extend to having 4 grandparents.
I'm even willing to bet that you have (or had) 8 great-grandparents.
OK, let's pause right there.
I've never met anyone who could pull this one off:
Raise your hand if you can name your 8 great-grandparents and tell one interesting thing about each of them.
If you happen to be the one-in-a-million who can do that, then extend it back to your 16 great-great-grandparents.
At some point most humans fade into the background. Even those lucky enough to have children eventually become someone's forgotten great-grandparent.
And don't assume that there will even be a digital record of your life.
Maybe you'll be lucky enough to die with sufficient drama for them to display one of your possessions in a museum.
(I hope you're clicking on all the links as you read - they are all quite interesting.)
Bottom line - there are two proverbial books open on Rosh Hashana.
What's the secret to being written in the Book of Life?
Come up with a reason why your life is going to matter for at least another year.
Friendly suggestion: you might want to get a copy of this year's new 40 Meditations for the High Holidays....
One day you'll be at best a distant, remote, faint memory. How are you going to create a legacy?
Shabbat Shalom
All faucets become leaky. — Ancient Chinese proverbOK, so it's not so ancient and not so Chinese.
Maybe it's only true chez Seinfeld.
But every leaky faucet makes me think that Chinua Achebe was right.
The dairy sink's leak had been easy enough - remove the handle, pop in a new washer, cleaned up in under 10 minutes.
But last night's struggle with the other side was meatier. I felt like I'd met my match and it's name is Moen which rhymes with moan. It was one of those DIY jobs that gets you rationalizing: Is a leaky faucet really such a big deal?
Or: Can't this wait until after Rosh Hashana?
So....(for your table), What does matter before Rosh Hashana?
This is a follow-up to last week's question, "Why does Rosh Hashana matter anyway?"
You've had a whole week to think about it. Ready for an answer?
If statisticians are to be believed, there's a high probability that everyone reading this (or hearing it read) has or had 2 parents.
(Maybe in this day and age I should say "at least" 2 parents.)
And I'm no statistician, but I'm fairly certain that these odds extend to having 4 grandparents.
I'm even willing to bet that you have (or had) 8 great-grandparents.
OK, let's pause right there.
I've never met anyone who could pull this one off:
Raise your hand if you can name your 8 great-grandparents and tell one interesting thing about each of them.
If you happen to be the one-in-a-million who can do that, then extend it back to your 16 great-great-grandparents.
At some point most humans fade into the background. Even those lucky enough to have children eventually become someone's forgotten great-grandparent.
And don't assume that there will even be a digital record of your life.
Maybe you'll be lucky enough to die with sufficient drama for them to display one of your possessions in a museum.
(I hope you're clicking on all the links as you read - they are all quite interesting.)
Bottom line - there are two proverbial books open on Rosh Hashana.
What's the secret to being written in the Book of Life?
Come up with a reason why your life is going to matter for at least another year.
Friendly suggestion: you might want to get a copy of this year's new 40 Meditations for the High Holidays....
One day you'll be at best a distant, remote, faint memory. How are you going to create a legacy?
Shabbat Shalom
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