Hear Ye, Here Ye

The purpose of this blog is to inspire some talking and listening at the Shabbat table... Please print and share...

Long, long ago, in a galaxy far, far away....

(Or so it seems....)

.... I dabbled in Buddhist meditation. After a bit of study, I then tried to practice it on my own.

But for some reason, using the classic methods didn't feel right. It felt inauthentic, like I was invading someone else's space.

So I found myself gravitating to my childhood, saying Hebrew words that I didn't fully understand but that I later learned is in fact the world's oldest meditation still in use.

First question for your table: What is it?

The answer, of course, is the "Shema".

The second question's probably a little easier: Do you know the "Shema" by heart?

But the 3rd question is going to stump most people: Can you translate it?

"Wait," you object, "Doesn't it mean 'Hear O Israel etc....'?????"

Well, maybe.

But what does "hear" actually mean?

The famous Vilna Gaon (whom every Jew should be proud to know about) taught that the word "shema" ("hear") has three distinct denotations, which are similar to the way we use "hear" in English.

4th Q - Can you guess what they are?

1. The physiological auditory process
2. Understanding
3. Internalizing.

So that covers the first word. What about the rest?
 

Shabbat Shalom.

 

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Words, Words....

The purpose of this blog is to unscramble words at the Shabbat table... Please print and share...
Happy Birthday shout-out to Aaron in San Rafael!

I was pleased that no one proved my historical claim wrong last week.

This week I was invited to a backyard to talk/teach on the topic of "Torah wisdom on the Pandemic".

During the discussion, I suggested that every problem we experience - without exception - can be looked at as an opportunity.

Question for your table: Do you agree? If so, are there any exceptions to this rule?

Now, one of the participants in the class was very bothered by this proposition and pushed back. She said, "How then do you explain ___________? How was that an opportunity?"

2nd question for your table - What belongs in that blank?

3rd question: Is there really any point of talking about this?

Shabbat Shalom.

PS - Shopping on Amazon? Please use https://smile.amazon.com and Amazon will donate a % of the sale to the non-profit of your choice (such as Jewish Spiritual Literacy), at no extra cost to you. Why not?

 

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Justice or Peace?

The purpose of this blog is turn the Shabbat table into a feast of champions... Please print and share...
In memory of my father Dovid ben Eliezer, whose yahrzeit occurs tonight.

First question for your table:

What's inscribed on Tom Jefferson's tomb?
Answer:

AUTHOR OF THE DECLARATION OF AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE
OF THE STATUTE OF VIRGINIA FOR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
AND FATHER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA

Those were the three accomplishments he wanted us to remember him by.

Second question for your table: What do you think? Pretty awesome legacy?

Other epitaphs of note:

Mel Blanc: “That’s all folks” 
Robert Frost:  “I had a lover’s quarrel with the world.”
Joe DiMaggio: “Grace, dignity and elegance personified”
Winston Churchill: “I am ready to meet my Maker. Whether my Maker is prepared for the great ordeal of meeting me is another matter.” 
Alexander the Great: “A tomb now suffices him for whom the world was not enough” 
Baltimore's Edgar Allen Poe: “Quoth the raven, ‘Nevermore’”
Frank Sinatra: “The best is yet to come”
Merv Griffin: “I will not be right back after this message.”
Johannes Kepler: “We who loved you will watch for you in the night sky; for surely you will race across the heavens faster than any star”
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. "Free at last. Free at last. Thank God Almighty I'm Free at Last."
(I was not able to locate Kurt Vonnegut's epitaph - his grave is secret - but I did stumble upon this quote: "“If I should ever die, God forbid, let this be my epitaph: THE ONLY PROOF HE NEEDED FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD WAS MUSIC”"

My father left no instructions.

My dear mother, in her wisdom, understood what drove him, what inspired him throughout his life, and she captured that life in a single line:

CHAMPION OF JUSTICE

Not only did he pursue justice, it gave him great satisfaction when justice was achieved - even if it were at his own expense. If justice meant he had to work harder, got paid less (or even pro bono), it didn't bother him even slightly. While he enjoyed his family and friends, appreciated music, savored delicious food, beautiful nature and art, he wasn't in this world for himself, he wasn't even here "for others" in the normal way we say that. 

All of those lower rungs of Maslow's ladder were a background to his greatest satisfaction in life:

- a focus on empowerment - freeing others from injustice to pursue their happiness
- literally rejoicing when others succeeded
- truly sad when justice was delayed or denied

To my knowledge - and to the knowledge of Google - he is the only person in history with such an epitaph.

Final question for your table: If you should ever die - God forbid - what would you want them to write on your tomb?

 

Shabbat Shalom.

 

PS - Shopping on Amazon? Please use https://smile.amazon.com and Amazon will donate a % of the sale to the non-profit of your choice (such as Jewish Spiritual Literacy), at no extra cost to you. Why not?

 

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Give Peas a Chance?

The purpose of this email is to bring some law and order to your Shabbat table... Please print and share...
Happy birthday shout-out to our friend Pinchas in Jerusalem - may you continue in good health for many, many more years.

They say that one of the best ways to stay healthy is to move your body.

That means all day long. (A person who works out but is otherwise sedentary may be worse off than someone who never exercises but who is rarely sitting for long.)

So we are fortunate to have a backyard and it seems to me a little gardening is a great way to move the body and do something interesting at the same time.

Problem is — I've never been much of a gardener. This year is no exception.

The peas we planted grew beautifully but produced very little fruit. And the fruit that they did produce was unmoving.

The bell peppers that I started from seeds and transplanted in May - some of them look like they've barely grown in 2 months, while those that have grown have curling leaves that don't give me much hope.

The one exception is our carrot.

Now, this is a carrot that I planted a year ago (or was it 2?)

The reason it stayed in the ground is because the carrot crop was so meager, I just didn't bother pulling it out.

But now look at it - it has these amazing 3- and 4-foot flowers. Not only are they beautiful, they seem to be creating a mini-ecosystem - attracted insects of all kinds to their nectar.

First question for your table: Should I pull out the carrot? It must be huge by now!

(If you are thinking I should buy and read the book that the pic links to, I think you're right!)

Second question for your table: Is it worthwhile planting if the odds are not great that you'll get a good harvest? What sort of odds do you need to make it worthwhile? 

Shabbat Shalom.

 

PS - Shopping on Amazon? Please use https://smile.amazon.com and Amazon will donate a % of the sale to the non-profit of your choice (such as Jewish Spiritual Literacy), at no extra cost to you. Why not?

 

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Save Our Statutes?

Here's a deceptively simple question for your table:

Does a law have to make sense to you in order to follow it?

I'm not talking about a law that you disagree with.

I'm talking about a law that simply doesn't make sense, that seems irrational.

For example:

• When you go to Hawaii, it's illegal to place a coin in your ear.
• If you're a woman in Toledo, you may not wear patent leather shoes in public.
• Residents of or visitors to Delaware are barred from selling the hair of a dog or cat.
• In Alabama, it's illegal to drive blindfolded.
• In Vermont, women must have written permission from their husbands to be fitted for false teeth.
• In New Jersey, bullet-proof vests are banned while committing murder.
• New York Penal Law 240.35 makes it illegal to congregate in public with two or more people while each is wearing a mask or any face covering that disguises their identity (!).
• Similarly, In North Carolina, it's illegal to hold a meeting or demonstration while wearing a mask, hood or other costume.
• Also in New York, it has been widely reported that in case you want to stroll outside in your pajamas late at night, slippers are not to be worn after 10 pm; however, I have not been able to substantiate this unhappy rumor. (Good news, though, for NY shoppers - certain clothing items are exempt from sales tax.)

I'm sure some astute readers can see the perfect reasonableness of these laws. But what about those of us who cannot? Should we follow or ignore them?

Second question for your table: If you were king or queen, would you create only laws that make sense to your people, or would there be any reason to issue some laws that people don't understand?

Shabbat Shalom.

PS - This pigeon pic reminded me of the item which you can see if you click on it, which reminded me of this hilarious video you may enjoy.

PPS - Shopping on Amazon? Please use https://smile.amazon.com and Amazon will donate a % of the sale to the non-profit of your choice (such as Jewish Spiritual Literacy), at no extra cost to you. Why not?

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