Table Talk from the desk of Rabbi Alexander Seinfeld
February 2-3, 2024 • 17 Shevat 5784 • Yisro (Ex 18-20).
The purpose of this blog is for an ascendent Shabbat table ... please forward/print/share.
Do you know how many days until Purim and Pesach?
Happy birthday shout-out to Irv!
Do you know how many days until Purim and Pesach?
Happy birthday shout-out to Irv!
Have you ever seen those headlines about the discovery of a secret classic car collection?
Like a few years ago in France.
Or after that in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
Or the one last year in the Netherlands.
Or soon after that in Alabama.
Or this Ferari Daytona discovered in Japan.
Apparently, barn finds are more common than you'd think (click the pic).
The Alabama collection was so interesting because the cars were literally brand new. As in less than 50 miles on the odometer.
That's the key to keeping stuff new - don't use it.
Law of nature, right?
Did it ever occur to you that the human body works in the opposite way to this law of nature?
If you leave a human body to sit in a barn for 50 years, or even on a couch for 5 days, it will begin to wither away.
Want stronger muscles? Use them.
Want stronger bones? Use them.
Healthy, long-lasting joints? Move around a lot.
A stronger immune system? Let it be tested with some bacteria and viruses.
Better mind and memory? Study something.
Do you see the beauty that I see in this arrangement? Other than hormonal childhood growth, all other growth is put into our hands - if we want to work at it, we'll grow.
All of the above is literally true, it's a description of reality.
But that leads us to a conundrum.
In our book, Body & Soul, the body is likened to a sophisticated automobile and the soul is the driver; or the body is like a horse and the soul is the rider.
But if the body is growing and adapting in response to environmental stressors, then isn't it more like the driver than the car?
What do you think - is the body more like the car or like the driver?
And what about the human soul – is it, too, strengthened through stress like the body or weakened through use like a car?
Bonus question: If they do finally discover you in your barn one day, would you want to be restored?
Like a few years ago in France.
Or after that in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
Or the one last year in the Netherlands.
Or soon after that in Alabama.
Or this Ferari Daytona discovered in Japan.
Apparently, barn finds are more common than you'd think (click the pic).
The Alabama collection was so interesting because the cars were literally brand new. As in less than 50 miles on the odometer.
That's the key to keeping stuff new - don't use it.
Law of nature, right?
Did it ever occur to you that the human body works in the opposite way to this law of nature?
If you leave a human body to sit in a barn for 50 years, or even on a couch for 5 days, it will begin to wither away.
Want stronger muscles? Use them.
Want stronger bones? Use them.
Healthy, long-lasting joints? Move around a lot.
A stronger immune system? Let it be tested with some bacteria and viruses.
Better mind and memory? Study something.
Do you see the beauty that I see in this arrangement? Other than hormonal childhood growth, all other growth is put into our hands - if we want to work at it, we'll grow.
All of the above is literally true, it's a description of reality.
But that leads us to a conundrum.
In our book, Body & Soul, the body is likened to a sophisticated automobile and the soul is the driver; or the body is like a horse and the soul is the rider.
But if the body is growing and adapting in response to environmental stressors, then isn't it more like the driver than the car?
What do you think - is the body more like the car or like the driver?
And what about the human soul – is it, too, strengthened through stress like the body or weakened through use like a car?
Bonus question: If they do finally discover you in your barn one day, would you want to be restored?
Shabbat Shalom,
Alexander Seinfeld
PS - One of the cool things about our new amazing iPhone app is that no matter when you install it, you join the party on the same page as everyone else.
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