Thursday, December 18, 2025

Can There Be Chanukah Joy This Year?

 
 
Shabbat Table Talk from the desk of Rabbi Alexander Seinfeld
Dec 19-20, 2025 • 29 Kislev 5786 • Mikeitz (Gen 41-44).
Bondi-Levitan

Try asking this at your table: Is there any silver lining in the Bondi Beach Massacre?

Certainly for the victims and their families, it's hard to even ask this question.

But I would like to suggest we don't lose sight of two facts that matter utterly.

1. The killers and their handlers (likely Iran) want to destroy Judaism and the Jewish People.

2. They cannot destroy Judaism and the Jewish People.

3. Every such massacre actually strengthens Judaism and the Jewish People.

The victims who died did not die in vain. Their death has made us all a little bit stronger. 

Let's hang on to that strength, gaze at the candles and think: how lucky we are to be not only on the good side, but also on the winning side.

As Churchill said, "So you've made some enemies? Good for you - that means you stood for something."


Question for your table: Is there any greater joy than knowing that your life has a purpose?

That said, actions speak louder than words. 
Please support the family of R' Yaakov Levitan here and other victims/families here.


Happy Chanukah and

Shabbat Shalom

PS - to learn more about this remarkable tzaddik and his family, click the image above.


Appreciated this Table Talk? Like ittweet it, forward it....

Friday, December 12, 2025

Make Chanukah Fruitful Again?

  
 
 
Shabbat Table Talk from the desk of Rabbi Alexander Seinfeld
Dec 12-13, 2025 • 22 Kislev 5786 • Vayeshev (Gen 37-40).

fruitmenorah2Someone online asked:

My menorah just broke. It’s replaceable, but Hanukkah is on Sunday and I can’t find any place that ships them before then. I don’t have Amazon Prime, and there aren’t many Jews where I live so there are no places to buy one locally. My hot glue is drying before I can get the pieces to stick together, so I don’t know if I’ll be able to fix the one I have. Anyone know where online I can get one in time?

One reply was, "If you’re near a college with a Hillel you can call them and they may be able to help." Similarly, someone wrote, "Chabad will give you one for free. Do you have one in driving distance?" Someone else: "In Google Maps, Google “Menorah near me” and see if anything comes up within driving distance."

Question for your table - What would you advise this person?

The worst answer, in my judgment: "You can get Amazon Prime then immediately cancel so it doesn't renew."

The best answers were in the DIY category:


You don't need a menorah. You just need the right number of candles. Get tea lights and set them up in a row every night

Do you have ten nuts? You can go old school and make one like when we were kids

I once saw someone make a menorah out of a long sweet potato. As long as the shamash is higher than the others, you should be fine


But, but, but... isn't a menorah supposed to be beautiful?

The truth is, the basic mitzvah of Chanukah is lighting just one candle each night. The additional candles are in the category of "beautifying the mitzvah."

So here's a contrarian question for your table - Why, then, does anyone bother with fancy silver, brass, or glass menorahs?

(FYI, this week I gave a class on this subject which can be watched/heard/downloaded here.)


Shabbat Shalom and

Happy Chanukah



Appreciated this Table Talk? Like ittweet it, forward it....

  


Friday, December 05, 2025

How full is your cup...?

Shabbat Table Talk from the desk of Rabbi Alexander Seinfeld

Dec 5-6, 2025 • 15 Kislev 5786 • Vayishlach (Gen 32-36).
We're counting down the days until Hannukah ... find our curated Channukah books and gift suggestions on BestJewishBooks.com (or uncurated @ Amazon). 

CupGreetings from Toronto!

The flight path yesterday took us over beautiful Lake Ontario. 

That name is actually a funny redundancy - "Ontario" literally means "beautiful lake."


But I suppose if you don't speak Huron or Wendat or Wyandat then it's just a name.

In classical Hebrew, there's no such thing as "just a name." Your Hebrew name is connected to your soul and its mission in this world. 

In other words, if you know your Hebrew name, then you have the most important clue to your life mission.

We have a tradition that after a person leaves this world and goes before the Evaluation Committee to see how they did in this lifetime, the first question asked is, "What's your name?" 

Unfortunately, many people are unable to answer that very basic question, making their appearance in that Heavenly Court quite.... uncomfortable, shall we say.

Regardless of your name, there's are some universals that I can say we are all meant to achieve in our lifetime, including being "courteous, kind and forgiving" etc.


Regardless of your mission, there is a universal challenge that I call the "half-cup test." 

I refer to the cliche - an optimist sees a cup as half-full, a pessimist sees it as half-empty.

You can try this at your Shabbat table - fill a cup to fifty percent and ask everyone at the table, Do you see this cup as half full or half empty?
 
Now for the punchline: It's neither. The happiest people in the world look at such a cup and say, "It's full."

The good news is, if your gut reaction is "half full" or even "half empty", and you want to be a "It's full" type of person, you can change your thinking. It takes daily work - every time you are feeling hopeful about the future, or even feeling a lack, train yourself to pause and appreciate all that you have right now. Become a my-cup-is-full type of person.

Shabbat Shalom

PS - Here's my photo of Lake Beautiful Lake - what do you think? Aptly named?

Ontario


Appreciated this Table Talk? Like it, tweet it, forward it....

Thursday, November 27, 2025

Jew Do Thanksgiving?

  
 
 
Do you know how many days until Hannukah? Find our curated Channukah books and gift suggestions on BestJewishBooks.com (or uncurated @ Amazon). 

Festive-Vegan-Falafel-with-Cranberry-Pear-Dip-3This week the anti-Israel Nation Magazine published a lead article, "Make Thanksgiving Radical Again"

(Never fear, it only uses the word "genocide" once.)

You see, no one heeded their call in 2023 "to decolonize Thanksgiving [or] replace Thanksgiving with a 'Truthsgiving.'", so now they're trying to find a way to justify eating turkey and stuffing today. 

These people have to rationalize why New Yorkers riot against Israel (just like last year) but not against Columbus.

Yes, why, do tell us!

Tradition?

In honor of tradition, today we dust off and rejewvenate our annual Hodu message.


Here are a few questions to stump everyone at the table:

Try this one first: 
Why turkey?

Serious question: Why do Americans eat turkey on Thanksgiving?

(Why does it seem like a religious duty, like matzah on Pesach.)


If anyone answers, "They ate turkey so we have to eat turkey," that would be incorrect.

In fact, they would be wrong on 2 counts.

First of all, would it really be so bad to have a Thanksgiving pizza? Or Thanksgiving sushi? Or a Cajun Thanksgiving? How about a Chinese ThanksgivingCurry Thanksgiving, anyone?

(I know I'm not the first to ask this question, but it seems far from resolved.)

Second, they probably didn't eat much turkey.

At that original Thanksgiving in 1621, they apparently ate mostly venison.

I know, shocking, right?

Let's go back in time.

Imagine you're on the boat with Columbus.

(Maybe you're even a Jewish refugee
 from the Spanish Inquisition.)

PS - If you'd like to know about the Jews who sailed with Columbus, send me an email.

Of course, you and your geographically-challenged buddies think you're in Asia.

It's a strange world! Strange people, fauna and flora.

And you see this funky chicken.

The Wampanoag Indians call it neyhom.


What do you, O Spanish sailor, call it?

Remember, it looks vaguely like a chicken and you think you're in India, so naturally you call it "Indian chicken."

Are you with me so far?

French explorers agree that it looks like a chicken and they call poulet d'Inde (Indian chicken), later shortened to dinde (pronounced "dand").

English settlers think it looks more like a Turkey pheasant than a chicken, so they call the bird turkey.

Jewish explorers side with the French and call it tarnegol hodu — "Hindu chicken" — later shortened to hodu.

What's interesting for us is that the Hebrew word HODU also just happens to mean "give thanks" (in the imperative mood for all the grammarphiles out there).

So back to our main question for your table: What food should you eat on Hodu Day?

(Hodu, of course.)

Now try asking somebody Jewish at the table this stumper:

You're Jewish, right? Can you explain what "Jewish" means?

Forget the religious or cultural meaning; we want to know the etymology of "Jewish".

It means something like, "a state of being thankful". 

Ergo, if you're living up to the name "Jewish" then you are....

....living in a state of being thankful.

Let that sink in before asking the next question: How often?

(Once a year? Once a month? Once a week? Once a day?)

That could be a lot of hodu to stuff yourself with.

Final question for the table: How do you do hodu?


Happy Hodu-Day, and

(which may be the same as saying...)


Shabbat Shalom

Appreciated this Table Talk? Like ittweet it, forward it....

  

Friday, November 21, 2025

Family Business?

New: BackyardBarmitzvah.com

Shabbat Table Talk from the desk of Rabbi Alexander Seinfeld
November 21/22, 2025 • 2 Kislev 5786 • Toldot (Gen 25-28).
Wishing a refuah shleimah (complete convalescence) to Chaya bas Yehudis.


tentDo you know anyone who would NOT like to leave a legacy in the world?

Even people who put death into the same bucket as taxes — as something to avoid at all cost — realize that the piper shall be paid.

What I mean to say is — you can try to ignore it, but it's always there.

Here's the eternal problem: how much time do you have left?

If you go by statistics, you probably (hopefully) have at the very least many years left. So maybe there's no urgency to thinking about and planning your legacy right now? What do you think?

The Talmud thinks otherwise: Prepare for death one day before you die. - Avos 2:10

I put a hospitality tent above because I'm inspired by our patriarch Yaakov (Jacob) who is described as a yoshev ohalim - one who resides in tents. What kinds of tents? Some say, tents of wisdom, of learning. I.e., he learned in his father Yitzchak's tent and his grandfather Avraham's tent.

Others say, he was emulating his grandfather - Avraham - who is described as yoshev pesach ha-ohel - sitting in the doorway of the tent in order to offer hospitality to passers-by.

In other words, Yaakov has taken up and even expanded the family hospitality business.

Either way - or perhaps both ways - there is a legacy - of wisdom and hospitality. When we pursue these two missions, we are both giving our parents and grandparents a legacy and ensuring our own.

Question for your Shabbat table: Which is a more important legacy to create/leave - wisdom or hospitality?


Shabbat Shalom


Appreciated this Table Talk? Like ittweet it, forward it....

Thursday, November 13, 2025

Who's Afraid of Tylenol?

New: BackyardBarmitzvah.com

Shabbat Table Talk from the desk of Rabbi Alexander Seinfeld
November 9/10, 2025 • 24 Mar Cheshvan 5786 • Chayei Sarah (Gen 23-25).

Who's Afraid of Tylenol?

tylenolRemember last week's message, Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Jew?

Strangely, the only people I know who are afraid of Jewish people are other Jewish people. Hmm....

But I do know at least on person who is afraid of Tylenol.

The following message reached my in-box yesterday:

Do I need to be concerned about RFKs Tylenol directive for pregnant women?

So what do the experts actually say?
  • American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists: no.
  • FDA: maybe.
  • Harvard Health: maybe.
  • Hopkins: probably not.
  • Cleveland Clinic: no.
  • Yale School of Public Health: maybe.
Part of the challenge is that: "It’s not fully known how acetaminophen works. It doesn’t reduce swelling or inflammation. Instead, it’s thought that it blocks the release of certain chemicals in your brain that signal the sensation of pain." (Healthline)

Hmm... if that's the case, maybe it would make sense to minimize it, pregnant or not?

But in such a rare spotlight-on-health moment, I would have liked the President to make a broader message.

He could have said - uncontroversially - that we know and believe that the nutritional environment created by the pregnant mother can impact the child - not only at birth, but for years to come.

Vitamin D (and see this), Omega-3s, and other nutrients matter a lot. So does avoiding ultra-processed foods.

Well, perhaps by my writing this and your reading it, someone will see it who can benefit from this knowledge.

But let's make this a Shabbat table talk, with a question for your table, as usual: Why do so many people seem to resist the idea that what (and how much) they eat will impact their mental health?


Shabbat Shalom


Appreciated this Table Talk? Like ittweet it, forward it....{VR_SOCIAL_SHARING} 

Thursday, November 06, 2025

Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Jew?

New: BackyardBarmitzvah.com

Shabbat Table Talk from the desk of Rabbi Alexander Seinfeld
November 7/8, 2025 • 17 Mar Cheshvan 5786 • Vayeira (Gen 18-22).

Who's Afraid?Try asking this at your table:

Why do they hate us?

We know that they do hate us, right?

The anti- rallies began on October 8, 2023 - weeks before Israel began the "genocide".

(Yes, that was sarcasm.)

We know they hate us because they held "glory to our martyrs" rallies on October 7, 2024 and 2025 - attended by thousands around the globe - praising Hamas and Hezbollah.

We know they hate us because of their relentless acts of violence against us.

We know they hate us because they tell us.

But why do they hate us?

The most common reason given is that they hate us for our success. 

Our present success, our 3,000 years of success.

But success at what? Business? Can't be - the same people who hate us respect Mr. Trump and Mr. Musk whom they regard as successful businessmen. 

Success at innovation? Doesn't sound right - our people's innovations have saved lives and given them some of the greatest technologies. 

My friend Raphael Shore in the above book gives a fresh perspective on the entire subject.

With an eye on 3,500 years of Jewish history, he observes: 

From the Hellenist Greeks to the Crusaders and the Nazis, and from the Communists to Iran and the Muslim Brotherhood, authoritarian ideologies often seem to have two things in common: (1) An obsession with conquering the world and (2) Hatred of the Jews.


Shore notes that October 7 didn't merely reignite a spark of Jew-hatred; it also forced many Jews to re-think Jew-hatred:

Amazingly, the Kibbutz Nir Oz, which had a quarter of its population murdered or kidnapped on October 7, had planned to participate in a protest rally on that very day with the slogan that peace cannot be achieved because of Jewish settlements. They did not make it to the rally. The pogrom blasted a hole in their mistaken assumptions, and they were forced to come to terms with Jew-hatred. They had made the classic Jewish mistake of falling for the excuse instead of discerning the reason behind the hate.​

But Shore's book is not merely history, not only sociology. Other's have already done that. What he has done in this ground-breaker is to apply those lessons of history to the present and the future - what should we learn? How should the history and true nature of Jew-hatred impact the way I live my life?

He observes, "One 
thing we can learn from antisemites is that the Jewish People matter." In other words,
 we can harness Jew-hatred to sharpen our clarity on why being Jewish matters to us.

If you want to consider his vision of how to harness the current O tempora, O mores! moment, click on the image above and read the book.

It will change the way you think about anti-Semitism and about your place in history.


Shabbat Shalom


Appreciated this Table Talk? Like ittweet it, forward it....{VR_SOCIAL_SHARING} 
This message can be read at Times of Israel.

Friday, October 31, 2025

Just Visiting?

New: BackyardBarmitzvah.com

Shabbat Table Talk from the desk of Rabbi Alexander Seinfeld
October 31-32, 2025 • 10 Mar Cheshvan 5786 • Lech Lecha (Gen 12-17).

Traveler2A couple weeks ago, an out-of-the-blue message came in from a cousin:

"Here's a beautiful antique cabinet that belonged to our grandparents... we're remodeling and have no space for it, would you guys like it?"

Frankly, it's amazing that it stayed in the family this long.

Did you ever have to deal with the estate of someone recently deceased?

Beyond the financial obstacle course, there's all that stuff.

Unidentified photos. Random files. Notebooks and scraps of paper. 

When my grandmother died 20 years ago, she left gorgeous vintage fur coats that NOBODY wanted.

And the thing that bothered me the most is that she hadn't worn those coats in decades. 

So here we are, you and I, each of us hopefully healthy and with many years ahead of us.

But how much of our stuff is really unneeded fluff?

What kind of burden are we bequeathing on our heirs?

Are we living as if we'll live forever, or are we mindful that this world is a prozdor, in Talmudic parlance, a corridor between where we came from and where we're going?

Once upon a time, a visitor from America to the home of the Chafetz Chaim (Rav Yisroel Meir Kagan) was taken aback by the sparse furniture - only benches, not even chairs.

"Where are your chairs?" he asked.

"Where are yours?" asked the Rav.

"Mine? But I'm just a visitor here."

"So am I," said the Rav.



We are all (myself included) so busy that it's easy to forget how very fleeting life is... If you were 100 percent mindful of being "just a visitor here", how would you live your life differently?


Shabbat Shalom


Appreciated this Table Talk? Like ittweet it, forward it....{VR_SOCIAL_SHARING} 

Friday, October 24, 2025

Time Flies Like An Arrow...

New: BackyardBarmitzvah.com
 
Shabbat Table Talk from the desk of Rabbi Alexander Seinfeld
October 24-25, 2025 • 3 Mar Cheshvan 5786 • Noach (Gen 6-11).

Happy news - Body & Soul is back in stock. Just in time to help you and your family get healthier in 5786 !


 
drosophila...Fruit flies like a banana.

Try that one at your table and see (a) if anyone gets it and (b) if anyone can guess who said it....??

(Groucho Marx)

In addition to killing it with the Dad Jokes, I myself was killing some
drosophila (fruit flies) this week. 

I'm sure that you've done the same.

And I never bring fruit into the office. Certainly no bananas.

So what are they pestering me for? Apparently the coffee grounds in the garbage. Maybe it's time to take out the garbage.

But why not finesse an otherwise annoying experience into something more meaningful?

First of all, try asking at the table: Do you personally have any qualms killing a fruitfly?

We all know how hard they are to kill with their crazy zig-zag flight algorithm. But what else do you know about them?

They can detect odors from 30 feet away.
This olfactory prowess is attributed to their highly specialized antennae, which are rich in sensory receptors
They can taste with their feet.
Specialized chemoreceptors located on their legs allow them to detect sweet and bitter substances when they land on potential food sources
They have a unique brain structure for processing smells.
Their brains contain about 100,000 neurons, with distinct areas dedicated to processing smells. This structure allows fruit flies to quickly discern and respond to various odors, aiding in foraging and mating behaviors.
They share 75 percent of their genes with us and are used in 70 percent of genetic research studies.
For example, flies eating a lot of sugar also exhibit symptoms of type 2 diabetes. Researchers can also genetically modify fruit flies to study a variety of other conditions. Using fruit flies as test subjects, researcher Vicki Losick recently discovered that in wounds, cells enlarge by polyploidization—or the multiplication of chromosomes—to compensate for cells that are lost. This suggests that cellular damage caused by wounds either leads to cell proliferation or cell growth, depending on context, changing our understanding of how the body reacts to injury.
They are master beer tasters.
Fruit flies are masters of discernment when it comes to the yeasty flavors of beer. An experiment at Stanford found that fruit flies were attracted to beers with fruitier base yeasts, which tend to be the beers humans prefer as well


So kill them if you must, but maybe pause for a moment to appreciate the little drosophila? What do you think?


Shabbat Shalom


Appreciated this Table Talk? Like ittweet it, forward it....
 


Friday, October 17, 2025

We Knew, and Lost, a Giant

Shabbat Table Talk from the desk of Rabbi Alexander Seinfeld
October 17-18, 2025 • 26 Tishrei 5786 • Bereishis (Gen 1-6).


Rav-HauerThe joy of Simchat Torah on Wednesday turned to sadness Wednesday night when word spread of the sudden passing of Rav Moshe Hauer ztzl, aged 60.

He died on Monday night during the Festival and his righteous wife/widow 
gave strict orders that it be kept a secret in order not to diminish the community's celebration.

A Baltimore funeral was hastily organized for Thursday morning in order to enable burial in Israel before Shabbat. 


Whatever I have to share will pale in comparison to what his regular congregants and students will say. His shul was a mere 10 minute walk from our home and had many opportunities to hear him speak with great depth and always with subtle humor.

What I would like to share today is a small but significant personal interaction - a 1-on-1 meeting in his office nine years ago.

I was deep in the R&D phase of the Torah Health and Wellness project.

I requested the meeting in order to ask two things:

1. Would the Rav allow me to list him in the "Current Leadership" chapter as someone who tries to eat healthily and exercise?

2. Does he have any suggestions or guidance to help the project achieve its goals?


To the first answer, he responded - without hesitation - Yes. He immediately understood the need for leaders like himself to publicly model this mitzvah in which so many are struggling (or not even trying). 

You'll find his listing on p. 341 of Body & Soul.

(There you might notice that during the seven years between our meeting and going to press, Rav Hauer left the synagogue position in order to take the helm of the global OU organization.)

To the second answer, he gave me a number of important suggestions, not the least of which was to connect with someone named Daniel Grove, MD.

In case you don't recognize that name, he's my co-author.


The fact that I was neither a member of his shul nor a regular attendee of his classes underscores the kind of person Rav Hauer was. He was there for literally anyone who asked for help.

(Here is one eulogy that is just the tip of a very large iceberg.)

He apparently took the hostage crisis very, very deeply and personally, and many have wondered if their release on Monday had anything to do with the Rav's petira on Monday night.

(If you click on his image above, you'll see a 3-minute video that illustrates how he felt about the suffering of people he had never met.)

Rav Hauer stood physically, intellectually, and morally taller than most; the Jewish People have lost a giant.

May his family be comforted.



Shabbat Shalom


Appreciated this Table Talk? Like ittweet it, forward it....

This post may also be read on Times of Israel.

Is Your Iron Still Hot?

New: BackyardBarmitzvah.com

Shabbat Table Talk from the desk of Rabbi Alexander Seinfeld
September 26-27, 2025 • 5 Tishrei 5786 • Vayeitzei (Deut 31).


strikehotHappy New Year!

Wait, aren't we past New Year? Aren't the High Holidays in the rearview mirror?

If you think about it, everything we do on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur is pure lip service.

Literally.

And there's nothing wrong with lip service. But actions speak louder than words, to coin a phrase.

What are you going to do TODAY to put your proverbial money where your mouth is?

Ready to do one extra mitzvah, to show God (or at least yourself) that RH and YK actually meant something to you and wasn't merely lip service?

There are so many mitzvot to choose from.

Doing one extra one today would be BRONZE.

Doing an extra one a day for a month would be SILVER.

Committing to an extra one a day (or a month) for a year would be GOLD.

Please watch my new video and then decide: BRONZESILVER, or GOLD

Today's the day to make it REAL. Don't wait. Strike while the iron is HOT!



Shabbat Shalom

and Happy Sukkot!



Appreciated this Table Talk? Like ittweet it, forward it....

Friday, September 26, 2025

Liquid Mind?

New: BackyardBarmitzvah.com

Shabbat Table Talk from the desk of Rabbi Alexander Seinfeld
September 26-27, 2025 • 5 Tishrei 5786 • Vayeitzei (Deut 31).
We've added a new timer ... counting down to Sukkot.


Liquidpaper1Happy New Year!

As a follow-up to last week's "Jelly Beans" message, here's a starter-question for your table:

Have you ever had an inspired idea like his? Would you like to?

I would personally like to ask him what inspired him to make that great film.

The history of inspiration and invention is a fun topic, with such colorful stories and characters like Archimedes and Buckminster Fuller.

What do such creative people have in common? And how are inventors similar to or different from innovators in science, art, music, or other fields?

Yesterday, I happened to hear a brief story on the radio that may begin to answer this question.

It was about a woman named Bette Graham.

Have you heard of her?

(Probably not, which is too bad, because her story should be told to every child and in every business school.)

In the 1950s she found herself a single mom without income. She had studied art but couldn't make a living in art, so took a job as a secretary. 

The problem was that she had learned to type on manual typewriters, and her employer had upgraded to the new electric typewriters. Bette found herself making many errors and was at real risk of losing her job.

The artist in her said that there must be a way to hide her mistakes, with just the right kind of paint. 

After many hours of trial-and-error in her kitchen, she settled on a pigment that she could apply to her typos with a tiny paint brush. Her boss never noticed!

But you know who did notice?

The other secretaries. They all wanted some of Bette's paint. So she bought some tiny makeup bottles with little brushes and started selling her "liquid paper" to her friends. 

You can guess where this is going. It did take some time and it was a slow expansion, from her kitchen, to a shed in her back yard, and as business grew, eventually to a factory and then a second factory in Canada and a third one in Europe. 

"I never set out to make a million dollars nor even to invent anything, I just wanted to keep my job!"

Question for your table: What's your take-away lesson from Betty Graham?

Here's one to consider:

When you set your resolutions for 5786, don't merely speak in generalities. It's great that you want to be a more punctual person. It's great that you want to commit to being on time for every meeting for 30 days. But I would encourage you to add to that a reason why it matters. Such as: "I'm going to try to be on time to every meeting for 30 days so that the people I'm meeting feel more respected."

Having a clear why makes it 9x easier to reach your goals.


Shabbat Shalom


PS - The premiere mitzvah is giving tzedakah, and the premiere tzedakah is in support of Jewish education. At this time of year, it is customary to increase our mitzvahs. If you enjoy this email weekly or even once in a while, please consider showing your appreciation with a tax-deductible donation. There are many ways to give, including recurring 
credit card donations... please visit https://jsli.org/donate


Appreciated this Table Talk? Like ittweet it, forward it....

Friday, September 19, 2025

How Many Jelly Beans?

New: BackyardBarmitzvah.com
 
Shabbat Table Talk from the desk of Rabbi Alexander Seinfeld
September 19-20, 2025 • 27 Elul 5785 • Netzavim (Deut 29-30).
You probably don't need it at this point, but our countdown timer to Rosh Hashanah is still ticking.

 
imageZe Frank is a master short-take filmmaker.

One of my favorites is his "The Time You Have (In JellyBeans)". 

Picture a large black floor space. A pair of hands pours an enormous quantity of jellybeans.

The narrator explains, "These are roughly twenty-eight thousand eight hundred jelly beans.... In this pile there is one jelly bean for each day that the average American will live."

He could have stopped the video right there and that idea and visual alone would have been enough to make us think. 

But he continues...

He removes 5,475 jellybeans representing your first 15 years of life.

He then removes 8,477 jellybeans (days) for the total the average person sleeps over a lifetime.

He then removes 1,635 for the amount of days we will spend in food preparation and consumption.

He then removes 3,202 jellybeans for the average amount of time spent "at work."

He then removes 1,099 for the amount of time the average person spends commuting.

He then removes 2,676 for the average amount of days a person spends watching TV (or the equivalent).

Subtract another 1,576 for shopping and household chores.

Subtract 564 jellybeans (days) for time spent caring for others' needs.

Subtract 671 days for personal grooming.

Subtract 720 days for "religious and civic duties." 

After removing all of those jellybeans, there is a small pile: "This is the time we have left.... time for laughing, swimming, making art, going on hikes, text messages, reading, checking Facebook, playing softball, maybe even teaching yourself to play the guitar... So what are YOU going to do with the time you have left? How much do you think you've already used up?"

"What if you only had one day left? What would you do?"

The visual effect of that one remaining jellybean is a homerun.

Question for your table: 
What if you only had one jellybean left? What are you going to do today?

On that note, to help you turn this blog into a meaningful RH and YK, click on the above image, or email me for the 5786 Edition of "40 Meditations for the High Holidays", or both.


Shabbat Shalom

And L'Shanah Tovah - wishing you and yours a sweet, healthy, happy, holy and wise 5786



PS - At this time of year, it is customary to increase our tzedakah. If you enjoy this email weekly or even once in a while, please consider showing your appreciation with a tax-deductible donation. There are many ways to give, including recurring 
credit card donations... please visit https://jsli.org/donate


Appreciated this Table Talk? Like ittweet it, forward it....