Table Talk from the desk of Rabbi Alexander Seinfeld
September 8-9, 2023 • 23 Elul 5783 • Vayeilech (Deut 29-30).
The purpose of this email is to make waves...please share.
The purpose of this email is to make waves...please share.
Mazal tov to our daughter Emuna and son-in-law Binyomin on the birth of a daughter!
Dovetailing on last week's theme of selling tickets to Rosh Hashana, and with Rosh Hashanah one week away, what's on your mind?
(Besides honey?)
Here is something to ponder for the last Shabbat - and the last week - of the year.
First question for your table - Are you a greeter? Do you greet people as you pass them on the street, on the hiking trail, on the road? Do you initiate the greeting, or do you wait for them to?
I am grateful to my dear mother for alerting me to an uplifting recent column by the Chicago Tribune's Jim Nowlan on the art of waving.
We're talking about a friendly wave when you're out for a walk.
Nolan observes: "Waving is good; more would be better.... [resulting in] they know that I am a human, like them, and, somehow, we're all in this together."
Second question for your table: How Jewish is that?
It reminds me of a teaching in Pirkei Avot:
Here's a personal proposal to you and your family: How about we all make this one new year's resolution together - to try to greet everyone in a friendly way — whether with a wave or even just a smile — and I mean everyone: our family, our neighbors, and of course strangers.
What do you think about that? Crazy idea?
I write this now because next Friday is erev Rosh Hashanah and I don't know if I'll manage to get an email off. If I do, maybe I'll add to this proposal.
In the meantime, please consider my proposal; if it resonates with you, please share this email with everyone you love.
In fact, as we begin the last week of the year, what if we all do a 1-week trial of my proposal — a test drive if you will — to see how it feels, and how it impacts both the waver and the wavee?
Shabbat Shalom
PS - There is still time to request our "40 Questions to Think About Between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur"
PS - Here's a new review you might enjoy.
(Besides honey?)
Here is something to ponder for the last Shabbat - and the last week - of the year.
First question for your table - Are you a greeter? Do you greet people as you pass them on the street, on the hiking trail, on the road? Do you initiate the greeting, or do you wait for them to?
I am grateful to my dear mother for alerting me to an uplifting recent column by the Chicago Tribune's Jim Nowlan on the art of waving.
We're talking about a friendly wave when you're out for a walk.
Nolan observes: "Waving is good; more would be better.... [resulting in] they know that I am a human, like them, and, somehow, we're all in this together."
Second question for your table: How Jewish is that?
It reminds me of a teaching in Pirkei Avot:
Rabbi Masia ben Harash said: Upon meeting people, be the first to extend greetings; And prefer to be a tail unto lions, rather than a head unto foxes (4:15).
Here's a personal proposal to you and your family: How about we all make this one new year's resolution together - to try to greet everyone in a friendly way — whether with a wave or even just a smile — and I mean everyone: our family, our neighbors, and of course strangers.
What do you think about that? Crazy idea?
I write this now because next Friday is erev Rosh Hashanah and I don't know if I'll manage to get an email off. If I do, maybe I'll add to this proposal.
In the meantime, please consider my proposal; if it resonates with you, please share this email with everyone you love.
In fact, as we begin the last week of the year, what if we all do a 1-week trial of my proposal — a test drive if you will — to see how it feels, and how it impacts both the waver and the wavee?
Shabbat Shalom
PS - There is still time to request our "40 Questions to Think About Between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur"
PS - Here's a new review you might enjoy.
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