Day of Restoning

The purpose of this blog is to turn Friday night dinner into Shabbat. Please print and share.

Several readers replied to my fantasy last week about creating a news service dedicated to good news, the Good News Network or GNN.

One wrote that it would be rather boring.

Another pointed out, "It's already there — www.goodnewsnetwork.org"!

(Which if you think about it gives us an opportunity to put the first reader's point to the test.)

What do you think? Does it work? Are you going to bookmark it?

Or is it boring?

Here's a story that's neither bad news nor boring. 

I heard last night from someone who heard it from the doctor himself.

This Jewish doctor was preparing to perform a certain surgery on a Gentile patient. The surgery was known to be painful and to help his patient prepare mentally, he wanted to give her something to distract her.

So for some reason this doctor, wearing a yarmulke, mentioned the Jewish idea of Shabbat - Sabbath - a time to rejuvenate and heal.

"Oh, I know about Shabbat," she said. "I kept Shabbat for four years."

Needless to say, the doctor was slightly nonplussed.

She continued, "I come from New York. There I worked in a travel agency where most of the other employees were Jewish. As my kids became teens, I started to have all kinds of conflicts with them, struggles and all that. Yet I noticed that my co-workers all seemed to have happy families. They were always going to celebrations, you know graduations and whatnot, and simchas. So I finally had to ask one of them what it is that Jewish people did to keep their kids close to them. She explained to me about Shabbat, that you all eat together, you talk about the week, what the kids learned in school, sing songs and all that. So I decided that we were going to keep Shabbat."

And so she did.

For four years.

"What about the gefilte fish? Did you make gefilte fish?"

(For some Jews, Shabbat isn't Shabbos without gefilte fish.)

"Everything was 0-U, all the way."

All of her kids went to college, and graduated.

After the youngest one was out of the house, she stopped keeping Shabbat.

But then one day she got a phone call from her daughter, who was struggling with her own teenager.

"Mom, what's that thing we used to do, that 'Shabbat'?"

The Midrash calls Shabbat a "precious gift from God's secret vault".

I wonder how many of us appreciate it.

The question this week for your table: What's the difference between "Friday night" and "Shabbat"?


Shabbat Shalom

PS - We have added new Purim and Pesach ideas to bestjewishkidsbooks.com

PPS - Please help my "letter to the French People" (here in English) go viral. Send the link(s) to everyone you know who knows someone French, or in France, or who took French in high school, or who at least can say "Oui, oui."

Clemensy

In 1899, Harper's published a remarkable piece by Mark Twain entitled "Concerning the Jews". A link to the entire article is below, but here is a summary and a question for your table:

I have received from Jews in America several letters of inquiry [that may be summed up by this]: Will a Jew be permitted to live honestly, decently, and peaceably like the rest of mankind? What has become of the Golden Rule?'

Twain begins his answer with a full-disclosure statement:

I will begin by saying that if I thought myself prejudiced against the Jew, I should hold it fairest to leave this subject to a person not crippled in that way. But I think I have no such prejudice. A few years ago a Jew observed to me that there was no uncourteous reference to his people in my books, and asked how it happened. It happened because the disposition was lacking.

I'm not going to print the bulk of his answer to the readers' question, you can click below and savor it yourself. But here is Twain's immortal conclusion:

If the statistics are right, the Jews constitute but one percent of the human race. It suggests a nebulous dim puff of star dust lost in the blaze of the Milky Way. Properly, the Jew ought hardly to be heard of, but he is heard of, has always been heard of. He is as prominent on the planet as any other people, and his commercial importance is extravagantly out of proportion to the smallness of his bulk. His contributions to the world's list of great names in literature, science, art, music, finance, medicine, and abstruse learning are also away out of proportion to the weakness of his numbers. He has made a marvelous fight in the world, in all the ages; and has done it with his hands tied behind him. He could be vain of himself, and be excused for it.

The Egyptian, the Babylonian, and the Persian rose, filled the planet with sound and splendor, then faded to dream-stuff and passed away; the Greek and the Roman followed, and made a vast noise, and they are gone; other peoples have sprung up and held their torch high for a time, but it burned out, and they sit in twilight now, or have vanished. The Jew saw them all, beat them all, and is now what he always was, exhibiting no decadence, no infirmities of age, no weakening of his parts, no slowing of his energies, no dulling of his alert and aggressive mind.

All things are mortal but the Jew; all other forces pass, but he remains. What is the secret of his immortality?

Question for your table: What is the secret of his immortality?


Shabbat Shalom

Today's blog is an excerpt from the Amazing Jewish Fact-a-Day Calendar. We are considering an Android version, and maybe one for the new Blackberry Tablet. If you have an opinion about this investment, please click reply and send it along!

Here's the full original article.
Here's a related 1-hour video on the remarkable survival and thriving of the Jewish People.
Here is rabbi Becher's entertaining answer to the question. (If you want to download the mp3 into your iphone etc, click here.)

Who Has a Dream?

Big Mazal Tov to Alexandre and Elisheva Bronstein of Beit Shemesh on their recent 20th Anniversary. (Almost out of the woods!)

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Many people have noticed that Jewish people seem to be disproportionately represented in science, in Hollywood, in international chess, in business, all stuff that requires savoir-faire.

But what about this?

Ask these 4 simple yet profound questions at your table:

1. What portion of the USA is Jewish? (Answer, about 2 percent).

2. What portion of the white participants in the Civil Rights movement were Jewish? (Answer, about 30 percent)

3. What percentage of the civil rights lawyers in Mississippi were Jewish (Answer, about 90).

(for more info, click here)

4. How do you explain this huge disproportionality?

Our friends (and Table Talk subscriber) Lee Hendler runs a program called "Freedom's Feast"... Check out their ideas on nurturing the value of public service at http://www.freedomsfeast.us/mlk-day. In particular, I recommend their 1-page MLK Table Talk download.


Shabbat Shalom

PS - This week's AMAZING VIDEO is not to be missed - you'll love it.

The goal of this blog is to give you a conversation-starter for your Friday night dinner table. Please print and share.

MLK

What? A Monday morning post?

I just wanted to share with you 2 things you didn’t know about MLK.

1. What’s the most famous quote from Martin Luther King, Jr. about the Jews?

That’s easy: “...all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles etc.” (from “I Have a Dream”, 1963).

Well, that’s not really about the Jews. What did he actually say about the Jews?

There is a widely-circulated quote that he evidently never said. I myself have circulated it.

For the record, the following appears to the be accurate quote:

"Shortly before he was assassinated, Martin Luther King, Jr., was in Boston on a fund-raising mission, and I had the good fortune to attend a dinner which was given for him in Cambridge...One of the young men present happened to make some remark against the Zionists. Dr. King snapped at him and said, "Don't talk like that! When people criticize Zionists, they mean Jews. You're talking anti-Semitism!"

- Prof. Seymour Martin Lipset (George Mason University), "The Socialism of Fools: The Left, the Jews and Israel", Encounter magazine, December, 1969, p. 24.


2. If you know any children, and would like to help them connect to MLK day and other American holidays in a meaningful, hands-on way, you might share with them this thoughtful new activity-filled project, called Freedom’s Feast.

Have a great day and great week.

Free Speech

In memory of my grandparents (Eliezer ben Zelig and Sima bas Golda) whose yahrzeits are yesterday and tonight.
To dedicate a future Table Talk, send an email.

The goal of Table Talk (the Art of Amazement blog) is to stimulate conversation at your Friday night dinner table. Please print and share.

Ahh, the power of concentrated thinking.

Yesterday, I heard a scientist interviewed on the radio about the development of “ivisibility cloak” technology. There have been recent breakthroughs on bending light around an object, so that a viewer would not see the object. The sharp reporter asked, “Since the light is being bent around, if you were wearing one of these, would that mean that you couldn’t see anything, because the light would not be reaching your eyes?”
“I hadn’t thought of that,” admitted the scientist.

As you know, I generally avoid politics in this forum.

I don't intend to change that practice today.

So I will not discuss, for instance, the way the President's Cairo speech seemed to equate Nazi genocide with the suffering of Palestinians.

(By the way, if you search for the text of the speech, most websites have the AP transcript, which is inaccurate and leaves out most of what he said about Israel. The accurate (searchable) text can be found here and here is the video:

What I would like to suggest as food for discussion is the following line:

"America's strong bonds with Israel are well known. This bond is unbreakable. It is based upon cultural and historical ties, and the recognition that the aspiration for a Jewish homeland is rooted in a tragic history that cannot be denied."

Is this the basis for Jewish sovereignty in the land of Israel? Is this a tenable argument from an Arab perspective?

It seems to me that the Holocaust has been used as the basis for modern Israel, but the further it recedes into the past, the less compelling it becomes for Jews and presidents alike (not to mention Arabs).

But...if Israel’s not justified by the Holocaust, then what?

Shabbat Shalom

PS - my grandfather was particularly fond of Johnny Carson, and this was one of his favorite sketches:

Split Personality

This week: 3 questions.

Do you ever feel like you have a split personality?

Let’s say you have a sweet tooth. OK, you probably don’t have one, but maybe you know someone who does. This person gets up every morning and declares, “Today I’m not going to eat those sweets! I’m going to stick to my healthy diet!”

And they go to bed each night feeling, “I blew it again! How could I have let myself do that?”

There is a secret to our dual nature.

There were originally 12 tribes in Israel.

Each tribe was like a unique wavelength of color that combine to make the rainbow.

Most Jews today are “Jews” - i.e., from Judah, which means appreciation.

All the tribes together - the full spectrum - is called both “Jacob” (as in children of Jacob) and “Israel” (as in children of Israel).

“Jacob” is the person who is always devising plans, figuring out how to be successful in life. Jacob is often reacting to other people and situations.

“Israel” is the person who is struggling with his or her own self, struggling to master one’s own self-destructive tendencies.

First question for your table: As an appreciative person, are you more of a “Jacob” or more of an “Israel”?

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This morning, someone sent me a list of “isn’t it funny” questions. Here are three:

Isn't it funny that $10 seems like a lot when we give tzedaka, but so little when we go shopping?

Isn't it funny how one hour seems so long in shul, and so short when we watch a ball game?

Isn't it funny how readily we forward email jokes and hoaxes, but when we receive something about Judaism or spirituality, we don't
re-send them to anyone?

Second question - a thought-experiment: Try reading the questions first as a “Jacob” then as an “Israel”.

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NATIONAL HANNUKA CLASS

Are you tired of all the end-of-the-year fundraising pitches? Donate now, get your tax deduction (as if any of us need one this year!)

Last year at this time, I devoted an entire week’s Table Talk to ask you to support the organization (JSL) that makes Table Talk possible. I suggested 25¢/week as a reasonable level, and many people responded much more generously than that.

This year, I thought it would be interesting for you to have something other than an old-fashioned plea. How about a Chinese auction? But what can I auction that would be meaningful to Table Talk readers? I know, how about a class on Happiness? But would it work? Would people want to bid on happiness? Last week, if you read the blog, I challenged you to do just that – bid on happiness. If you do so, do so with a happy spirit, that you are really showing how much you value getting this email. If you read it from time to time, I assume you value it. Is it worth two-bits a week?

In addition to spending my Friday morning conjuring up “great”, “thought-provoking” “ really nice”, “enjoyable”, “beautiful and touching” stories and questions [actual reader comments] for your spiritual nourishment, I spend the rest of the week bringing Art-of-Amazement type of Judaism to individuals and groups around the country.

Some pay their way and others – notably college students – cannot. We also train teachers both live and via our website, jewishspirituality.net, how to teach the Art-of-Amazement style Judaism. AND we give away (or sell at a loss) thousands of books every year. You should see the kind of feedback we’re getting from readers! We are enabling individuals of all ages to discover a Judaism that works, and helping teachers and parents to transmit a Judaism that works.

By reading this weekly blog, you are part of a national effort to uncover and promote this kind of engaging, down-to-earth, spiritual Judaism.

To close out 2008, I would like to ask you to become my partner in this national effort for 25¢ per week.

To make it fun, here’s the question: How much is happiness worth to you? The highest 20 bids will be invited to a new class (via conference call): “Hannuka and the Secret of the Darkness”.

Every pledge will be thanked with a recording of last year’s Hannuka class: “Hannuka and the Secret of the 36”.

Third question of the week: Is the weekly thought-provoking Table Talk worth a quarter to you?

If so, please use the info below to send in your 2-bits. But if you want, I’ll offer you something on top of partnership just to sweeten the relationship. 25¢ a week comes to 13 bucks a year. If you are willing to double that – 50¢ a week or $26 for the year, I’ll send you a thank you gift that I know you’re going to enjoy. I’ll send you an audio CD of a new class that premiered last August: A Jewish View of the Hinduism and Buddhism. The audience feedback was tremendous.


Please send your tax-deductible donation via: On-line
or via Paypal: donate@jsli.org

Donated frequent-flyer miles are also a huge help.

If there is an honoree or dedication, please let me know. All gifts will be gratefully acknowledged.

Finally - here’s a short movie that made me smile and I’ll bet it will do the same for you.

Shabbat Shalom


Click here to help rebuild the Chabad House of Mumbai

Other Chabad centers in India are in dire need – email me for details how you can help them

Speaking schedule:
December 25 – Baltimore (Etz Chaim) - “A Spiritual Interpretation of the Economic Crisis”

Jerusalem

Dedicated to my friend Harry, a great soul. To dedicate a future Table Talk, send an email.


My friend Harry, a “Persian” Jew from California (i.e., he was born in Iran), was in Jerusalem recently with his family and taking a cab with two of his sons to the Western Wall. They settled on a fare of twenty shekels.

The driver heard his accent and asked him, “Are you Iranian?”

“Yeah, sure,” Harry said. “Are you?”

“No, but I love Iran! I love Ahamdinejad!”

Harry couldn’t believe his ears. “You love Ahamdinejad? How could you? He wants to start a war to destroy Israel!”

“Yes, destroy! Jihad, jihad, jihad!”

By now Harry’s sons were really nervous. They were hoping to make it home in one piece.

But Harry could not contain himself. He was incredulous. “How can you say that! Here you are, driving us in a cab in Yerushalayim! We are Jews! You are driving us to the Wall! How can you talk like that?

“Yes,” said the driver, “jihad, kill the Americans and Israelis to avenge my brothers in Iraq.”

For Harry, the most incredible had become even more incredible: “You are so bothered by your brothers in Iraq? It’s not Americans killing them, they’re killing each other!”

He had pushed too far: “Get out here,” the driver demanded.

“But we’re not at the Wall yet?”

Taxicabs are not allowed to the Wall anymore, security restrictions.

But Harry was not finished. “Are you Sunni or Shia?”

“I am Sunni!”

“Then you’re a fool. Don’t you know that Ahmnadijab is a Shia. That means that he’s coming to kill YOU too!”

The driver fell silent and waited for his passengers to exit the cab.

Outside, Harry told his visibly relieved sons, “You see boys, for only a few dollars we got a valuable lesson....”

Question for your table>: What was the lesson?

A related disturbing video:



Shabbat Shalom.

Speaking schedule – save the dates:
December 5 – Beverly Hills - Hannuka party for singles - with all-you-can-eat sushi, open bar, casino, music and “Persian” auction. Super prizes, including an iPhone. For tickets for yourself or to give a friend as a meaningful Hannuka present, phone 310-785-0440