First As Tragedy, Second as Farce, 70th As...?

Table Talk from the desk of Rabbi Alexander Seinfeld

October 20-21, 2023 • 6 Mar Cheshvan 5784 • Noach (Gen 6-11). 

The purpose of this email is to let in a ray of hope at the Shabbat table... please forward/print/share

There are a couple sides to this modern story of Biblical proportions.

On one hand, we've seen this movie before:

- Massacres
- Blood libels
- Synagogue burnings

- Sadness and fear

Check out the Wikipedia Article, "Timeline of Antisemitism." 

I downloaded the article and deleted many pages of endnotes.

It's still a whopping 110 pages. 

I then went through those 110 pages and highlighted only the massacres. I lost count after about 70. 

Most of those occur prior to 1945. 

In other words, at first glance, the past 70 years seem to have broken a 2,000-year-old pattern.

But that's false.

The incidents have continued unabated. They've just been a bit less violent lately. So we've been lulled into a comfortable slumber.

That's the one hand.

On the other hand, we've rarely seen this movie:

- Jewish unity
- Shared purpose and meaning
- Commitment and grit

The last time we saw this kind of unity was exactly 50 years ago.

Would that we could capture that sense of brotherhood and sisterhood and put it in a bottle.

Question for your table: What happens after this common enemy is no more? Does the unity evaporate, or will there be another way to unite us?

Some say it could come through sharing some Torah, others say we should lock in the unity by sharing Shabbat. Everyone seems to agree that we can at least share acts of kindness.

What do you say? 


Wishing you, yours, and all of Israel, a Shabbat Shalom,


Alexander Seinfeld

Enjoyed this Table Talk? Vote with your fingers! Like it, tweet it, forward it....

Tumbledeeds?

The purpose of this blog is to protect the Shabbat table ecosystem... Please share...

Do you know how many days til Channukah?

Try asking this at the table tonight:

Did you ever see a real tumbleweed? Do they actually exist?

Or do they only exist in Tinseltown's "Wild West"?

I saw my first real tumbleweeds in 1990. I was on I-10, somewhere near Joshua Tree, heading east across a patch of desert that looked more or less like Wile E Coyote's territory. 

My reaction was, "Cool, tumbleweeds." And that was about the most brain power I ever devoted to the subject.

But what would you do if you came home to this?

Now we know: not so cool. It's a highly destructive invasive species that probably originated in Eurasia and came to North America in the 1800s. And they're now found in Australia and Africa. 

What is arguably cool is the ingenuity of the plant. (Actually, there are many different plants that make tumbleweeds.) The basic idea is that the tumbleweed originates as the flower of plant that dies, dries, and falls off. But inside that tumbleweed is a thousand seeds waiting to be activated. The weed blows around until it finds a resting place moist enough to activate its seeds. 

This is leading to a question for your table.

If people had intentionally brought in this destructive species, we could have someone conveniently to blame, like the pythons in Florida or the Japanese knotweed in England.

Even Antartica is threatened.

But most of the time, it's inadvertent. 

So for your table: Is there a takeaway? Is there a meaningful lesson from the tumbleweed? Is there lemonade to be made from this lemon?

Perhaps - just perhaps - the lesson is to be found in the solution. The only way to tackle this very real problem is massive cooperation, not only within a society but between countries. Is it possible that we will one day look the invasive species as a gift that gave all of humanity a common enemy that could unite us?

Or perhaps the lesson from the tumbleweed in particular is to remind us that when you do an act of kindness for someone, you've sent out a packet of "kindness seeds" that may blow in random directions and take root in unexpected places.

Shabbat Shalom

Enjoyed this Table Talk? Vote with your fingers!  Like it, tweet it, forward it....{VR_SOCIAL_SHARING}

Less Than a Penny

The goal of this blog is a penny for your thoughts. Please share.
In honor of three San Francisco birthdays this week: David, Harmon and Rebecca. Happy Birthday!

Did something like this ever happen to you?

We're sitting at the Shabbat table. I ask a child, "So-and-so, would you please go get the orange juice."

Before she can even get out of her chair, her sister dashes ahead of her to snatch the mitzvah.

Some kids may be happy to let someone else do their chores. But this kid is upset: "Abba asked me to do it!!"

This scenario occurs often in our home. It leads to a few questions:

1. Can you steal a mitzvah? Is that really stealing?

After you get everyone's answer, you can tell them: According to the Talmud, not only is it considered stealing, you can take someone to court for stealing your mitzvah and if you win, the court may impose hefty damages. In one such case, the plaintiff was awarded ten gold coins.

2. What's the worst kind or amount of stealing?

Meaning: Is it a dollar amount, like $1M or $1B or ? Was Madoff one of the worst because he stole so much from so many? Or is it a function of the victim - stealing from poor orphans is worse than from Warren Buffet?

3. Is goodness relative or absolute?

Meaning: Should I judge myself in comparison to other people ("Hey, I'm no Bernie Madoff:), or compared to some absolute standard (no cheating anyone ever, even slightly).

Interestingly enough, while everyone agrees that stealing from poor orphans ranks among the lowest of the low, the rabbis say there's a type of stealing that's even worse:

When a person steals in a way that he convinces himself it's not really a crime.

Like the guy who steals one grape from his neighbor's vine.

"What's the big deal? One grape is worth less than a penny, what did I do?"

Indeed, under Jewish law, he cannot be prosecuted.

But imagine others copy him, each one stealing less than a penny's worth, so the poor owner has no legal recourse.

This isn't the billion-dollar Ponzi scheme. It's cheating in a way that you'll never be caught, never be tried, never be convicted.

This is called gaming the system. Cheating on a test. Not reporting all of your income. Not paying an out-of-state parking fine. Not leaving a note when you scratch someone's car.

(Some say even cheating at golf and Pokemon Go.)

If you are guilty of any of the above, don't beat yourself up. The Talmud says most people are. It's a rare person who is 100% honest in all monetary matters.

But that's the definition of an ethical person. 

 

So what are we waiting for?


Shabbat Shalom

PS - Do you know how many days to Channuka?

PPS - Did you find the easter egg?
 

When you forgive, you in no way change the past - but you sure do change the future.
Read more at: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/topics/topic_forgiveness.html

When you forgive, you in no way change the past - but you sure do change the future.
Read more at: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/topics/topic_forgivene

dfdfd

Like this email? How about putting your gelt where your gab is: Like it, tweet it, or just forward it.

Ghost App

In memory of Andrew Sarosi - Aharon ben Chaim. May his memory be for a blessing and his family be comforted.

Good news and bad news on the app front this week.

The good news is that the App is now available for the Kindle Fire. If you have any Kindle Fire users in your family, on your Facebook network, or beyond, please let them know about the Amazing Jewish Fact-a-Day Calendar.

The bad news is that Apple's iOS 6 upgrade a few weeks ago seems to have been a bad fit for the app, which is now crashing on many iphones and ipads.

The good news is that our crackerjack programmer has found the bug and we are working on an upgrade.

The bad news is that in the meantime thousands of users around the world are missing out on their daily amazing Jewish fact.

So I thought I'd share today's fact with you, for you to share with your table.

=== October 19, 2012 / 3 Cheshvan 5773 ===

Ghost Story

Do you like a good ghost story?

One of the world's oldest ghost stories is in Tanach, the Bible. King Saul is desperate. He is facing a massive battle with the dastardly Philistines and is not getting any guidance from the usual prophetic channels.

In desperation, he turns to a sorceress, the so-called Witch of Endor.

The king goes incognito and asks her to bring up the prophet Samuel, Saul's mentor, who had died a few months earlier.

To her surprise, the seance works - Samuel's ghost comes up (feet first, by the way).

"What are you disturbing me for? Is that you Saul?"

"Sorry, I just need to know what's going to happen in this battle, I'm quite afraid."

"Well, in that case, I have some good news and some bad news. Which do you want first?"

"Tell me the good news first."

The good news is that you are eventually going to be joining me here" (i.e., despite your many mistakes, you're going to have a share in the World to Come).

"Umm... that's reassuring! What's the bad news?"

"The bad news is that you're going to be joining me tomorrow...."

2 Samuel, Ch. 17

Here is a related link to Rabbi Becher's 'Intro to Kabbalah' class.



From the Amazing Jewish Fact-a-Day Calendar, now downloadable on Amazon.

=======================

Question for your table: Do you believe in ghosts? Why? Or, why not?


Shabbat Shalom

Begin Again Now

They were talking on the radio the other day about a new trend to delay retirement, or come out of retirement.

The claim is that not everyone is doing so because they need the money. Evidently, some have chosen to keep working in order to avoid boredom.

Hmm...

Try asking these 3 questions at your table:

Q1. Do you remember Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, or are they already a fading memory?

Q2. On a scale of 1-10, how much would you like this year to be a year of real personal growth (or reduction, for those trying to lose weight)?

Try getting this marvelous book: Begin Again Now, by Rabbi Pliskin.

The book is an encyclopedia of strategies for dealing with adversity, setbacks, frustrations, etc.

Question 3. (For those not yet retired:) If you stopped working today, either because you had enough money to retire or because you were laid off, what would you do with the rest of your life? (For those already retired: On a scale of 1-10, how meaningful is the rest of your life going to be?)

Retiring for leisure is not a Jewish value. A year of life that is not guided by a mission or sense of purpose is a wasted year.

Ran a marathon? Finished your degree? Built a house? Raised a family? Made a fortune? Saved a life? Way to go!

Now get back to work.

Shabbat Shalom


PS – Here is R. Pliskin’s Happiness Club video

PPS -
One mission we all should have is to “do no harm” or “don’t be evil” as our friends at Google like to say.

This week, Maryland joined the ranks of states requiring hands-free cellphones while driving.

BYAM (that means between you and me), I've been on the bandwagon for a long time now. I know, I know, research has shown that a bluetooth headset only marginally approves safety, that the best practice is not to talk on the phone while driving.

But if you are looking for a bluetooth set, even for comfortable use around the house, I might as well save you the trouble. I did a lot of research. My main criteria were:

1. Sound clarity
2. Comfort
3. Price

I was not looking for any extra features (like the one that lets you listen to mp3s when not on the phone).

Frankly, knowing how easy it is to lose or break these things, I didn't even look at anything over $100. I read a lot of on-line reviews, asked friends for recommendations, tried out a few models. Here's what I found. For the best combination of the above 3 criteria, the Cardo wins hands-down. It's only $20! Just ordered one for my wife. Here's your link.