Tempus Fudge-it

The purpose of this blog is to speed up time at the Shabbat table. Please print and share.
Sending deep sympathy to those suffering in Southern Israel and in Calfornia.

Most people we know are generally on-time.

(Most airlines, too.)

Some people we know are notoriously "always late".

Question 1 for your table - Do you know anyone who is always precisely on-time? How about someone who is always early? How does that fact affect your feelings about that person?

Question 2 - How does it feel when you are on time and the person you are meeting is also punctual?

Question 3 - Do always-late people usually miss their flights, or do they manage to be on time when it comes to travel? How do you explain someone being on-time for a plane, but late for every meeting?

When we moved back to the Bay Area in 2000, I started networking and making daily meetings from San Jose to Marin.

(Life lesson learned - don't do this in a leased vehicle.)

The first week on the job, I decided to repent of my past sins, overcome my habit of procrastination, and be punctual.

Life lesson learned: it wasn't that hard.

The outcome? Many people commented. They found it unusual for someone to be so punctual.

More important - it pleased them.

Question 4 - Were you ever embarrassingly late, but the person you were meeting was even later? How did that feel?

Question 5 - Could there be a down-side to being punctual?

Question 6 - What's worse, being late or not showing up at all?

Question 7 - Would a more spiritual person be more punctual (because they are concerned about other people) or less punctual (because their head is full of lofty thoughts and they don't want to be bound by pettiness)?


Shabbat Shalom

PS - Want to kick the tardiness habit (or help someone do so)? Click the pic above.

 

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

Flies Like an Arrow?

The goal of this blog is to make the Friday night dinner seem to slow down / speed up (circle one).... Please share.
Mazal tov to Marc & Zeke on their father-son bar mitzvah this week.

Or like a banana?

For your table talk tonight, a story followed by a simple question.

The story:

On Wednesday, I showed our six-year-old a video of the amazing Emily Bear.

My daughter's reaction: "I want to be able to play like that!"

And for the next two days (and counting?) she has been super motivated to practice.

The potential glitch occurred on the second day when she found a new phrase difficult to master. In a brief moment of frustration, she said, "I just want to be able to play like Emily!"

She doesn't think Emily ever had to practice? What's with the haste?

So here's the simple question for your table talk:

Have you ever been anticipating something - a trip, or a party, or some great event, or an Amazon package arriving, or mastering a song on the piano, and it seemed to take forever?

Happens all the time, right?

The question is: is the opposite possible? Is it possible to anticipate a great event that is in the distant future - let's say seven years - and yet the time seems to pass very quickly?

For example:

He had to wait seven years to marry her, but it only seemed like a few days because he loved her so much.

Is this plausible? He loved her so much, so the time seemed to speed up? Shouldn't it have seemed to take forever?

Could it ever happen? How is it possible to anticipate something great - marrying your soul mate - and seven years could seem like a few days?

To answer this question, consider:

1. When does time seem to slow down?
2. When does time seem to speed up?

It seems to me that time seems to slow down when we're anticipating achieving or getting something, whereas time seems to speed up when we are preparing for some kind of test or trial.

If it seems strange that his love for her could make seven years pass quickly, that comes from an attitude of marriage = achieving or getting.

But if love and marriage (and kids?) is a great test and you're shooting for an A+, then the seven years might pass quickly indeed.


Shabbat Shalom


PS - I'm sure you already know how many days to Channuka.... but have you seen what's new in Goldy's list?
PPS - Yes, once again this week's post has an easter egg - can you find it?

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

Love at First Sigh

PPS - We have uploaded a bunch of great Hannuka stuff (books, menorahs, candles, toys) to the bestjewishkidsbooks.com - if you use these links for your shopping, it helps support JSL's nonprofit mission.

Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky is one of the living sages of the Jewish People. He resides in the Land of Israel, near Tel Aviv.

The Rav has afternoon visiting hours. Each year he receives thousands of visitors. Both religious and secular come to seek his wisdom.

Recently, a man having trouble finding a shidduch (match) visited the Rav.

The teary-eyed man explained he cannot find a shidduch, asking Rav Kanievsky for a blessing.

The Rav gazed at the man, probed his details somewhat and reportedly responded, “Your soulmate hasn’t been born. Blessings and success."

End of interview.

Question for your table: Try to imagine yourself in this man's shoes. How would you have reacted?

The man left in tears, devastated by the holy rabbi's words.

Less than two months later, the man returned to Rav Kanievsky. This time he was smiling.

In fact he was grinning. He had good news.

"I am engaged!"

That would be great news to hear from anyone. But under these circumstances, the Rav's attendants were nonplussed. Who could forget what Rav Kanievsky had said?

The groom explained that his new fiancée is a convert, who completed her conversion only a month earlier.

According to Jewish tradition, a convert is regarded as a "newborn baby" (Talmud Yevamot 22a).

Shabbat Shalom


PS:

It Is Personal

In honor of Lawrence and Amy Gallant, who were married last week in Boston and planning to live in San Jose.

In honor of my sister, Tzipora (and family) who welcomed a baby boy into the world this week, in Jerusalem. Mazal tov!

A strange thing happened to me a few days ago.

Perhaps you or someone at your table can explain it.

Maybe my confusion is because I'm biased.

I'm biased because I believe my own PR. The PR says that this book has changed many people's lives and helped them find what they were looking for. I get emails from Conservative, Reconstructionist, Reform, Orthodox, Orthodox-Hasidic, Conservadox, Reformative and even plain ol' Jews, even from non-Jews, telling me that the book has helped them. After awhile you start to believe this stuff, know what I mean?

So here's what happened.

There is a certain rabbi who runs a certain educational program with hundreds of participants every year. Months ago I asked him if he would like to use the book as a follow-up tool, for his participants to take home after the program. We sent him a sample book, and I showed him how the book dovetails perfectly with his programming.

But he hemmed. He hawed. Via email and phone calls, he would not commit.

Then I heard he was going to be in New York. So last week I made a one-day drive to New York and back (actually New Jersey, so the train was not an option). I found him in his hotel five minutes before he was about to leave for the evening. We talked for those five minutes, and closed the deal. He will use the book for his next program.

This is my question for your table: What is it about the face-to-face meeting?

Shabbat Shalom

Meeting Franklin Roosevelt was like opening your first bottle of champagne; knowing him was like drinking it. - Churchill

PS - have you seen my amazing new iPhone/iPad app? http://tinyurl.com/amazingcalendarlink

.


PPS...