Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts from December, 2019

Sorry!

Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia once appointed a judge who turned out to be inept and corrupt.  He was forced to leave the bench.  Who asked about the affair by a reporter, LaGuardia replied, "When I make a mistake, it is a beauty!" It takes  a mensch to know when you are wrong and a great mensch to acknowledge it.

Let Go

What to do when we make mistakes: 1. Apologize. 2. Forgive Yourself. 3. Move on. Margaret Mead gave so many addresses that she once became confused.  She gave a a lecture on "Sexual Deviation among Tribal Members in Malaysia" to clergy (she thought she was addressing cultural anthropologists).   -Rev. Duncan King  I hope the clergy learned much that day that they would otherwise never know. I also hope Dr Mead gave herself the gift of personal forgiveness.

Laugh at Yourself

In an old theatrical story, W.S Gilbert was leading a rehearsal for the premiere of his most famous collaboration with A.S. Sullivan, The Mikado.  At one point Nanki-Poo learns tat his beloved Yum-Yum is about to marry her guardian, KoKo.  Searching for a straw of light, he asks: “But you do not love him?” “Alas, no!” she replies. On hearing this sliver of mitigation, Nanki-Poo exclaims, “Rapture!” – or so Gilbert originally wrote.  But at the rehearsal, Nanki-Poo  stated his line to forcefully, given the limited comfort provided by Yum-Yum and Gilbert shouted down from the balcony: “Modified rapture.”  The poor tenor, not grasping that Gilbert had only meant to correct his tone and thinking instead that he had flubbed his line, exclaimed, “Modified rapture,” at the reprise.”  - Stephen J. Gould Mistakes are to be enjoyed.  When you unintentionally err, laugh at yourself.  It is the height of joy to be humble enough to chuckle at our expense.  It also make life so much more fun.

Time's Up

If a Festival passed and a person did not offer the  Hagigah  (the requisite sacrifice for the holy day), he is no longer responsible to bring it.  Concerning this it is said, “ A twisted thing cannot be made straight and what is not here cannot be numbered.”  - Ecclesiastes, Talmud, Hagiga 1:6 There are times when we can make up for what is lost and times when time is the gift itself.  Pay attention.

In the Eye

Allow me to tell you a story. The 200 th  anniversary of the death of the Besht was in 1960. He was born in 1700 and died in 1760. Those were the days when American Jews associated Hasidism with Martin Buber who was kind of glamorous and esoteric.  So in 1960 the Jewish Welfare Board sent out directives to all Synagogues and Rabbis and cultural committees urging them to observe the anniversary, suggesting that they are read Martin Buber and organize appropriate programs. One congregation in Washington, Temple Sinai, whose Rabbi then was Balfour Brickner…took the directive very seriously.  Balfour decided not only to read about Hasidism. He would find the nearest authentic living Hasidic Rebbe and invite him to give a lecture at his congregation. After a thorough search discovered that the nearest living authentic Hasidic Rebbe was living in Baltimore and his name was Rabbi Hertzberg. He asked him to lecture at Temple Sinai.  “You can tell us about Hasidism and we will give you an hono

Miraculous

When war broke out between Arabs and Jews in Israel the great tzaddikim prayed for a miracle.  When the Israelis army arrived on the scene twelve hours later the miracle was realized.  - Rabbi Dow Marmur What su a miracle? Is it in the eye of the beholder or in God's capable hands?

The Arms of God

Hasidic sage, Mendel of Kotzk, used to say, "Whoever believes in miracles is a fool; whoever does not is an atheist." To avoid being caught in this paradox we are taught to examine the meaning of the word "miracle."  The Hebrew word for miracle is nes which also means "sign."  Sign is the English root word for sign -ificant.  To acknowledge the significance of events is to discover the meaning of godliness in time.  Miracles did not happen and do not happen when people stare at the world with folded arms; miracles happen when people call upon their divine gifts of courage, competence and faith.  - Norman Patz We are the arms of God.