Give me that fish…if it were you in that sandwich you wouldn’t be laughing at all.
And most important today is I am singing because of a very happy day:
Thank you Hashem on the the engagement of Minna and Nafi!
(Credit Video: Andy Blumenthal)
I saw this in one of the student lounges at the local JCC.
It says:
“Don’t Cut Down Others”
It’s far better to build people up then to tear them down.
Jut like with trees, it’s better to plant a trillion trees than deforest the Amazon Rainforest.
Trees are life and people are life.
Be constructive and not destructive.
Offer a nice word or compliment; provide an attentive and empathetic ear; give direction with some advice and guidance; lend a hand to someone in need; and in general, be a good influence.
Unfortunately, too many people default to cutting down the old cherry tree! 😉
(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
So I was asked do you spell week with a “W” or a “V.”
I guess sometimes it does sound like we say veek.
Someone else told me that they are divorced and that person is still a “dark force” in their life.
They said they have to pay child support but can’t afford it.
It’s not like I still earn $55,000 like I used to.
But if they don’t pay…
Well my ex will just refuse to let me see my son!
People have tough lives.
So when you think about your week, hopefully in context, you can resolutely say that you had a good veek.
Shabbat Shalom! 😉
(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
This woman had the longest hair I have ever seen.
No, not to the shoulders, not to the mid-back, not even to the tush.
This went almost all the way to the floor.
It reminded me more of a maim on a horse than of the typical hairdo of a person.
Anyway, this must be nasty to take care and keep clean.
Also, can’t imagine having that much hair pulling on my head all the time.
In Judaism, we say that hair is the crown of a person and it is something that especially women keep modestly when married.
So while hair is nice and beautiful, you can definitely have too much of even a good thing. 😉
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
Mother’s Day appreciation mug for my wife.
I knew she would love it.
– She’s a great mom, terrific, beautiful, fantastic.
– Other moms, total disasters, everyone agrees.
Trump says it best.
Happy Mother’s Day! 😉
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
Just thought this was a really funny-sad display in the window of this store in Tel Aviv.
It says:
Relex It’s Just Sex
Forget that Relax is spelled wrong.
But advertising for sexual items in such a casual way…like it’s sex and what’s the big deal.
Maybe I am old school, where sex actually meant a deep personal relationship and emotional intimacy.
…Where you partner was also your spouse and best friend.
Now–unfortunately–it’s just sex!
I think as a society that we have lost something here.
…Something important.
If it’s just sex, and it’s just with anyone, then what does that leave for us with that someone truly special in our lives? 😉
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
Being a heart alone in this world is very lonely, indeed.
Chasing another heart, so that we can pair together makes two less lonely hearts.
Two hearts that beat as one making beautiful music together.
When the hearts are in harmony, we sway and are uplifted flying away into the heavens.
And when the music is discordant, we are forced to retune and to grow wings that we never even knew we had.
Hearts that complement each other, help us face the questions we often fear to ask ourselves.
When these hearts meet, they touch so gently, and like silk they dance a perfect dance.
What is meaningless alone is all of a sudden meaningful with another.
What is too painful to bear by oneself is manageable when shared between two.
And what is joyful is magnified in sweetness when there is someone else to enjoy it with.
One heart chases another until they embrace that long blissful embrace. 😉
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
There is a very important article in the Wall Street Journal today on the link of loneliness to death.
Frightening loneliness statistics:
– One in 11 Americans over age 50 “lacks a spouse, partner, or living child.”
– More than 1 in 4 baby boomers is divorced or never married.
– 1 out of every 6 people lives alone.
Research indicates that loneliness leads to early death.
The impact of loneliness is equivalent to:
– Smoking 15 cigarettes a day
– Drinking 6 alcoholic beverages a day
Loneliness is worse for mortality than:
– Obesity
– Physical activity
“The effect of isolation is extraordinarily powerful…we have to address loneliness,” says the former administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Whether you are extroverted or introverted, we all need human interaction, sharing, caring, touch, and love.
Truly, no man is an island!
Those that are stranded on loneliness island need to escape it and make their way back to human civilization.
Alone our lives are dull and stunted; but together, we have the inherent social dynamics to be able to experientially learn, grow, change and mature.
Alone we die–together we live.
It’s not just power in numbers, it’s life itself.
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
A colleague was talking to me about negotiating and working with others:
He said something I liked:
Listen, empathize, and give a little.
Yes, we each have our beliefs and positions on things.
But we don’t live in a vacuum.
Other people have their own views, sensitivities, and wants.
We have to get along so we can work together, and get things done.
It starts by listening–not just hearing, but really listening to what the other person is saying.
But that’s not really enough.
To really understand the other person, we have to try to empathize with what they are feeling–we need to try to walk in their shoes even if just for a moment.
But that also isn’t enough.
We can’t have it all our way–we need to give a little to get a little.
No one can have everything and have a good relationship like that.
We need to compromise–as long as it’s not on things of integrity, conviction, or G-d.
Everything else we have to listen, empathize, and give a little. 😉
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
I am seeing this all the time now…
Parents of little children, or even older children, who are too busy working to pay much, if any, attention to their families.
Call it a disease of the industrial revolution + information technology.
Whether people worked on the assembly line making widgets or nowadays on the computer and smartphone answering their bosses and colleagues compulsively–it’s become a global obsession.
On one hand, with the impending robot and AI revolution taking over jobs, people need to be grateful to even have a job to earn a living for the families.
On the other hand, with the connections to each other and our work 24/7, the depression-era saying of:
Brother, can you spare a dime?
Has morphed into:
Brother, can you spare some time?
Yes, we all need to be responsible adults, earn a decent living and pay our bills.
But in the end, it’s not money or things that we give to our families that is the most important.
I would argue money and things are the least important, and what is truly most precious is the love, time, and attention you give to yours.
As the old saying goes:
Money can’t buy love.
But time and attention given to your loved ones can build meaningful relationships that last a lifetime and beyond.
Yes, of course, people need to work to earn a living and productively contribute something to society, but it is also true that work is used as an excuse to run away from parental and familial responsibilities.
It’s easier to give an Amazon gift certificate or a Gameboy then to actually spend the afternoon with the kids.
These days, people say ridiculous things like:
I love going into the office to get away from home.
But you can’t run away from your problems at home–you need to work on them and solve them.
The diabolical murderous Nazis used work as a tool to enslave, torture, and exterminate their victims as the sign over the gate of the Auschwitz (and many other) concentration camps read:
Arbeit Macht Frei (or Work Sets You Free)
But as we all know inside, true freedom is being able to give generously from your time and effort to your loved ones, and slavery is not being able to let go of your work.
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
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