I was wanting to know if there is any ancient Jewish wisdom regarding how to handle stress and anxiety in everyday life. Thank you Shalom and God Bless. – La’Shar Dear La’Shar, There are so many different ways we can approach your question, and it is one that touches on each of our lives. Perhaps, that is...
We are heading into the Days of Judgment and Awe which means that committed Jews are engaged in deep introspection. That is why I should have been searching my conscience. Instead, I was actually browsing my computer files. I was slightly horrified to discover a Musing that was meant to appear last May, but which...
In pre-COVID days when I spoke to large audiences, I enjoyed asking groups to raise their hands if they were sales professionals. Usually, only a few hands went up. I then asked, “How many of you are justices of the United States Supreme Court?” After the chuckles subsided, I asked, “How many of you are...
When the word “burden” appears three times in an article (with an additional showing in the subtitle) and the word “privilege” is nowhere to be seen, it isn’t hard to detect a bias. That was my first impression after reading Wall Street Journal food columnist, Bee Wilson’s essay entitled, “Feeding a Family Isn’t a Job...
My trusty computer didn’t come up with an answer when I asked it who H.W. Westermayer was. Perhaps someone reading this knows. I do know that when I read this quote of his, it resonated with me. “The pilgrims made seven times more graves than huts… nevertheless, set aside a day of thanksgiving.” I have …
Before Thanksgiving Read More »
As a person who abstains from drinking (for reasons of self-discipline), I am often expected (usually by assumption or without asking) to be the driver for most events and parties with my family and friends. Does my personal decision not to drink bring with it the responsibility of serving others around me in this manner?...
No, that isn’t a typo; its a deliberate misspelling. We are heading out soon to share a Thanksgiving feast with friends. Since we had a family celebration last weekend, most of our out-of-towners are unable to come back this week and, unfortunately, our in-towners are under the weather. Friends graciously invited us to join them....
If you have been reading Thought Tools for a while or enjoyed any of our other ancient Jewish wisdom resources, you probably suspect, correctly, that you have a better Jewish education than most secular people of Jewish descent. You might even know that the entire Jewish nation take its name from Jacob’s fourth son, Judah....
I must open this Musing with gratitude. Gratitude to those of you who wrote such lovely comments after last week’s Musing and to those of you who thought of writing but never quite did (been there done that). I am truly honored by your friendship. Many of you also sent lovely notes and heartfelt prayers...
Here is one way to give your employee a raise: “You’ve been with us for a year now, Enid; that means that you are due for your first raise. Congratulations, your pay is going up 5%.” There’s another way to do it. “During the year you’ve been with us, Enid, you’ve really made a difference. ...
