Question of the Week: Please excuse the personal question, but my curiosity is overwhelming me. I’ve wondered how a Jew could come from South Africa. I know just enough history to get me in trouble, so I will ask a leading question. Are Rabbi Lapin’s ancestors Sephardic Jews who sought refuge in Portugal before emigrating...
Do you know what a “men’s room” is? When I first heard the phrase soon after I immigrated to the U.S. from England where I’d been studying, my mind conjured up a big screen television, a comfortable couch, and a BBQ emitting wonderful smells of cooked meat. That’s my men’s room! Instead, I discovered that...
It’s sometimes difficult to force yourself to do your work, isn’t it? Perhaps you allow the plague of procrastination to infect your soul. Maybe you find unproductive ways to persuade yourself that you’re working, even though you’re not doing what really needs to be done. How do we know what really needs to be done?...
Any German living under the Nazi regime, who announced that he had Jewish friends, was being politically incorrect. He was also being shockingly imprudent and probably reckless. Any Russian living under Stalin, who proclaimed his admiration for the American ideal of freedom, was being politically incorrect. He was also being imprudent and reckless. Any Moslem...
Confidence is to arrogance what self-respect is to self-esteem. The former is the result of achievement; the latter is hollow chest beating. The former inspires; the latter repels. Confidence breeds success while arrogance is a symptom of impending failure. Arrogant people abuse both family members and business associates, yelling at them and belittling them. Confident...
Fall brings with it lots of lovely activities: apple picking, jumping in piles of leaves and, if you live in the Pacific Northwest, the Puyallup Fair. If you know how to pronounce ‘Puyallup,’ you have probably been to this fair which has been a September highlight for our family for the past twenty years. Ten...
Did you watch the video online of the baby who laughs hysterically while her father rips up a rejection notice he received? How about the video of the toddler twins who are having an animated conversation in gibberish? The Wall Street Journal’s weekend paper of July 23-24th has an article entitled, ‘Why You Just Shared...
