Posted on Thursday, May 09, 2019 by Andrew K. Mandel
I have to remind myself every now and then that we’re growing a Chinese bamboo tree. When you water a bamboo tree during its first year, nothing happens. Neither in the second year, nor the third, nor the fourth. You may not be sure that anything is happening underground, and one would understand if you gave up on it after that. Yet in the fifth year, within a span of six weeks, the tree can shoot up 80 feet, having built a vast network of roots to sustain such dramatic growth. Las…
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Posted on Wednesday, May 08, 2019 by Stefanie Zelkind
“Make one bunny ear, then another, cross them over…nope, not like that. That’s okay. Take a breath and just start again.” It would have been much easier to tie my son’s shoes for him or suggest he wear his old sneakers with the Velcro closures. Letting him tie his cool new lace-up sneakers took longer, produced subpar results and raised my blood pressure (yes, that reminder to take a breath was directed at myself). As a working mom, I’m always teeter…
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Posted on Monday, May 06, 2019 by Hagay Carmi
When I think of patience, I immediately remember a well-known story of the Elder Hillel’s patience: The Babylonian Talmud (Shabbat 31a) tells of a brash man who made a bet with his friend for a considerable sum of money that he could get Hillel upset. On a Friday night, while Hillel bathed, the cheeky man bothered him with fabricated questions. Each time, the ever-patient Hillel wrapped himself in a towel and went out to offer respectful answers to the man’s questions. Anoth…
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Posted on Sunday, May 05, 2019 by Monica Mendel Bensoussan
I have never thought of myself as a particularly patient person. In fact, I would say that impatience is among my great weaknesses. In my daily life, a lineup at the grocery store check-out counter gives me angst and waiting for my computer to reboot sets my blood to boil. In my work within the community, the number and length of committee meetings often make me agitated and the glacial pace of change frustrates. My attitude of, “why ask someone to do something when I can do it more quickl…
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Posted on Sunday, May 05, 2019 by Chaim Strauchler
Much has been said and written about our inability to speak civilly with those with whom we disagree. What can we do about it? We live in an age of frivolous challenges. The latest of these is the "Ten Year Challenge." It follows the "Ice Bucket Challenge," the "Mannequin Challenge," and various "Dance Challenges." I would like to suggest a more meaningful challenge. Call it, "You're a Human Challenge" (or in Torah terms - "the tzelem elokim challenge.") Here’s the challenge: find …
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Posted on Tuesday, April 30, 2019 by Elka Abrahamson
Shabbat/Yom Tov was beautiful here in Bexley, Ohio. I was, for the first time, saying Yizkor for my father, z"l, who died in November. The final day of Pesach was (finally) warm enough for a pleasant walk to shul. The light of the spring morning came pouring through the stained-glass windows. It was so perfect a day that a well-intended congregant innocently opened the door to the outside so we could all enjoy the warm breeze and the welcome sight of leafy green trees. I admit it. The tho…
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Posted on Tuesday, April 16, 2019 by Sally Mundell
Hello, my name is Sally Mundell and I confess that I am the “simple child” at Passover. At age 41, I have come to the realization that I have spent most of my life not knowing how to ask a question and more sadly, not believing that I deserved to. In preparation for Passover, my brother Stan and I decided to work on our version of the Haggadah for our family and quickly learned that we had a lot to learn. Why was Elijah a part of Passover and not until the end? Why do we drink four c…
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Posted on Thursday, April 11, 2019 by Keren Morag
Co-Impact Initiative – The Partnership for a Breakthrough in Arab Employment was founded in 2013 by graduates of Class 24 of the Wexner Israel Fellowship, established by two partners; Dr. Sameer Kassem, department head at Carmel Hospital, who serves as co-chair of the Initiative, and Adv. Yifat Ovadia, currently deputy chair of the Initiative. Additional partners in the formulation and founding of the Initiative include alumni from Class 24: Yotam Dagan, Roy Folkman, Netaly Ophir-Flint, Av…
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Posted on Monday, April 08, 2019 by Chesky Holtzberg
A Jew is on the bus in Nazi Germany and sees another Jew reading Der Stuermer. He asks him why he's reading that. The Jew with the paper answers "Look, I got plenty of troubles at home and at work. The only time I can relax is on the bus. You think I want to read stories like 'Synagogues Vandalized Again' or 'Property of Jews seized?' Not when I can read the Nazi newspapers and see 'Jews Take Over the Banks!' or 'Jews Take Over the Universities!' That's me they're talking about!" I have heard t…
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Posted on Sunday, April 07, 2019 by Elan Burman
Nelson Mandela was asked how, after 27 years of unjust incarceration, he seemed devoid of bitterness. He responded: “As I walked out the door toward the gate that would lead to my freedom, I knew if I didn't leave my bitterness and hatred behind, I'd still be in prison.” Mandela’s mindset strikes one as noble, admirable and almost unimaginable. To have the prime of your life quite literally stolen from you, and then possess the internal fortitude to engage th…
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