Winter 2004

You sneeze in front of a gentile, they wish you the best. In front of a Jew: “Oh, did you see a doctor?” And if you tell them, “I’m all right”-they say, “No, the way you sneezed-didn’t look all right to me. If I were you, I’d look into it.”

And so, while Purim is one of the jolliest of Jewish holidays, we cannot forget the people across the globe who have suffered from terrorism. Our hearts, once filled with sympathy for the struggle of our ally Israel, today well with empathy, as we face a common enemy.

You see, Judaism doesn’t really give us carte blanche to kill animals for food. It allows us to eat meat only on one condition: that the animal whose life is taken serves to feed someone whose life has more meaning than simple bestial existence.

Nothing remarkable has gone on; it’s only a quiet day’s work. But for all the ordinariness, it’s still holy work. Holiness can scream and shout, but it doesn’t have to. Today, it just smiles and points-here, far from any Jewish community, a factory is processing food ingredients that are kosher.

Before he walked away, my husband said: “Do you know the Goodman family? They live around here. They lost their 16-year-old son, Tani, this year in an accident-we went to the shiva-and I wanted to know how they are doing.”
“You can ask them yourself. Your waitress is their daughter.”

The mark of a reliable supervising agency is the consumer’s assurance that the product contains only kosher ingredients, processed according to the Torah’s standards. But what assures the agency that the product is kosher?

The Talmud teaches that one should imagine the world as precisely balanced between good and evil. My next move will determine which way the scales are tipped: Will I bring more corruption, pain, and sorrow into the world, or will I promote peace, happiness, and harmony?

Unfortunately, today Kabbalah has been commercialized by those who pretend to grasp its innermost secrets. These pretenders purport to teach-and to sell-what they do not understand, to people who are not equipped to receive it.

He went towards the cell and came back looking astounded. “They are all dancing!” he said. “And they aren’t even drinking, but they look quite happy. What could be wrong with them?”

The Hasidic master known as the “Seer of Lublin” passed away, and his worldly possessions were apportioned. The Rebbe’s silken Shabbat garments, his belt, and the clock that always hung on his wall passed to his son, Reb Yosef.

According to the Department of Information at the Indian Embassy in Tel Aviv, 28,000 Israelis visit India every year, and nearly 20,000 of them head for Dharamsala. Jews, it seems, are great seekers.