A Source of Professional Neurosis

Aid an enemy before you aid a friend, to subdue hatred. - Tosefta: Baba Metzia

In this perhaps we have a beautiful teaching that may be the source of much personal difficulty.

What happens when we reach out and place others higher on our priority list than those closest to us?

We cease to be able to maintain our relationships that maintain us as good participants in healthy society.

While a stranger, or an enemy, deserves our attention - both for the sake of healing the world, Tikkun Olam, a central Jewish value, and subduing hatred, as this quote advises - we must heed the wisdom of another Jewish teacher, Hillel. Hillel teaches that in order to save the world we must start with ourselves, our families, and our communities - we must start at the center if we are to succeed outwardly.

Gratitude on Thanksgiving

An amazing Interfaith Thanksgiving service last night - here's a photo, and a link to the article from the Charlotte Observer, as well as the earlier coverage on its meaning to Temple Beth El.

Reuse before we recycle

Everyone recycles used paper now - easy to do so with a recycling bin next to our desks. Let’s aim higher and reuse even before we recycle. We can take all those sheets of paper used on only one side, flip them over, and use the other side for scrap. Potential uses for non-confidential used single-sides: re-load them into single-sided printers, use them for art for kids, or, my current favorite, flip them and cut them into useful sizes for note paper - half “letter” size makes great paper to take phone messages on or make lists on!

Days of Awe Indeed

Temple Beth El has all of the people who have been members for 40 or more years bless the Torah as the rabbis read on Yom Kippur afternoon. Awesome!

[photo copywritten 2011 David E. Powers]

Difficult Teva Tip - Jewish Eco-Advice

This tip isn't easy – economize on fuel consumption by driving less aggressively. I have a lot of work to do on this!

Quick acceleration, speeds over 60mph, and any other driving technique that we call fun probably uses much more fuel than accelerating slowly, and rushing less.

Might give us a few more minutes in the car to breathe, and lower our blood pressure too!