Top of the evening to all....
A couple of years ago, we had a group of folks at our evening minyan who liked to take a shot of scotch every evening after services. I am not a teetotaller. Still, I usually do not drink in the building, and certainly not during synagogue events. My deep, dark inner self believes that synagogues should be dry.
Anyway, they had finished one bottle, and had started a duplicate. The synagogue ritual director and I took the empty bottle and poured into it an equal amount of apple juice. Then we switched the bottles. They all took their sip, and then looked at each other with weird expressions. Finally, some said: "is this apple juice?" At this point, the ritual director and I burst out laughing. It was a truly wonderful, funny, and entirely harmless prank.
I decided to repeat the prank. A different crowd of people likes to go into the office on Shabbat morning and have a sip. In the office, there were two empty bottles and another bottle that was about a third of the way full. I took one of the empty bottles and put in an equal amount of apple juice, and then put it in front. I put the real bottle in back of the other two so that it would not be taken.
One of the women filled the shot glasses with apple juice. The men took their sips and had the same expression as the group from a couple of years prior. The woman who had poured saw two bottles of the same scotch, both filled about a third of the way. She decided to combine them.
It is 36 hours later. I am still laughing.
Have a good evening everyone.
R/SCG
Sunday, February 16, 2014
Monday, February 10, 2014
Lowering Standards...
Top of the evening everyone.
The streets are still not clear enough for me to be out on my bicycle. It has been annoying, and has frankly slowed me down a great deal.
Today, I had to walk up to the bank from the office. It is a distance of about 3/10 of a kilometre. As I was walking, I thought it was comparatively warm out. Apparently, it was a balmy -6 degrees centigrade (22 degrees Fahrenheit). It was a nice, comfortable walk. I suppose that when we consider that it has been far colder than that in recent memory, -6 is comfortable. This is the first of our lowering standards.
Some months back, I wrote an entry about having outpaced a TTC bus on my bicycle. Today, I took my walk to the bank at about 5:15 PM. I was faster than the cars. Admittedly, Bathurst Street from the office up to Steeles is bad at that time of day. Still, that is just pathetic.
Have a good evening.
R/SCG
The streets are still not clear enough for me to be out on my bicycle. It has been annoying, and has frankly slowed me down a great deal.
Today, I had to walk up to the bank from the office. It is a distance of about 3/10 of a kilometre. As I was walking, I thought it was comparatively warm out. Apparently, it was a balmy -6 degrees centigrade (22 degrees Fahrenheit). It was a nice, comfortable walk. I suppose that when we consider that it has been far colder than that in recent memory, -6 is comfortable. This is the first of our lowering standards.
Some months back, I wrote an entry about having outpaced a TTC bus on my bicycle. Today, I took my walk to the bank at about 5:15 PM. I was faster than the cars. Admittedly, Bathurst Street from the office up to Steeles is bad at that time of day. Still, that is just pathetic.
Have a good evening.
R/SCG
Saturday, February 8, 2014
Marriage....
Top of the evening everyone...
There was an article in today's National Post. The article showed excerpts from interviews with 14 couples from across Canada on how they make their marriages work. Some of them had been married for years. One couple had been married for less than a week.
Here is the article: Marriage Article.
Two things struck me. The first is that only one couple mentioned sex. I think it is an absolutely essential ingredient to a successful marriage. As I have mentioned in other places in this blog, it is the one entirely unique feature of marriage. Everything else we have in our lives, we can share with other people. Couples need to be on the same page on this matter.
The other thing that caught my eye is something I have said in my Rules of Marriage This couple said it better. "You can't have an exit strategy." That is the raw meaning of commitment. I would likely add that one should actively avoid causing one's spouse to look for an exit strategy.
Have a good night.
R/SCG
There was an article in today's National Post. The article showed excerpts from interviews with 14 couples from across Canada on how they make their marriages work. Some of them had been married for years. One couple had been married for less than a week.
Here is the article: Marriage Article.
Two things struck me. The first is that only one couple mentioned sex. I think it is an absolutely essential ingredient to a successful marriage. As I have mentioned in other places in this blog, it is the one entirely unique feature of marriage. Everything else we have in our lives, we can share with other people. Couples need to be on the same page on this matter.
The other thing that caught my eye is something I have said in my Rules of Marriage This couple said it better. "You can't have an exit strategy." That is the raw meaning of commitment. I would likely add that one should actively avoid causing one's spouse to look for an exit strategy.
Have a good night.
R/SCG
Tuesday, February 4, 2014
Party Pooper....
Top of the evening everyone...
Over the last week or so, several people have asked me different questions about Sunday's Super Bowl. The truth is that I do not care. My not caring started about nine years ago.
One of the joys of life in the State of New York is that there must be a district vote to approve the school budget. Usually, it is nothing. No one cares. 30 people vote. The budget passes. We move on to the next matter.
In the last year that we were in New York, there was some controversy. When that happens, doorbells and phones start ringing. Everyone is encouraged to vote one way or the other.
Someone asked me about it. I gave what at the time was a tongue-in-cheek answer. De-fund the high school football team. It is remarkably elitist and eats an inordinate amount of money for a select group of people. Someone will put up the money anyway. No one took me seriously.
What has happened since then? I realized that my tongue-in-cheek answer had some merit. Then I thought further...
1. I went to high school in a high school football region. We had five high schools in Norfolk, Virginia. There were another seven in Virginia Beach. Through four years of high school and 12 schools, only one person made it to the pros. He was permanently injured after a couple of years, and no longer plays.
The bottom line: it is not exactly a career starter.
2. I was in band. I have never heard of a career-ending injury from being in band. As well, we let anyone in.
3. The discipline that one learns on the football field - teamwork, only being as good as the weakest player - these things apply to music as well. Trust me when I tell you that the degree of discipline necessary to put on a concert or to sit in a pit orchestra is astounding.
4. More recently, as we learn way more than we ever wanted to know about head injuries, we are learning that these injuries last so much longer than the headache. We have no business subjecting anyone to such injury for our own entertainment.
5. I am 44. I sadly admit that I have not picked up my trumpet consistently in the last several years. But I can. I can go downstairs right now and play all twelve of my scales in less than 90 seconds. My lip strength would be back up to what it was in a month. There are no football players who can pick up this craft at my age.
6. The NFL has been woefully inept at policing its own. In last year's off-season, 32 players got in trouble with the law. That is an entire team.
My tongue-in-cheek suggestion still stands. De-fund the football team. Fund the band. Fund the theatre program.
Have a good evening everyone.
R/SCG
Over the last week or so, several people have asked me different questions about Sunday's Super Bowl. The truth is that I do not care. My not caring started about nine years ago.
One of the joys of life in the State of New York is that there must be a district vote to approve the school budget. Usually, it is nothing. No one cares. 30 people vote. The budget passes. We move on to the next matter.
In the last year that we were in New York, there was some controversy. When that happens, doorbells and phones start ringing. Everyone is encouraged to vote one way or the other.
Someone asked me about it. I gave what at the time was a tongue-in-cheek answer. De-fund the high school football team. It is remarkably elitist and eats an inordinate amount of money for a select group of people. Someone will put up the money anyway. No one took me seriously.
What has happened since then? I realized that my tongue-in-cheek answer had some merit. Then I thought further...
1. I went to high school in a high school football region. We had five high schools in Norfolk, Virginia. There were another seven in Virginia Beach. Through four years of high school and 12 schools, only one person made it to the pros. He was permanently injured after a couple of years, and no longer plays.
The bottom line: it is not exactly a career starter.
2. I was in band. I have never heard of a career-ending injury from being in band. As well, we let anyone in.
3. The discipline that one learns on the football field - teamwork, only being as good as the weakest player - these things apply to music as well. Trust me when I tell you that the degree of discipline necessary to put on a concert or to sit in a pit orchestra is astounding.
4. More recently, as we learn way more than we ever wanted to know about head injuries, we are learning that these injuries last so much longer than the headache. We have no business subjecting anyone to such injury for our own entertainment.
5. I am 44. I sadly admit that I have not picked up my trumpet consistently in the last several years. But I can. I can go downstairs right now and play all twelve of my scales in less than 90 seconds. My lip strength would be back up to what it was in a month. There are no football players who can pick up this craft at my age.
6. The NFL has been woefully inept at policing its own. In last year's off-season, 32 players got in trouble with the law. That is an entire team.
My tongue-in-cheek suggestion still stands. De-fund the football team. Fund the band. Fund the theatre program.
Have a good evening everyone.
R/SCG
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Perplexing Questions...
Top of the evening to all....
I swept some of the house last night. I try not to do it all at once. It is more than I can handle.
Within a couple of days, the stairs to the basement will again be covered with dust-bunnies. Alas, I will have to sweep again.
I am trying to figure out the following quandary, the implications of which are frankly astounding.
Are dust bunnies just dust, subject to gravity just like the rest of us? Alternatively, given their presence everywhere, are they an actual species (Latin: lepus domesticus shmutzus), preferring the cooler parts of the house?
I will have difficulty sleeping tonight.
R/SCG
I swept some of the house last night. I try not to do it all at once. It is more than I can handle.
Within a couple of days, the stairs to the basement will again be covered with dust-bunnies. Alas, I will have to sweep again.
I am trying to figure out the following quandary, the implications of which are frankly astounding.
Are dust bunnies just dust, subject to gravity just like the rest of us? Alternatively, given their presence everywhere, are they an actual species (Latin: lepus domesticus shmutzus), preferring the cooler parts of the house?
I will have difficulty sleeping tonight.
R/SCG
Wednesday, January 22, 2014
When People Take Care of Their Rabbis....
Top of the afternoon to all...
My colleagues and I make every effort to connect with our people on an emotional level. We care about the folks under our spiritual charge, and truly want the best for them.
Most of the time, our people say thank you. Sometimes they do not, but we know that the sense of gratitude is very much there.
Every once in a while, they return the care we try to give them in the most resonant of ways.
Three stories:
I conducted a funeral for someone several years back. The daughter of the deceased was having some emotional difficulty afterwards. She came to see me. We had a good meeting, but it got cut short because I forgot that I had something to do with Jennifer later that evening. I felt terrible. We had also accomplished a great deal at that meeting. She scheduled another meeting. She came at the appropriate time. She told me that we had in fact accomplished a great deal, but also knew that I felt terrible about having to cut our time short. She wanted to make sure that I was not still feeling terrible from the previous meeting.
When I was leaving my last pulpit, many people gave me small parting gifts. The only one that I remember, and the source of which I remember, was one that was specifically picked out with me in mind. It was a pocket-size tool kit for roadside bicycle work. Someone knew exactly what makes me tick.
And then there was today. Some time back, a woman contacted me for a chat. She was going through some very significant personal challenges. One part of that conversation focused on knitting.
(Fast-forward to today)
There was a small package in my mailbox today. She sent me a hand-knitted cap, her own handiwork, to fit under my bicycle cap. There have been many gifts and mementoes over the course of my rabbinate. I will always remember and appreciate this one. CR - Thank you. You have no idea how much this one means to me, and how much you have just been one of the people who takes care of me.
Have a good day everyone.
R/SCG
My colleagues and I make every effort to connect with our people on an emotional level. We care about the folks under our spiritual charge, and truly want the best for them.
Most of the time, our people say thank you. Sometimes they do not, but we know that the sense of gratitude is very much there.
Every once in a while, they return the care we try to give them in the most resonant of ways.
Three stories:
I conducted a funeral for someone several years back. The daughter of the deceased was having some emotional difficulty afterwards. She came to see me. We had a good meeting, but it got cut short because I forgot that I had something to do with Jennifer later that evening. I felt terrible. We had also accomplished a great deal at that meeting. She scheduled another meeting. She came at the appropriate time. She told me that we had in fact accomplished a great deal, but also knew that I felt terrible about having to cut our time short. She wanted to make sure that I was not still feeling terrible from the previous meeting.
When I was leaving my last pulpit, many people gave me small parting gifts. The only one that I remember, and the source of which I remember, was one that was specifically picked out with me in mind. It was a pocket-size tool kit for roadside bicycle work. Someone knew exactly what makes me tick.
And then there was today. Some time back, a woman contacted me for a chat. She was going through some very significant personal challenges. One part of that conversation focused on knitting.
(Fast-forward to today)
There was a small package in my mailbox today. She sent me a hand-knitted cap, her own handiwork, to fit under my bicycle cap. There have been many gifts and mementoes over the course of my rabbinate. I will always remember and appreciate this one. CR - Thank you. You have no idea how much this one means to me, and how much you have just been one of the people who takes care of me.
Have a good day everyone.
R/SCG
Monday, January 20, 2014
Getting by with a Little Help from Friends...
Top of the evening everyone...
Interesting...where this entry is going, my mother would have quoted "Streetcar." "I have always depended on the kindness of strangers." I prefer the Beatles.
I was having a conversation with someone who was finishing up shiva. She said to me that she had to learn to let other people be there for her. It is not something we do naturally.
When I had my appendix out this summer, it was the same challenge. Heck...I keep a Swiss army knife for just such occasions. The folks at the hospital gave me the choice of either walking or being walked from the emergency room up to the operating theatre. I was feeling lousy, but otherwise completely mobile. I almost decided to walk. I let them wheel me.
It was difficult to make the decision. It was easy to live with it.
Folks, we have all been raised to be independent. We have all been raised to be able to provide for ourselves. I think this is a mistake. Independence is wonderful, but it is not real. If we stop to think about it, we realize that we are interdependent. We need others. We need to be able to accept that others have roles to play in our lives. Sometimes those roles involve doing for us the things that we cannot do for ourselves. That means that we also have to admit that there are things that we cannot do for ourselves.
We are not lesser people for realizing that we have limits. We become better people when we allow others into our lives, allowing them to be the generous, selfless people that they were raised to be.
R/SCG
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