Short Skirts and Whole Body Hugs

Tags

Bar Mitzvah, Bat Mitzvah, behavior, Ethics

I attended a joint bar and bat mitzvah this weekend as a representative of the temple. It was a lovely experience helping the families and greeting all their guests as they entered the temple.

As everyone entered I could not believe how old 13 year olds can look. So much so that I was immediately thinking about what is going to happen and who is going to be invited to my children’s bar/bat mitzvahs in a few years.

Here is the list of things I was astonished at with these kids entering our sanctuary. (I feel like such an old man but on my defense I have always been quite the square.)

1. Skirts? Why are parents thinking that it is OK for their 13-year-old to enter a holy sanctuary with skirts that would be the appropriate length if they were a foot and a half shorter?
2. Shoulders? It is fall and they are entering in straps a half-inch wide. Where is the sweater?
3. Boys? Almost all were wearing suit jackets. Suit jackets. You cannot tell me that some of those boys wanted to wear something inappropriate and they were turned around. Why not the girls?
4. Up and down? Why are they up and down in the services? If you are not going to stay and be part of your friends service, please do not come. Do not go in the hall and make a bunch of noise. Do not disappear and do in appropriate things.
5. Hugging? Since when did a casual greeting hug become a whole body hug in the hall way? Is it required for 13-year-old boys to be wrapping their legs around the girls as they hug? This again is occurring with all the noise in the hallway.

Do the parents care? Do they have a clue what is going on?

What do I do?

What do you think?

Book: Values, Prosperity, and the Talmud: Business Lessons from the Ancient Rabbis

Tags

business, Ethics, Talmud

Values, Prosperity, and the Talmud: Business Lessons from the Ancient Rabbis

I am going to get this book out of the library. This is the midrash on business. I am enjoying it.

Here are the lessons from chapter 1:

1. The ultimate role of money is to afford individuals and companies the time and resources to learn, grow spiritually, and do good deeds.
2. The truly wealthy people are those who delight in what they have.
3. Profitable companies have an additional responsibility to do good deeds with their money by increasing community prosperity through jobs.
4. Financially successful companies focus on pleasing customers, respecting employees, and producing excellent products and services. Companies that strive solely for profit will fail.

by Larry Kahaner

I love the idea that there is no glory in being poor for poor’s sake. If you have the ability to earn money and do good with it do so. But if you cannot delight in what you have and take care of others than all that money is a waste.

What are the lessons this ancient book has to offer us? If more companies followed these ideas would we avoid the big crashes and failures of companies?

Book: Good Book by David Plotz

Tags

Bible, book

I am reading the Good Book by David Plotz. David wrote the Good Book as a series of posts while working for the online magazine Slate.

It is very interesting going through the Bible from the perspective of an unlearned person. Many of the stories are uncomfortable to read. Many of the stories are avoided in public discussions of Bible. In the end it is a wonder that the image of the Jewish people isn’t that we are a blood thirsty brutish people ready to slaughter all who get in our way.

I am still reading and am not sure what to think of the Good Book. I am not sure whether I am ready to take a literary walk through the Bible. Most times the Rabbinic wrestling and interpretations are much more palatable.