Rabban Shimon ben Gamaliel said: On three things the world is sustained: on truth, on judgment, and on peace, as it is it says (Zechariah 8:16): “Speak the truth to one another, render in your gates judgments that are true and make for peace.”
Rabbi Judah the Prince said: Which is the proper course that a man should choose for himself? That which is an honor to him and elicits honor from his fellow men. Be as scrupulous about a light precept as of a weighty one, for you do not know the reward allotted for each precept. Balance the loss incurred by the fulfillment of a precept against the gain and the accruing from a transgression against the loss it involves. Reflect on three things and you will never come to sin: Know what is above you –a seeing eye, a hearing ear, and all your deeds recorded in a book
Be careful in your relations with the government; for they draw no man close to themselves except for their own interests. They appear as friends when it is to their advantage, but they do not stand by a man in his time of stress.
Hillel said: Do not separate yourself from the community; and do not trust in yourself until the day of your death. Do not judge your fellow until you are in his place. Do not say something that cannot be understood but will be understood in the end. Say not: When I have time I will study because you may never have the time.
It is not incumbent upon you to finish the task. Yet, you are not free to desist from it.
I have always found that to be very powerful and somewhat haunting.
Archives for October 2004
Stranger moves in, redecorates while woman’s on vacation
Does anyone else hear “ONCE IN A LIFETIME ” by the Talking Heads
“And you may tell yourself
This is not my beautiful house!
And you may tell yourself
This is not my beautiful wife!”
Language- How many do you speak?
I was raised in Los Angeles in a house where English was the primary language. However, both of my parents are former Peace Corps volunteers who were stationed in Ecuador. They both speak Spanish fluently and when my sisters and I were little they would try and have “private” conversations in Spanish.
The end result was that I picked up a lot of Spanish and even took it briefly in school. While I would not say that I am fluent, I still understand a fair amount. One of my sisters really focused upon it and is very proficient in it.
In addition to Spanish and English I also received much exposure to Hebrew and Yiddish. I took classes in those as well. There was a time in which I was enrolled concurrently in classes in English, Hebrew and Yiddish. I was supposed to continue my Spanish coursework, but four languages was just too much so I dropped it.
As time passed I focused upon my Hebrew. At one point in time I began to have dreams in Hebrew and I really felt very comfortable with it. I eventually even took an advanced course in College. There were 15 of us in there and I was one of three students who was not Israeli and or did not speak it at home.
The rule was that once class began you were not allowed to speak anything but Hebrew. It was an excellent class and at times very challenging for me, but I really enjoyed it.
The challenge with speaking a “foreign” language is to make sure that you continue to use it. Unfortunately for a variety of reasons I began to use my Hebrew less and less and my proficiency and comfort level dropped as well.
Now I find myself eavesdropping on conversations so that I can practice. It is rough some times because my vocabulary has shrunk and I find myself racking my brain to remember what the meaning is of certain words. . One of these days I need to resume my learning because I am sure that with a little practice I can bring myself back up to speed.
I am sick
The lack of sleep finally caught up with me. I have a bit of a cold, and I hate it. I hate sniffling, I hate sneezing and I hate having to work through this. If I had my druthers I’d be in and out of bed and the steamroom. Come to think of it, the gym is open so I can get to the steamroom, maybe I’ll go.
Have you ever noticed that many people use the expression “If I had my druthers.” I just used it twice in less than 30 seconds and it occurs to me that I am not sure if I ever have owned any “druthers.” I might now or might have in the past, but I am not sure because I do not know what “druthers” look like.
If you have lost your “druthers” what can you do to replace them. Do they sell them in stores? Are they expensive? Do they wear out? How often must you replace them? Could you use someone else’s “druthers” and if so, does it require surgery? Do you have to worry about your body rejecting someone else’s “druthers” or can you just plug them in.
I wonder about things like this.
The Return of Band Aid
This was mentioned in at least two other places that I am aware of TTLB and Wizbang, but I had to comment.
“Sun 24 Oct at 23:30 on BBC Three
BBC Three marks the 20th anniversary of Band Aid’s Do They Know It’s Christmas – the song that rocked the world.”
Band Aid founders planning new charity effort for Africa
Twenty years. High school, I was in high school. Now some of you will look at this and think of me as being a young pup, and you are right. I am. But it is a little surreal to look at a 20 year time frame and realize that it is no longer the bulk of my life.
It was a short time later during the Summer of 1985 that I watched Live Aid at a pub called Champs in Jerusale. I Googled Champs and found an address of 19 Jaffa Street. Wow, it is still there.
I have just a few stories to tell about my time there, Lalos and Pini’s Pub. Not to mention Ritchie’s Pizza, Pizza Rimini and a bunch of other places. Of course how many 16 year-olds get the opportunity to leave their parents for an entire Summer and then not have a good time.
I wonder if they tried to bring back the original members of Band Aid how it would fare. Let’s take a look at who it included:
Band Aid
Bob Geldof- I still think of him as Pink.
Midge Ure
Phil Collins- Doing Disney soundtracks
George Michael- Did he ever recover from getting arrested for masturbating in public.
Jody Watley
Paul Weller
Paul Young
and members of:
Bananarama
Boomtown Rats
Duran Duran- Just released a new album
Heaven 17
Kool & The Gang- Sing with me now “Celebrate just being paid to sing this song”
Spandau Ballet
Status Quo
U2- Still going strong
Ultravox
I hear VH-1 special. Excuse me while I go work on my lines.