The JDC, The Joint Distribution Committee, was a Jewish relief organization founded in 1914 through a $50,000 donation from Jacob Schiff, a Reform Jew. The JDC was involved in relief work and provided financial help to the great Yeshivas in Europe. Although the organization was founded and run by Reform Jews, they attempted to help... Read more »
The Chazon Ish (1878-1953) lived in a modest home in Bnei Brak. He had no Yeshiva, no children, no Shul and no official position. Yet, he was recognized as the Torah leader of his generation. One day in October 1952 the secular Prime Minister of Israel, David Ben-Gurion (1886-1973), attempted to bridge the chasm between... Read more »
In a previous series for SmartBrief, I laid out my five-step productivity process for leaders, which I then turned into a Productivity Blueprint. This post dives deeper into the second of my five steps, sharing for maximal productivity. As helpful as meetings are for leaders to set and clarify expectations and build relationships, there still needs to... Read more »
In a previous series for Olami, Naphtali laid out his 5-step productivity process for leaders, which he then turned into a Productivity Blueprint. This post is the second to dive deeper into the second of his five steps, sharing for maximal productivity, and picks up from this last one, which made the case for huddling... Read more »
In what appears to be an unprecedented departure from a strictly factual, no-nonsense presentation of the news, the New York Times featured a story last week on the “importance” of sharing light gossip. What regularly features in Washington DC and LA papers is now poised to spread to NYC media as a purported means to... Read more »
Any tragedy that happens to the Jewish people – or to the world in general – requires us to pause, check ourselves and do Teshuva on everything that needs it. The tragedy that just happened in Meron is no different. But there was surely something deeper going on. The period between Pesach and Shavuos was... Read more »
“The only thing certain is that the future is uncertain.” (R.Y. Eisenman, March 1, 2021) Here is a paragraph from the NY Times on March 2, 2020: At a meeting with drug company chief executives at the White House, Mr. Trump said his administration would work to reduce regulatory obstacles for the creation of treatments... Read more »
Perhaps the biggest challenge for today’s educators is to establish the right amount of authority within their virtual classrooms. On the one hand, the authoritarian approach that so many of us were raised with simply doesn’t work. Authoritarian teachers rely on copious rules which they religiously enforce. In a classroom setting, the authoritarian is a... Read more »
Over Pesach, I noticed a woman I thought was Baila Friedberg coming out of Shul. “Good Yom Tov, Mrs. Friedberg.” “Good Yom Tov. However, my name is Mrs. Greenstein, and I am the twin sister of Baila. I am staying by her for Pesach.” I knew Baila Friedberg for over twenty years and never heard... Read more »
What am I looking forward to on the day I take off my mask for good? Am I looking forward to breathing again? For sure! Am I looking forward to not seeing the world through fogged-up glasses? You bet! Am I looking forward to not having some irritating cloth stuck in my mouth? You better... Read more »
