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DANIEL ROBERTS's avatar

I like rabbinical beard pulls. They usually (as in the parable) precede valuable outside-the-box thinking!

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Josh Blumenthal's avatar

My beard is rabbinical, but only my beard is rabbinical.

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DANIEL ROBERTS's avatar

i hope my brother grows a RB this year.

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Josh Blumenthal's avatar

As always (even when I disagreed :) ), I enjoyed this read. In what I call my Dark Days, I learned to think in terms of gratitude, to remind myself of all I had for which I was grateful, the least important being anything material. It was a wonderful lesson still with me nearly 20 years later. I recall it each night after the Sh'mah. As for Hillel, I have to crow a bit. This is my father's book: https://www.abebooks.com/9780838102190/story-Hillel-Aaron-H-Blumenthal-0838102190/plp

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Josh Blumenthal's avatar

Live a good life? Hillel's famous answer might also serve us well. ""What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor. That is the whole Torah; the rest is the explanation of this—go and study it!"

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David Roberts's avatar

I've always been fascinated by the difference between Hillel's golden rule expressed as prohibition and the golden rule expressed as action.

I prefer the Hillel version.

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Josh Blumenthal's avatar

If I recall correctly, and I offer no assurance of that, it is reminiscent of a discussion about the Ten Commandments, of which 8 are written in the negative. It makes it easier to obey them as they set minimums that are easy to understand and obey. "You can do what you want, just don't do this" is not a high bar. Hillel actually asks little of us in his version. Affirmative rules are much more complex, requiring thought and interpretation. What does it mean to honor your parents? Certainly it means more than do not embarrass them.

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noah's avatar

One of my kids’ favourite books is A Squash And A Squeeze

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