Be kind to yourself. And others.

77% Weekly Newsletter

Ladino Text

Be kind to yourself. And others.

 #wisdom_biscuit: Be forgiving. Of yourself. And others.

I received a text message from my buddy, Fritz. It was typed in letters from the Hebrew alphabet. But it was neither Hebrew nor Yiddish; it was Ladino.

Yiddish evolved from Middle German being written in Hebrew letters. Ladino is a similar blend of Spanish and Hebrew.

I could recognize “Rabbi Brian” at the top of what Fritz wrote and very little else.

I gave him hearty praise for his skills. Nonetheless, Fritz replied, “I am afraid I made a few too many grammatical errors.”

I wrote back, “I pray I would be as forgiving of all issues in my life as easily as I am able to overlook grammatical errors in phrases texted to me in Ladino.”

This made me think.

About me. And about Fritz. And about you.

  • How willing are we to forgive the mistakes others make?
  • How difficult a time do we have in allowing ourselves to not be perfect?

This newsletter is called The 77% Weekly for a reason. Life is not an honors course – it’s pass/fail. And, so long as you are breathing, doing more good than harm, and acting more compassionately every year

 

#wisdom_biscuit: Be forgiving. Of yourself. And others.

“I love you” x 3

For reasons a team of psychoanalysts might have been able to crack, my dad couldn’t get the three-word phrase “I love you” to come out of his mouth. I knew he loved us. It’s just he couldn’t say it. I rationalized that I didn’t need to hear those three words, but it hurt anyway. This is the story about how

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Truth Matters

I am standing in Kenya, with my left foot in the Northern Hemisphere and my right foot in the Southern. A line on the ground indicates the equator. Young men—asking for nothing, but hoping for tips—entertain and educate tourists, like me, about the Coriolis effect. They pour water into bowls with small holes at the bottom and let the water

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Stuff Gets To Me

✧✧✧ As I pack up to leave after my workout, someone asks me, “Hey, Rabbi, how are things going?” I’m not one for small talk. Especially after being called by my title. “Well,” I reply. “I’m sad.” “Why?” “I’m thinking about the girls who went to school in the morning in Minab, Iran—over a hundred of them—killed by a bomb.”

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77% Weekly Newsletter
77% Weekly Newsletter