Positive Word Power “I’m a bum,” the boy told his little brother. “I got kicked out of yeshivah, I smoke and I curse. If I were you, I’d stay away from me.” In fact, only a few months before, the boy had been in yeshivah. He was far from a star student, but he came […]
Positive Word Power Walk down the health and beauty aisle of your local department store. Arrayed on the shelves are hundreds of products, each promising to make the user look, feel and smell attractive. Move along to the cosmetics counter, and you’ll find out, if you don’t already know, that an ounce of lipstick, a […]
Positive Word Power Meatballs and pasketti. Bunny wabbit. Eighteen, nineteen, ten-teen. Learning is a process of making mistakes. Children, who are new to everything, tend to make a lot of mistakes, and many of them sound adorably funny to the adults who dote on their every word. It pays, however, to be sensitive to the reactions […]
Positive Word Power The young mother, out on a shopping trip, noticed a plastic baseball bat that she was sure her 4-year-old son would adore. It was just the right size and weight for him, and would satisfy his yearning to play ball like his older brothers did. She couldn’t wait to see the smile […]
Positive Word Power Translated into English, the irate wife’s Yiddish letter to her merchant husband, off on a long business trip, was a comedy of paradox. “My dear husband — you should live to 120 — you left me without money to pay the rent, and our landlord, who should remain healthy and strong, has […]
Positive Word Power Fourteen-year-old Yaakov loved children. He also had a vivid imagination and was an expert at weaving intricate tales that could keep children spellbound for hours. One day, his younger brother had a birthday party. Soon, there were 18 first graders dashing around his house, so rambunctious that they could not be organized […]
Positive Word Power It was 9:25 a.m. and Aaron Schwartz had not yet appeared at his office. Moshe Weiss slouched on a plush armchair, waiting for Mr. Schwartz, his lawyer, to arrive. “I’m sure he’ll be here any second,” the secretary said soothingly. Moments later, the elevator door opened and in walked Mr. Schwartz. He strode […]
POSITIVE WORD POWER Zev and Noach had been business partners for nearly 20 years. Their small wholesale operation had grown into a major regional supplier of imported fabric. But now, Zev felt the time had come to wind down his career and spend more time learning. The partnership was dissolved, but there were many controversies […]
Positive Word Power Let’s go on the new roller coaster, The Cataclysm!” one boy suggests to the group. They are visiting an amusement park on Chol Hamoed and everyone is wildly in favor of his idea. Only David, the boy who fears heights, hangs back as they all make a dash to The Cataclysm’s long […]
Positive Word Power The Maharal teaches that every organ is designed to reflect its function. For instance, the eye is the only organ into which one can peer directly. One can see inside the eye because the eye’s purpose is to see. The speaking organs, on the other hand, are partly hidden and partly revealed. The lips […]