Opinion

During my teenage years, I often accompanied my father to a local Friday night Chumash shiur. Given by Rabbi Baruch Twerski, who had been my seventh-grade rebbi, the shiur was based on the thoughts of the Ohr HaChaim HaKadosh. Rabbi Twerski would have a pile of s’farim open, one on top of the other, and he would weave many different ideas together during the shiur. When the shiur ended, piping hot kugel and cold seltzer would be served. Back then, I did not appreciate seltzer much, preferring a cup of soda any day. But after that shiur, along with the hot kugel, that seltzer tasted divine.

I am blessed to have three wonderful brothers-in-law, each of whom I enjoy spending time with, though they are very different from each other.

In 1931, Ray Henderson produced a popular song that included the words, “Life is just a bowl of cherries. So live and laugh at it all.” The words were meant to suggest a carefree, wonderful life.

The fourth of Nisan is the yahrzeit of my esteemed sabba (grandfather), my father’s father, Mr. Abe Staum z”l.

It’s been said that reality is based on perception. Or, said differently, we don’t live in a world of reality; we live in a world of perceptions. What I perceive I am experiencing – what I perceive that I see and hear – becomes my reality, whether I have misread the situation or not.

An author always seeks to conclude his writing with a poignant and memorable ending. It is integral to have a captivating opener to pique the interest of the reader, and it is vital to have a captivating conclusion that will resonate with the reader.