Rabbi’s Musings & Amusings

There have been some strange and unusual events in the last few weeks.

The Francis Scott Key Bridge was opened in March 1977 to carry the Baltimore Beltway (I-695) across the Patapsco River. The bridge bears an estimated 11.5 million vehicles annually.

A friend who is a dentist gives mishloach manos full of huge cavity-inducing candies… and a business card.

In truth, there is more of a connection between rotted teeth and Purim than you may realize.

We live in crazy times. I don’t think anyone will argue with that. But I recently realized that I don’t ever remember a period in my life when people didn’t comment that we are living in crazy times.

I clearly recall sitting at a Shabbos table a few years ago when someone said exactly that.

Is it possible that our English teacher was right (or correct)? Could it be that punctuation really does make a difference in life and, in fact, could save lives?

Many are familiar with the difference between “Let’s eat Grandma” and “Let’s eat, Grandma.” The first is a grotesque form of cannibalism while the second depicts a lovely outing. So, it seems commas indeed save lives.

Recently, one of our neighbors joined us for a Shabbos seudah. The neighbor appreciates fine wine, and he gave us a bottle as a gift. It’s always a bit uncomfortable for me when I’m gifted with a bottle of wine, as the extent of my appreciation of wine doesn’t go much beyond Cream Malaga, Bartenura, and Asti. I do not understand when people swoosh their wine in their glasses or any other “wine etiquette.”

Doing construction is exciting and simultaneously exceedingly frustrating and trying on one’s patience. One of the things I remember most about when we did construction was myriad wires everywhere. Eventually, all those wires were hidden within the walls. But before the walls were erected, and new outlets were created, there were numerous wires crisscrossing each other. Those wires were plugged into extension cords that themselves were plugged into other extension cords, with all those cords competing for the same few outlets.