A key difference between living in Israel and the United States.
Published: Sunday, August 23, 2009
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Visitor Comments: 11
About the Author
Lori Palatnik
Lori Palatnik is an author and Jewish educator who has appeared on television and radio and has lectured on five continents, illuminating traditional practices and life-styles for our contemporary world. She and her husband, Rabbi Yaakov Palatnik, live in Washington, DC, where she is the Executive Director of The Jewish Women's Renaissance Project of Aish DC.
Lori is the author of "Friday Night and Beyond—The Shabbat Experience Step-by-Step"; "Remember My Soul", which explains the Jewish concepts of soul and the afterlife and a guide to anyone who has ever lost a loved one; and "Gossip—Ten Pathways to Eliminate It From Your Life and Transform Your Soul", featured on "Dr. Laura" and FoxNews.com.
(11) chaim ltrama , August 29, 2009
idealism
idealism without sound judgement can cause great harm. when a person has a solid grasp of who they are and what they believe in, plus the study of Torah, then they can make choices about ideas that they may wish to embrace. but without a solid faith and understanding of the world idealism can be a very destructive tool.
(10) Anonymous , August 26, 2009
not really materialism but necessity
I am not a particularly materialistic person, although I enjoy a car that works, etc. But the reality of living as an Orhodox Jews in America drives many of us to have to focus on earning significantly more money than we would otherwise have to. It's a necessity rather than a choice, and drives many of us into overdrive and overstress! I wish we had the luxury to be idealsitic!! We could create much nicer communities to live in.
(9) ruth housman , August 25, 2009
on Target
I think it's true, that as a nation, here, there are less protests and less massive marches to protest injustice of all kinds. All the same I know a lot of people, Jews and Non Jews whose conversation is about injustice and about making positive change, in all areas of life. If there is a Jewish gene for injustice, it might have something to do with what has been passed down also through history, namely a history of being sensitized to what it's like to feel marginalized. This is deep and we do teach it to our children, or hopefully, we do. I do believe that all people who suffer, can take the high road, meaning sensitization brings them to a deeper awareness of what needs to be righted in life, and that there is a low road that makes people then very self-righteous and often entitled, and those people grab and behave in ways that are the opposite of sensitive because they have learned another lesson, namely take what you can while you can. I see all people in a different light, meaning I spend a lot of time on environmental and other causes on line, and it's not just Jews and the Jewish gene that prompts these wonderful people who truly, do care. So maybe this gene runs through many "lines".
(8) Linda J. McArtney , August 25, 2009
To Lori Palatnik
Thank you Lori for all your wonderful and informative articles. Yourself, and what I have learned from them have also played a part in my decision to convert to Judiaism. Keep up the good work! Linda
(7) Berry , August 25, 2009
Gee Lori, I live in Israel. What idealism did you see here?
Just curious as to what you're referring to.