Mendel Bluming | Blogger

It is so natural and joyous to care for our children and yet what a challenge to show that love, patience and care to our parents. Why is it so? It’s easy to write it off to the ills of our societal values and of course there is truth to that, but here’s a different angle.  We are all descendants of Adam and Eve, the first human beings. We have inherited from them the basic ingredients of our human nature.  One thing made Adam and Eve very different to the rest of us. They didn't have parents. They were created as adults by G-d, not born as babies to parents. They had no umbilical cords. We on the other hand do have parents. And we inherit their genes, all the way back to Adam and Eve. That's why the desire to look after our children is human nature, but looking after our parents are skills that don't come naturally. Adam and Eve knew how to parent, but they never knew how to treat a parent. This is a skill that we need to learn. If children are taught ...

The healthcare debate rages on in the USA. The costs are so great and they are beyond what many (most) families can afford and yet costs keep on rising and the price tag to society is skyrocketing. How can we leave families without healthcare coverage? How can healthcare   coverage  be provided in a fiscally responsible manner? What to do? So here is a word to the wise from the Bible, the Torah (Exodus 15:26 ) “...if you will diligently heed the voice of G-d, your G-d, and do what is upright in His eyes and carefully listen to all His commandments and statutes , then all of the illness that I (G-d) brought upon Egypt , I will not bring upon you for I am G-d your healer.” The two parts of the verse seem to be contradictory. If G-d promises not to bring any illness upon the people why then is G-d referred to as ‘your healer’ since a healer is only necessary after one already has an illness? The answer is that G-d is teaching us two important lessons about health and heali...

If your wife askes you if you love her during a particularly lousy day in your relationship on which you really do not feel the love (to say it mildly) should you answer her honestly? Yes… and that answer should be: "of course I love you!" My momentary lapse of feeling due to the inevitable vicissitudes of normal relationships does not threaten the essential foundation of our relationship. So it is perfectly honest to say "I love you", even at a moment when you don't feel it. And an amazing thing happens when you do. Your heart starts to melt. By mouthing the words "I love you", not because you felt like saying it, but because your wife needed to hear it, you have reached outside of yourself, bursting the bubble of self-absorption that is probably the cause of the blockage in the first place. Now you are open to feel again. It won't be long before the love starts flowing back, more powerful and passionate than ever. The same applies to...