Rabbi Claude's Scribbles

"I sit by your grave and weep, Silently, not to disturb your sleep. Rest in peace my beautiful son It won't be long before we are one, While I lie down by your side. And talk, no secrets to hide. Tell me, Eric, what did I do wrong? What should I have done to make you strong? Now I sit here and cry, Waiting to be with you when I die." 'Life Could Be Verse: reflections on love, loss, and what really matters', Health Communication Inc.,Douglas, K, 2014, [p. 72] "I remember one of the first ever internships I ever did was for a fashion shoot where Caroline was going to be on the cover of a magazine. She was incredible and so inspiring on the day. She never complained and made it look easy, even though she was going through multiple outfit and hair and make up changes. I was exhausted just watching her. The best bit? She came up to us interns (there were three of us) and spoke to us individually about t

James J. Kilroy (d.1962) was an inspector who worked in the Fore River Shipyard in Quincy, Massachusetts. During WWII, the staff at the shipyard needed to increase production to turn out as many ships as they could to help the war effort. Kilroy's job included checking the rivets that held the ships together, making sure that they had been placed properly and fastened solidly. In the course of his daily duties, Kilroy had to fit between tight spaces and often entered very narrow areas to check the rivets, which he counted in blocks. As he approved an area, he used some chalk to certify that it had passed his strict criteria and left a tick as a mark of his inspection. In those days, workers were paid on a piecework basis and this was calculated per rivet. When Kilroy had left for the day, the workers would erase his tick so that when another inspector checked the rivets, they would be counted a second time and the workers would be paid twice for the same job!

Exodus 10 : (22) Moses held out his arm toward the sky and thick darkness descended upon all the land of Egypt for three days. (23) People could not see one another, and for three days no one could get up from where he was; but all the Israelites enjoyed light in their dwellings. Rashi on Exodus 10:22 ויהי חשך אפלה … שלשת ימים — there was darkness of gloom when no man saw another during those three days, and there was moreover another period of three days’ darkness twice as thick as this when no man rose from his place: one who happened to be sitting when this second period of darkness began was unable to rise, and one who was then standing was unable to sit down.  (cf. Midrash Tanchuma, Bo 1; Exodus Rabbah 14:3). "Watch out now, take care beware the thoughts that linger winding up inside your head - The hopelessness around you in the dead of night Beware of sadness" (c) George Harrison 1970 This last quote, which sounds as if it could have been