Today's Greeting Cards

I recently came across this article:
Adulterers need cards too
Having an affair? Maybe you'd like to send something from Cathy Gallagher's Secret Lover Collection of greeting cards.

"Gallagher says her Secret Lover Collection of 24 cards is the first line exclusively for people having affairs, and she expects hot sales. She says half of married people have had affairs (though some studies show the figure to be far less -- more like 15% of married women and 22% of married men, according to the University of Chicago)." "Look at how many people on soap operas are having affairs. That's real. And I think that's why this is so scary -- these cards are real, and for a lot of people it hits very close to home." Gallagher has received feedback that maybe this new line of cards isn't the most moral of things to do. To that she said consumers, not the morality police, will decide if her business succeeds or fails.

So what does Hallmark think of these new cards? They said that their existing lines already cover this topic. Spokeswoman Rachel Bolton said that cards like, "I love the private world that you and I share," are sufficient. Hallmark doesn't seem to be worried about the competition.

I think Gallagher's statement about consumerism and morality sums up today's generation. If people will buy the product than it must be OK to sell. What does morality have to do with business? From a Jewish point of view morality has everything to do with business. Not to commit adultery is one of the ten commandments. The Torah acknowledges that there is a drive within us to cheat and that is why it instructs us not to do it. The same reason it is inherently wrong to steal is the same reason it is inherently wrong to commit adultery. Therefore we should not be condoning behavior that is unethical.

Floating Freedom

Imagine a mile-long stretch of 25-story-tall buildings floating on water. Do you know what you have just pictured?

It is called,
"Freedom Ship." Yes, 2.7 million tons of freedom, floating across the ocean blue. It can hold 50,000 residents, 20,000 visitors and 15,000 crew members. On board you will find a world class casino, ferryboat transportation system, $200 million hospital, school system offering kindergarten through college education, international trade center, 200 open acres for recreation, marina for residents' yachts, golf driving range, bicycle paths, large shopping mall, and a landing strip for aircraft. This floating city will circle the world every three years. Real estate prices aboard the ship range from $180,000 to $44 million.

"Freedom ship" is an ironic name for what this ship represents. The makers of this ship are telling us that if we had all these luxuries we would be free. The question is... "what exactly do we become free to do?" Freedom described in the Torah is always connected to meaning. What is freedom without a purpose to it? The real freedom ship is a ship with a map and destination. We need a map to know how to navigate through this complex world and we need to have a reason why we are traveling. With these tools we will arrive at our final stop having lead a meaningful and productive journey.

The Bee Buzz

The buzz of a bee will send chills down the spine of almost anybody. Most of us, if we could, would trap or squash one on sight. It was interesting to read that there is a tiny parasite known as a 'vampire mite' that has been knocking out bee hives left and right. In just six months the vampire mites have managed to destroy 40 - 60 percent of the bees in the U.S.

"If honeybees ceased to exist, two-thirds of the citrus, all of the watermelons, the blueberries, strawberries, pecans and beans would disappear," said Jerry Hayes, apiary inspection chief with the state's Division of Plant Industry.

The varroa mites (vampire mites) are now immune to the chemicals once used to kill them. Hundreds of researchers across the globe are looking for a solution. "Beekeepers need something this year or next to keep their colonies going," said Jay Evans, a geneticist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Bee Research Lab in Beltsville, Md.

So the pesky little bee is really a tremendous asset to our world. It is amazing how taking a little time to understand something can enlighten us to the fact that things are not always what they seem. If I can learn this about a bee then surely I can learn this about a person.

Circumcison and AIDS

"...AIDS is now the leading cause of death in sub-Saharan Africa. Since the beginning of the epidemic over 15 million Africans have died from AIDS. During 2004 an estimated 2.3 million adults and children died as a result of AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa."

So what have researchers come up with to combat this epidemic? Circumcision... of course. "The study's preliminary results, disclosed Tuesday by the Wall Street Journal, showed that circumcision reduced the risk of contracting HIV by 70 percent -- a level of protection far better than the 30 percent risk reduction set as a target for an AIDS vaccine." How does this make sense? Well... "Laboratory studies have found that the foreskin is rich in white blood cells, which are favored targets of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS." (There are many other medical advantages of circumcision.)

I find it ironic that the civilization that brought circumcision to the world so long ago least needs this new found safeguard. Circumcision began as a covenant between man and G-d. The Jewish people were to be a holy nation, a kingdom of priests. Judaism feels that sex is a positive thing but in the context of marriage.

A Happy Moment

In 1998, Martin Seligman, President of the A.P.A. (American Psychological Association) saw that until then psychology had been focused on why people are messed up and not why they are happy. He said, "I realized that my profession was half-baked..." So he guided the A.P.A. in a new direction as they began to research "the enabling conditions that make human beings flourish."

Some of the results were published in the January, 2005 edition of Time magazine. They concluded that it was not money, power & sex that made people happier but rather two key elements. One was keeping a gratitude journal and the other was performing acts of altruism. In other words being thankful for what we have and doing kind deeds makes a person happier. I didn't flinch when I read this. Jews have been saying this for thousands of years! Being thankful and doing kind deeds is built into the core of Judaism.

The first thing a Jew says in the morning is "modeh ani" which means "I am thankful" and one of the most admired figures of the Torah, Abraham, is famous for the kind deeds he did. These are small examples of just how ingrained these two happiness factors are in our religion.