Daniel Lubetzky

“Kindness in a leader has been found to create not only a happier work environment, but more loyal and committed employees who work harder and produce better work.”

Worth reading the story of Irena Sendler (Thx Tío Jorge). She worked as a plumber and risked her life countless times to save over 2,500 children, smuggling them through sewers from the Warsaw Ghetto.

I had the pleasure of meeting Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks recently. I learned so much from him in our short visit. He is a compelling thinker and leader, and his message is particularly resonant given the challenges we face today. I highly recommend exploring his writings and videos. Here is an excellent piece of his about transformative acts of kindness:
http://rabbisacks.org/kindness-strangers-chayei-sarah-5775/

‘Spiderman’ granted French citizenship after rescuing child from Paris balcony

Video of the rescue showed 22-year-old Mamoudou Gassama climbing up four floors of the apartment building in just seconds to rescue the child, to cheers from onlookers. By the time Parisian emergency services arrived at the building, he had already pulled the child to safety.

Today was a sad day. We gathered in Mexico to mourn the passing of my uncle, Tio Muni, my dad’s younger cousin. Along with the rest of my family in Mexico, Tio Muni (who looked like Albert Einstein and is hugging my dad in the picture below) welcomed my dad after the war. My dad was 17 and Muni was 9, yet he loved playing with his cousins as if he too were a little kid, after he was robbed of a childhood because of the Holocaust. I remember Tio Muni would share how my dad would organize games for his cousins, and how it was clear that my dad was having as much fun as they were. It was in Mexico that my dad finally had a “childhood.” My dad would also teach them about classical music as he developed a love for learning and enjoying life, and would give them each a few cents if they could divine the composer of a particular song. Now Tio Muni joins my dad in heaven, and I can only imagine them hugging, singing and whistling a tune together as they divine each other’s choices. Our world has lost two teddy bears. May our heaven rejoice with their souls and sweetness.

By Leonard Mlodinow

Ten years ago, when my son Nicolai was 11, his doctor wanted to put him on medication for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. “It would make him less wild,” I explained to my mother, who was then 85. “It would slow him down a bit.”

My mother grumbled. “Look around you,” she said in Yiddish. “Look how fast the world is changing. He doesn’t need to slow down. You need to speed up.”

It was a surprising recommendation from someone who had never learned to use a microwave. But recent research suggests she had a point: Some people with A.D.H.D. may be naturally suited to our turbocharged world. [Read more →]

The difference between Intelligence and Wisdom!
I found this worthy reading:

1. Intelligence leads to arguments.
Wisdom leads to settlements.
2. Intelligence is power of will.
Wisdom is power OVER will.
3. Intelligence is heat, it burns.
Wisdom is warmth, it comforts.
4. Intelligence is pursuit of knowledge, it tires the seeker.
Wisdom is pursuit of truth, it inspires the seeker.
5. Intelligence is holding on.
Wisdom is letting go.
6. Intelligence leads you. [Read more →]

It never crossed my mind that an idea that began to take shape years ago to heal divisions among nations would be as urgently needed to bridge divides within our own country.

Today, I am proud to announce how Empatico will help address the major challenges that our nation and world face in terms of growing alienation, hatred, and the inability to listen to one another.

Fifteen years ago, as I was traveling across the Middle East and the world to build a grassroots Movement to amplify the voice of Israeli and Palestinian moderates, I was struck by a concern shared by everyone with whom I spoke. Each side felt that their people was misunderstood and mischaracterized. Tensions were at an all-time high, but it was clear that each group’s desire was similar: Muslim, Christian or Jew, Arab or Israeli, secular or religious, they wanted to tell their stories and where they were coming from. They wanted to be treated with dignity and respect. [Read more →]