“You must love your neighbor as yourself.”

Leviticus 19:18

“Who is my neighbor?”

Luke 19:29

What does ecumenical dialogue look like? I think of two images. The first image is the more formal. Learned scholars and theologians from one religious denomination sit down across the table with learned scholars and theologians from another denomination. One scholar shares her or his thoughts, usually with a vocabulary that comes from years and years of schooling. Another scholar shares her or his thoughts, again, with an impressive vocabulary. Differences are recognized yet common ground is reached. And then, two or more theologians get together and write a document that comes from their dialogue, and, of course, the language is lofty and academic. Everybody shakes hands and goes home feeling that something great was accomplished, and, indeed, something great was accomplished. There is just one problem. Only a few people are really aware of the dialogue. A few people get a copy of the document that is derived from the dialogue, and, of the few people who read it, only those with advanced degrees understand it. It is important stuff, to be sure, but it is “jargon” and only those who know the jargon benefit.

Here is another image. Two neighbors of different faiths get together and have a cup of coffee or tea. They sit across the table and share their faith with each other. They do not judge. They do not proselytize. They simply talk and listen. They love and respect each other and, when their meeting is over, they both leave informed of each other’s faith and become closer friends.

There is no jargon, or documents that come with language that doesn’t translate well into everyday language. It’s just two friends building a bond and sharing each other’s faith.

So I ask you, of these two images of ecumenical dialogue, which one is going to impact your community more?

The word ecumenical comes from the Greek “Oukumene,” which simply means, “community.” Ecumenical people are community-minded people. Put simply — ecumenical people are good neighbors looking out for the neighborhood, both local and global.

When Jesus quoted Leviticus 19:18 “Love your neighbor as yourself,” a lawyer asked him “who is my neighbor?” The answer was the parable of the Good Samaritan. I don’t know if that was the answer that the lawyer was looking for, but the people of Judea and Galilee had no time for the people of Samaria. The fact that the Samaritan was the hero of the story would have made many listeners uncomfortable, perhaps even angry.

I would venture to say that the same question could be asked today and a similar answer would make some people uncomfortable, maybe even angry? If we look throughout our neighborhood and beyond our community, you will discover that many of the people with whom we coexist do not believe what we believe, vote the way we vote, look alike, dress alike or like the same kind of foods. It is no news that we live in the midst of diversity, especially in south Florida, and, if we want our community to be stronger, than we must heed the call to be better neighbors. Loving our neighbor as ourselves requires us to get uncomfortable and challenges our limits. Yet, good neighbors, this is crucial.

Who is going to lead the charge? The answer is you. Theologians can only do so much. Community leaders can only do so much. But if you invite your neighbor out for coffee and engage in friendly conversation, you just may move a mountain or two.

Pastor Gross is a pastor of Zion Lutheran Church, located at 959 SE 6 Ave., Deerfield Beach, FL 33441. For more information, call 954-421-3146 or visit www.zion-lutheran.org.

Have you ever heard of the term “tough love?” People will say, “I think that person needs some tough love.” There is a new saying that is true that I heard the other day, and I think it’s the opposite of that term “tough love” because “love is tough.”

Valentine’s Day is just a few days away, and it is easy to love on special occasions like this. However, there are still many days left out of the year where some days are easy to show love, and some days we have to work hard at showing love to others. How about showing someone love who does not love you back or even someone that may not treat you the way you believe you deserve to be treated. Love should be a big part of our lives. Love is something meant to be expressed, not something to be kept a secret. It seems like people even have a hard time saying “I love you” when we should say it all the time, and we should also show it all the time. It is tough sometimes, but it is not impossible. Why is it that we can say that we love our car, job, dog or even our favorite restaurant, but we cannot say it to each other. We have a hard time saying I love you to the ones that really mean the most to us.

We have to understand that we need God’s help to love others in the same way that He loves us. We always want to put conditions on love, but God does not do that to us. We speak with our actions and say I will love you if you do this for me, treat me this way or buy me this, etc. God does not work on the point system and neither should we. God tells us to love others, period. There are no conditions on that love. God does not say love someone if they do something for you or make you feel a certain way. God says love each other, and, if God tells us to love, then we must be able to do it.

Love is so many things, but it is not conditional. Let’s look at what love is.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7

4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud.

5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged.

6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out.

7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

NLT

Love gives us the ability to be sensitive to the needs, hurts and desires of others and also to feel with them, and experience the world from their perspective. Love gives us the ability to give with no conditions or expectations. Love builds up and encourages; it is determining what is best for someone and doing it. Pray and ask God to help you love the way He loves and He will help you. Have a Happy Valentine’s Day. I LOVE YOU!

Pastor Tony Guadagnino is the pastor at Christian Love Fellowship church, located at 801 SE 10 St., Deerfield Beach, FL 33441. For more information, visit www.clfministries.org.

By Emily Rosen

ERosen424@aol.com

www.emilyrosen424.com

There’s not much one can count on these days but February is still loyal, and comes around every year touting “love” — whatever that is or is about to be. I have this very scary cartoon patched to my kitchen wall. It pictures a human woman with her arms around a shrimp about her size. The caption reads, “The other day I told my A.I. (Artificial Intelligence, in case you’ve been hiding under a rock) that I love shrimp tempura and it said, ‘What’s that?’ And I repeated in a surprised voice, ‘What’s shrimp tempura?’ and it said, ‘No. What is love?’” Do you have an answer?

When I wrote my first February column those many years ago, I interviewed a bunch of people and received a variety of responses none of which had any connection with the others.

Of course, there are all kinds of love: for children, relatives, pets, friends, country, eggplant, sports cars, football teams, Paris, a new kitchen, Bradley Cooper or the beach. (I know, left out a few things). But I am talking about what is referred to as “romantic” love — the kind that is supposed to last forever but half the time doesn’t. One of the tidbits I recently read in an academic psychology magazine suggested that research showed that “romantic love” (undefined) lasts an average of 18 months. Perhaps, it was referring to lust. I never actually followed up on that because it rang very possible to me.

On another angle, I recently received the following answer, in all seriousness, to ‘What is love?’ from the male half of a 60 year plus marital union: “Love is always giving in to your partner.” Try passing that around at your next dinner party and let me know who starts the fireworks and how it turned out.

In a recent Sunday New York Times “VOWS” section, an inspirational love story about a couple who met through an Internet dating site, proceeded to find out “everything” about each other through e-mails because they were geographically distant and, after two years, finally met and — yay! — married!

Both had been widowed, she 85; he, 87. Cynic that I am, when I hear a story of such compatibility, I generally ask for a report on the relationship after about 20 years. Check mate!

I will not seriously address a recent New York Times article about people falling in love with their robots – presumably “programmed” to be the perfect mate — and the subsequent fallout of massive changes in sexual identity, suggesting the label “digisexual” — a discussion for another time.

But what I do know on a very visceral level is that between social media and the unstoppable coming of a profusion of A.I. gimmicks presumably on the market to enhance our lifestyle, human “touch” is on the wane and that is so very sad. A simple touch as an expression of love is losing its relevancy and, along with that, the intimacy of human contact.

Perhaps, Skype can fill that void for some people; but, for me, there is nothing like just plain holding hands and piercing the eyes – the tunnel into another soul. Love is so many things and its’ essence so differently defined and accepted by each of us.

I wish you bundles of whatever love is to you. Happy Valentine’s Day!

By “Cinema” Dave

http://cinemadave.livejournal.com

Museo and Love, Gilda open this weekend. While both are diverse movies, both movies present pure drama with a touch of comedy, a dose of thrills and maybe a few tears.

A hit at the Berlin Film Festival, Museo is a film with international acclaim set in Mexico. It is the holiday season and Juan Nunez (Gael Garcia Bernal) is bored with simmering anger. Observing the lax security at the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City, Juan recruits his friend Benjamin (Leonardo Ortizgris) to rob the museum on Christmas Eve.

With relative ease, Juan and Benjamin steal over 140 treasures and artifacts. The heist becomes an international sensation in 1985, for many of the stolen objects are priceless artifacts from the Mayan culture. Due to the notoriety of the crime, the young criminals have a hard time trying to fence the objects for payment.

Unlike the film noir conventions of The Asphalt Jungle or Heist, Museo presents a travel log of adventure. The stolen artifacts are presented as shimmering treasures that are misused by the crooks. One scene of debauchery features Juan drinking alcohol from a cup that may have been used by Montezuma. Montezuma’s revenge is not presented, but Museo reaches a thought-provoking and satisfying climax.

RE: Love, Gilda — It was post Halloween in 1975 and Channel 12 WPEC presented too many commercial interruptions of Son of Frankenstein on Creature Feature. Frustrated, I switched the dial and tried this new show, Saturday Night Live. Candice Bergen was the guest star, with a new cast of unknowns (known as The Not Ready for Prime Time Players). Among the unknowns, there was Gilda Radner, who appeared both vulnerable and tough enough to take a funny pratfall.

Gilda Radner died a month short of her 43rd birthday from Ovarian Cancer and young people today may just know her because a sick relative may visit Gilda’s Club for comfort. However, this new documentary, Love Gilda, presents videos of what made this comedian so successful, respected and loved.

Through home movies, we see a chubby girl from a well-to-do Jewish family in Detroit. Using comedy as a defense for her insecurities, Gilda becomes the class clown and excels in performing. Moving to Canada, Gilda finds work on the musical Godspell (despite her initial inability to sing) and is noticed by the Second City and National Lampoon comedy troupes. Using her personal diary as a narrative thread, Love Gilda is not just a celebration of her life. Through laughter, Love Gilda shows how one can achieve victory over his or her own mortality.

Why do we love? Do we love because of what we can get out of a relationship or because of what we can give into a relationship? God, our Father, has given us good examples of what a loving father is to be like. We have a Father in Heaven who loves us unconditionally and gives us wonderful gifts. We have a Father who cares for our pains, trials and triumphs. God tells us not to worry and takes care of our needs. God longs to hear from you, His child. Don’t miss your chance to do the very same thing for your Father in Heaven, who loved you so much He sent his Son to die for you.

“If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in Heaven give good things to them that ask Him?” Matthew 7:11 (KJV)

I don’t know about you, but Father’s Day really conjures up a lot of conflicting emotions for me. I am blessed to be the father of wonderful children. I am also equally blessed for having a good father in my life. I was not the best kid and I was not the worst kid either. While others judged and even pronounced me a failure, “My Dad” just kept on loving me. I attempted to run from that love, but like the “hound of heaven,” he would not let me get away. His influence in my life cannot be overstated. “My Dad” — he really loved me. And, by the way, I turned out okay (crazy, but okay)! I really don’t know if we can love our kids too much. But, I do know that love needs to be expressed and valued. Your children — regardless of their lot in life or their adherence to your desires — need to know your love for them is constant and secure. You can love them and not support the lifestyle they have.

“The Lord is like a Father to his children, tender and compassionate to those who fear Him.” Psalm 103:13 (NLT)

So, if you are a father, turn the tables on your kids on Father’s Day. When they tell you how special you are, make sure they know how you feel about them. You might even say, “Son/daughter, I love you!” There is no doubt in my mind that my dad knows how much I love him. It is also nice to say why sometimes. Some of you may not have a pleasant memory of your father or you might not have any memories at all. This may be the time to start down the road to forgiveness and/or reconciliation, or it may be a chance to thank others in your life that have offered fatherly wisdom to you and tell them why you appreciate them. I can’t help but feel slightly convicted, for when have I shared this kind of a moment with my Heavenly Father? Maybe your prayers often reflect more of what you want and less of how wonderful the Lord is, or more of what you need and less of how thankful you are for what you have.

Father’s Day is almost here. Plan to tell your father why you love him and appreciate him. Also, if you have children, make sure you tell them that you love them and why.

Tony Guadagnino is the pastor for Christian Love Fellowship Church, 801 SE 10 St., Deerfield Beach. www.clfdeerfield.com.

By Emily Rosen

ERosen424@aol.com

www.emilyrosen424.com

This will meander around cyber-stuff – in some of its iterations – finally landing on love. Be patient … It comes at the end. It is, after all, February.

Decadent as this may sound, I am an e-mail person, a throwback to actual letters in an actual mailbox. Ancient people like myself have a hard time keeping up with the speed of modern written communication. And truth is, it was not very long ago — you might even remember the days — when you could be fairly certain that an e-mail you sent would be received and read within about 24 hours or even sooner.

But, alas, today, if you want your e-mail to be read, you need to Facebook, (that’s become a verb) tweet, text, message (also a verb) or, God forbid, make an actual telephone call to remind the recipient to check her email. And, by then – why bother? Just repeat the content of the message on the phone. But which phone? Landline? Cell? WhatsApp? and the dozens more free phone call apps that I don’t know about. Is this all part of “You can’t be too thin or too rich” and now it’s too “cyber-social?” Or is this the definition of “excess?” Are we really in a contest to find out who has the most “friends” or a contest to label the person with the most cyber social outlets?

I really need to vent at people who “message” me on Facebook. Why can’t they simply e-mail the message to me directly? Once I go to Facebook — and please don’t encourage me to do that — I lose hours meandering all over the place, collecting information about people I mostly don’t much care about. It’s becoming a kind of voyeurism … and a local version of the famous gossip page 6 of the New York Post. Don’t you just love those baby pictures?

And finally, I will tackle the angst of finding love in cyberspace, as this is “love month.” I recently gave a workshop for people interested in writing a profile for a dating site — a kind of combination of getting to “know who you are” before knowing how to find the person you want as a companion. To the many of you who have infiltrated this segment of society, your stories are worthy of publication. Matches don’t come easily and the mismatches can be disappointing, but also hilarious.

And the number and variety of dating services seem to be increasing exponentially … and now available in several apps — Bumble, Tinder, Hinge. It won’t be long before someone will open a website as a “Cyber Navigator” to help those of us to come to these “newbies” way behind everyone else. But, sooner or later, we get there. It helps to have “kin” in their teens and early 20s.

So have fun in cyber space and come down to Earth every once in a while where love still abounds in massive doses – and I wish it to you all.

There was a rabbi known for his constant preaching about the need to nurture children with warmth and love.

One time he noticed some children who were playing in the freshly laid concrete outside his newly renovated home, their little feet leaving lasting impressions. He became irritated and started chastising the children.

A congregant asked, “How can you, a person who devoted his entire life to teaching warmth to children, speak this way?”

To which the rabbi replied: “You must understand. I love children in the abstract, not the concrete.”

Who can love?

Where is the first time the term “love” is mentioned in the entire Torah? Who is the first lover in the Bible?

No, it is not Adam and Eve. It’s not even Abraham and Sarah. I am sure they loved each other, but the term “love” is not mentioned.

The first time we discover “love” in the Torah is “G-d said to Abraham… take your son, your only son [from Sarah], whom you love, Isaac, and offer him as a burnt offering.”

Note: It is not saying that Abraham loved Isaac; it is saying that G-d testifies that Abraham loves Isaac. That must have been some intense love!

Now, where is the second time love is mentioned in Torah?

It is in the following portion: “Isaac married Rebecca and he loved her.”

The subtle message being conveyed is clear. What many psychologists and spiritual and self-help books now explain is intimated in this profound sequence in the Torah. Abraham loves Isaac. Isaac loves Rebecca. He who is loved is capable of loving. Isaac was loved; hence he was able to impart love.

Fascinating: This pattern continues throughout Genesis. The third time love is mentioned is the love of Rebecca to her son. Rebecca was loved and so she could love. The fourth time is Isaac’s love to his son, and so on.

Why is this so?

When I am loved, I feel confident about myself. I cherish my own innate value. I, thus, don’t always have to take; I can also give. If I feel unloved, I have a void which I always need to fill. I am forever parasitic. I am always craving your validation, your compliments, your respect, your gratitude, your appreciation, your attention and your approval. But when I feel that my essence is good, I am a lovable being. I can suspend myself and become attentive to you. I can create space for you.

Narcissists, who are self-absorbed 24/7, usually have a tremendous void in their self-value. They never felt genuine love. Their tank is on empty. They cannot afford being there for anyone, ever.

A young woman was being interviewed and said, “I am giving up dating.” The interviewer asked what caused her to take such a drastic measure. She replied, “The last man I met talked only of himself for two solid hours. And then he looked at me and said, ‘Enough of me talking about me. Tell me what you think of me.’”

What is more, if I feel unloved, I do not value my emotions. I can’t believe that my love means anything; I delegitimize my love, because I think I am valueless and certainly all my emotions have no value. It is even deeper. If I do not value my being, then, if I love you, I actually believe that it is wrong; because, if I love something, it must be bad since I, myself, am pretty bad and worthless.

Abraham loved Isaac. He loved his essence. Thus, Isaac could love.

Some have even suggested that this may be part of the story of Abraham sacrificing Isaac. At the fringe of losing his son, Abraham discovered how much he really loved him. This begins the miracle of the Jewish family, the infinite love between parents and children, which spanned millennia and has been the envy of the world.

What then do you do if you weren’t loved? The answer is what David says in Psalms 27; “My mother and father rejected me, but G-d took me in.”

You must find G-d’s unconditional love for you. You ought to discover the essential value of your being in G-d’s eyes. Birth is G-d saying you matter.

Much of our prayers revolve around this theme. G-d loves you, cherishes you, thinks the world of you, and begs of you to coronate Him as your king. He can’t think of you as too worthless if he really believes that all of history depends on you.

Rabbi Tzvi Dechter is the director of Chabad of North Broward Beaches, located in the Venetian Isle Shopping Center at 2025 E. Sample Rd. in Lighthouse Point. For all upcoming events, please visit www.JewishLHP.com.

“And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is LOVE.” — [I Corinthians 13:13]

I like doing weddings. Weddings are a lot of fun. It is always an honor and a joy to celebrate with a couple and their families the unity of two people, two families and, sometimes, two cultures. I consider myself blessed to have met so many fascinating people. And there is a satisfaction that cannot be described when a couple, whose marriage you performed, comes to church pushing a stroller with a newborn. I always feel like I am, in some way, a part of that miracle, and that is a great honor.

Couples who want to get married love I Corinthians 13. The “Love Chapter” is one of the most “romantic” chapters in the Bible. There is just one problem. Paul was not writing about romantic love, but Godly love. Because I Corinthians 13 is used so frequently at weddings, single people who are not in relationships, think that it doesn’t pertain to them. The fact that the author, St. Paul, was a confirmed bachelor, escapes notice. Also, the fact that romance was the last thing on Paul’s mind, seldom gets mentioned. And that is why I bring up to all of you who think I Corinthians 13 is the sole possession of the happily married, it isn’t. This is God’s love letter to you. I Corinthians 13 belongs to everybody and so does Love.

When Valentine’s Day comes, dating and married people celebrate while single people are often left out. A single person may even say, “I haven’t found love yet.” I find that to be the saddest statement of all.

When I looked up Valentine’s Day, I discovered that this was a holiday that celebrated the contributions of a Christian martyr who lost his life by refusing to deny his faith. St. Valentine, like St. Paul, was a confirmed bachelor. And when he befriended the jailor’s daughter, he wrote her a letter of encouragement in her newfound faith. He signed it “Your Valentine.” This was not a romantic letter, but it was a love letter nevertheless. Valentine shared God’s love with a Christian convert.

Now, this legend varies as it is told and retold. How a perfectly platonic letter between a brother in faith written to a sister in faith could be the inspiration for a holiday which seems to be the sole possession of the happily dating or the happily married is beyond me.

I say it is time to give this holiday back to all people. Let us take time to write “love letters” to our friends who stuck with us through thick and thin. Let us write “love letters” to single and widowed people who are especially lonely on Valentine’s Day. Let us write “love letters” to our brother and sisters in faith who worship with us on a regular basis and could use a little reminder that they are loved. And yes, we carry on the celebration of marriage and courtship as well.

Love belongs to all people. Let us share it [even if it is after Valentine’s Day. Love can be shared all year long!]

Pastor Gross is a pastor of Zion Lutheran Church, located at 959 SE 6 Ave., Deerfield Beach, FL 33441. For more information, call 954-421-3146 or visit www.zion-lutheran.org.

By Emily Rosen

ERosen424@aol.com

www.emilyrosen424.com

How many ways are there to talk about love without being repetitious? That has been my annual challenge for over a decade. So my angle this year is condemnation of the very loving intent of the sacred Golden Rule — “Treat people the way you’d like them to treat you,” which is the modern interpretation as posed by GRO (www.thegoldenrule.net). Actually, if we follow that directive blindly, we are committing an act, in some instances, of extreme selfishness.

Wait wait wait! Before you throw me into the pyre, hear me out.

Certainly, there is the desire to be treated with respect, but the word treat in this context covers a plethora of peopled interactions, some of which are multi-layered. Example: A boyfriend presents his long-time “main squeeze” with a huge bunch of flowers for a romantic occasion. She had spoken to him of her allergies to flowers, but he wasn’t exactly into listening. In this instance, he was treating her with the love and kindness he would have wanted reciprocally, perhaps in a more gender-appropriate offering. It was received with feigned appreciation and the recognition that he hadn’t heard her.

What she had really wanted from him was to have been heard. Sure, she could then have told him the truth and, this time, be heard; and she may well have done so, but there’s that little nuance of wanting to be treated (listened to) the first time around.

Being heard is really a metaphor for being known. People in close relationships want to be known by the important people in their lives, as in, “Hey! This is the real me – the me I want to be loved for – not the me you love because you have fantasized some combined ideal of me and who you want me to be.” This, of course, is taking the flower tale to an extreme, but there are so many similar situations where people with good intentions treat others without any emotional input into how that other person really wants to be treated.

Quick story: My sister and I had a bachelorette apartment in Manhattan eons ago. We shared laundry chores. I’d fold hers and place the items neatly in her drawer. She’d flatten mine on top of the dresser. I fumed every time I had to fold and place my items in my drawer. One day, I found her taking her items out of her drawer, and she turned to me, saying, “I hate the way you fold my stuff, and I hate how you put them away for me.”

We laughed. We straightened it out. Neither of us had “done unto” the other the way each of us wanted to be “done unto.” We loved each other, but we had gone our own separate ways for so many years that it took time for us to really get to know each other again.

The word love is bandied about carelessly and sometimes meaninglessly. To really love someone is to know the essence, the soul, the inner workings of that person; to know and to accept all that, and to make it a part of who you are.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

This week, we celebrated the Jewish Holiday of Shavuot. On Shavuos, G-d gave the Jewish people his Torah.

A gentile once came before Shammai and said: “Convert me to Judaism, on the stipulation that you teach me the entire Torah as I stand on one leg.” Shammai drove him off with the builder’s measuring stick in his hand. [The Talmudic sage Shammai was a builder by profession.]

He then came before Hillel, who converted him. Said Hillel to him: “What is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow. This is the entire Torah. The rest is commentary — go and learn.”

Hillel and Shammai were two leading rabbis of the early 1st century BCE. They lived in Jerusalem during the time of King Herod and the Roman Emperor Augustus, in the turbulent and bloody century before the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE. It is in this conversation that Hillel sums up all of Torah — to treat another person like you would like to be treated. Imagine, if each of us would live that way!

One century later, Rabbi Akiva would comment on the verse “Love your fellow as yourself.” This is a cardinal principle in the Torah. As we once again receive the Torah on Shavuos 2016, this remains the summary of all of Torah: Treat the other like you wish to be treated.

Judaism is a religion of words. G-d created the natural world with words. We create, and sometimes destroy, the social world with words. That is one reason why Judaism has so strong an ethic of speech. The other reason, surely, is its concern to protect human dignity.

Psychological injury may be no less harmful and sometimes is even more harmful than physical injury. Hence the rule: never humiliate, never put to shame, never take refuge in the excuse that they were only words, that no physical harm was done.

In 2008, world renowned composer Benjamin Zander gave a TED Talk called “The Transformative Power of Classical Music.” This is how he ended his talk: What we say really makes a difference. The words that come out of our mouth really do matter. I learned this from a woman who survived Auschwitz, one of the rare survivors. She went to Auschwitz when she was 15 years old. And her brother was eight, and the parents were lost. And she told me this.

She said, “We were in the train going to Auschwitz, and I looked down and saw my brother’s shoes were missing. I said, ‘Why are you so stupid? Can’t you keep your things together for goodness’ sake?’ the way an elder sister might speak to a younger brother.”

Unfortunately, it was the last thing she ever said to him, because she never saw him again. He did not survive. And, so, when she came out of Auschwitz, she made a vow.

She said, “I walked out of Auschwitz into life and I made a vow. And the vow was, ‘I will never say anything that couldn’t stand as the last thing I ever say.’”

Now, can we do that? No. But it is a possibility to live into. Never ever embarrass someone — not a child, not even an adult, not your spouse, not your child, nor a stranger.

Rabbi Tzvi Dechter is the Director of Chabad of North Broward Beaches. New location soon! For all upcoming events, please visit www.JewishLHP.com.