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(Note: At a recent service honoring our dear friend Toby Gillman’s special birthday, I thought it would be appropriate to explain a phrase that is meaningful in our lives)

Have you ever heard this expression, “He’s the spittin’ image of his dad”? What in the world could this mean? That he spits at the image of his father? Most of us have great and loyal kids who would never hurt or insult their parents.

So what does it mean? “Spittin image” is a blurring together of a much better phrase, “Spirit and image”.. Many of us have looked in the mirror and seen the image of one of our parents and we hope we carry on their spirits. This makes much more sense. Language can work this way.

So I’d like to give you another example, and you are very lucky, because no one in history has ever heard what I’m going to explain to you. (more…)

Sadie Goldstein had just moved into her big, new apartment. She wanted the world to know, and the first person she called to visit was her old friend Esther.
“Mazel tov!” said Esther, “I would love to come for tea. Where do you live?”
“I live,” Sadie said, “in a beauty of a building, 993 Park Avenue. It has a gorgeous front door, so when you arrive, give it a good push with your right elbow, and as you walk in, use your left elbow to close the door behind you. Once you are inside, you will see the list of names with the buzzers; take your left elbow and ring my apartment so I can buzz you in, and then use your right elbow to press down on the handle to get into the lobby. (more…)