Friday, June 28, 2013

Changing the Rules

In business we create guidelines, best practices and more similar types of rhetoric designed to assist people in their roles and responsibilities.

What happens when we are wrong? We define a best practice and someone raises the idea that you are wrong, what do you do? Most normal people would adjust your practice and move along after giving the item some thought.

In this weeks parsha we learn this from the discussion between the daughters of Zelophehad and Moshe and Hashem. The law had been stated that inheritance passed through the male side of the family. In this case there were only daughters after their father died, thus creating an imbalance among the tribes.So in 27:6-11 we see the answer:
The Lord spoke to Moses, saying:ו. וַיֹּאמֶר יְהֹוָה אֶל משֶׁה לֵּאמֹר:
7Zelophehad's daughters speak justly. You shall certainly give them a portion of inheritance along with their father's brothers, and you shall transfer their father's inheritance to them.ז. כֵּן בְּנוֹת צְלָפְחָד דֹּבְרֹת נָתֹן תִּתֵּן לָהֶם אֲחֻזַּת נַחֲלָה בְּתוֹךְ אֲחֵי אֲבִיהֶם וְהַעֲבַרְתָּ אֶת נַחֲלַת אֲבִיהֶן לָהֶן:
8Speak to the children of Israel saying: If a man dies and has no son, you shall transfer his inheritance to his daughter.ח. וְאֶל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל תְּדַבֵּר לֵאמֹר אִישׁ כִּי יָמוּת וּבֵן אֵין לוֹ וְהַעֲבַרְתֶּם אֶת נַחֲלָתוֹ לְבִתּוֹ:
9If he has no daughter, you shall give over his inheritance to his brothers.ט. וְאִם אֵין לוֹ בַּת וּנְתַתֶּם אֶת נַחֲלָתוֹ לְאֶחָיו:
10If he has no brothers, you shall give over his inheritance to his father's brothers.י. וְאִם אֵין לוֹ אַחִים וּנְתַתֶּם אֶת נַחֲלָתוֹ לַאֲחֵי אָבִיו:
11If his father has no brothers, you shall give over his inheritance to the kinsman closest to him in his family, who shall inherit it. This shall remain a decreed statute, as the Lord commanded Moses.יא. וְאִם אֵין אַחִים לְאָבִיו וּנְתַתֶּם אֶת נַחֲלָתוֹ לִשְׁאֵרוֹ הַקָּרֹב אֵלָיו מִמִּשְׁפַּחְתּוֹ וְיָרַשׁ אֹתָהּ וְהָיְתָה לִבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לְחֻקַּת מִשְׁפָּט כַּאֲשֶׁר צִוָּה יְהֹוָה אֶת משֶׁה:
Stand up and believe in what is important to you and when rules or laws are defined that exclude someone or something, try to find a way to make it inclusive.

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Parsha Pichas in the book of Bamidbar, Numbers 25:10-30:1
It is said that the Torah or Bible could be interpreted in over 70 ways. More likely these days 100's of ways. In light of this idea, I am writing some posts that bring a business sense to what we can learn on a weekly basis. Enjoy, Shabbat Shalom

Friday, June 21, 2013

Right Place at the Right Time?

Can you be in the right place at the right time? Or the wrong place at the wrong time? Is there really such a thing? Naturally if you believe in divine intervention then any place you are is the right place, even if the wrong outcome occurs.

This week's parsha, Balak the king of Moab learns that you can run but you can not hide from God.
27. Balak said to Balaam, "Come now, I will take you to a different place. Perhaps it will please God, and you will curse them for me from there.   כז. וַיֹּאמֶר בָּלָק אֶל בִּלְעָם לְכָה נָּא אֶקָּחֲךָ אֶל מָקוֹם אַחֵר אוּלַי יִישַׁר בְּעֵינֵי הָאֱלֹהִים וְקַבֹּתוֹ לִי מִשָּׁם:
Balaam has failed to curse children of Israel and  Balak suggests it is a location problem. What is amusing about this is the fact that Balak wants to protect himself from Israel's God and has no respect and because he is an idol worshipper does not view omnipotence as a reality.

When we go out in the business world, sometimes we face adverse circumstances. We may be in the wrong place or the wrong time but it always is up to us and our belief. yes, your personal preference may be for a different job or city or situation, but after a while, you too may find the answer is always the same.

You can not change what God wants for you although you may be able to influence the outcome if you believe first.
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Parsha Balak in the book of Bamidbar, Numbers 22:2-25:9
It is said that the Torah or Bible could be interpreted in over 70 ways. More likely these days 100's of ways. In light of this idea, I am writing some posts that bring a business sense to what we can learn on a weekly basis. Enjoy, Shabbat Shalom

Friday, June 14, 2013

What Symbol is in Your Office

There are superstitions and then there are symbols that have alternative meanings. Which one is real and which one is more important?


Sports players have "traditions" they never say superstitions but they perform the same rituals every game, that is until the game they lose or get hurt and decide to adjust their rituals.

Speakers, presenters and musicians each  have their warm ups and preparing before they go on stage. They also call them exercises or training but they can be just plain superstitions.

Are these rituals right or are they wrong? Do they really help you or are they meant to attach you more to your inner self and in turn to God or your deity? Can one truly believe in a ritual that speaks to nothing? The atheists out there may argue there is no one listening and still others will argue there are realms of the world we can not see but influence us. It does not matter what your theological perspective is, what matters is that we all agree sometimes we need some help.

In this week's parsha, among other actions, the wandering Jews of the desert rail against Hashem and Moshe again about the hardships and the lack of bread and other things they miss when they were slaves in Egypt. Hashem sends venomous snakes to bite the complainers and then some of the people cried to Moshe to save them and this is what happened:
In 21:8. The Lord said to Moses, "Make yourself a serpent and put it on a pole, and let whoever is bitten look at it and live.

ח. וַיֹּאמֶר יְהֹוָה אֶל משֶׁה עֲשֵׂה לְךָ שָׂרָף וְשִׂים אֹתוֹ עַל נֵס וְהָיָה כָּל הַנָּשׁוּךְ וְרָאָה אֹתוֹ וָחָי:
Look up, to Hashem for help and be cured.  "Make yourself a Seraph" the Hebrew says, which can be interpreted as an angel, not just a serpent. If so, then surely looking at the angel, representing God would protect and cure them. Looking up at a snake, if you choose, could be about us seeing the parallel of how symbols can be used for good and evil.

In your office if you have the same rituals every day for your employees to follow, are they for good? Do they help people? Do they empower them? Or do your rituals limit them and provide a double edge sword of which to pride yourselves?

Do your company symbols inspire hope and greatness in yourselves and fear in your competitors? I hope so, because if it is the other way around you may need to start looking for a new symbol.
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Parsha Chukat in the book of Bamidbar, Numbers 19:1-22:1
It is said that the Torah or Bible could be interpreted in over 70 ways. More likely these days 100's of ways. In light of this idea, I am writing some posts that bring a business sense to what we can learn on a weekly basis. Enjoy, Shabbat Shalom

Friday, June 7, 2013

The Executive Hallway of Failed Projects

When you walk down the halls of your company, what do you see? Awards? Community projects/pictures? Sponsorships of sporting events or local schools? Examples of your company's products?

When was the last time you saw the failures? The products that bombed? The projects that went horribly wrong? Executives that left disgraced?

This week's parsha, named after the protagonist, Korach, we see that commemorating the bad times can instill better actions in the future. 17:2-3 says:

2. Say to Eleazar the son of Aaron the kohen that he should pick up the censers from the burned area (but throw the fire away), because they have become sanctified,   ב. אֱמֹר אֶל אֶלְעָזָר בֶּן אַהֲרֹן הַכֹּהֵן וְיָרֵם אֶת הַמַּחְתֹּת מִבֵּין הַשְּׂרֵפָה וְאֶת הָאֵשׁ זְרֵה הָלְאָה כִּי קָדֵשׁוּ:
3. the censers of these who sinned at the cost of their lives, and they shall make them into flattened out plates as an overlay for the altar, for they brought them before the Lord, and have [therefore] become sanctified, and they shall be as a reminder for the children of Israel.   ג. אֵת מַחְתּוֹת הַחַטָּאִים הָאֵלֶּה בְּנַפְשֹׁתָם וְעָשׂוּ אֹתָם רִקֻּעֵי פַחִים צִפּוּי לַמִּזְבֵּחַ כִּי הִקְרִיבֻם לִפְנֵי יְהֹוָה וַיִּקְדָּשׁוּ וְיִהְיוּ לְאוֹת לִבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל:

With Korach and his followers out of the way, the only thing remaining from them, they were swallowed up by the Earth after all, was their censers. Turning these items into sanctified items for future generations to see and think about is a priceless memory.

America and some other countries do not want to revel in the past but move towards a future that plows over the past. As a religion, the Jewish people have numerous items that remind us of our past continuously because man is known to not care so much to remember the past. By reminding us of the dark days or people we strive to reach above and beyond.

As George Santayana said "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it".

Where do you keep your failed project hallway?

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Parsha Korach in the book of Bamidbar, Numbers 16:1-18:32
It is said that the Torah or Bible could be interpreted in over 70 ways. More likely these days 100's of ways. In light of this idea, I am writing some posts that bring a business sense to what we can learn on a weekly basis. Enjoy, Shabbat Shalom