How Not To Eat Bread

“How foolish are these Babylonians who eat their bread with bread.” ( Talmud Beitzah 16a )

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Whenever I visit my former community inAtlanta I am thank G-d greeted warmly — and invariably with two questions “Hello good to see you. Are you here for any special reason?” and “How long are you staying?”

It is a litany that is repeated constantly by well-meaning friendly people who without realizing it are inadvertently touching on something very profound. For this litany contains a deeper layer of meaning one that is appropriate for contemplation as the Yamim Noraim rapidly approach. They are in fact questions everyone should ask — not of others but of one’s own self.