Home
In this issue
Nov. 20, 2009
Rabbi David Aaron: How to make every second of your life come first
Caroline B. Glick: Whither American Jewry
Nov. 19, 2009
Binyamin L. Jolkovsky: Please Listen to this Godcast (5 minutes)
Jonathan Tobin: ADL Crosses the Line with Report Bashing Obama Critics
Nov. 18, 2009
Rabbi Yonason Goldson: What Judaism has to say about the secret of the Mona Lisa's smile
JWisdom.com: The (Jewish) Dating Game with Rabbi Lawrence Hajioff (8 minutes)
Nov. 17, 2009
Steven Emerson: How Does the 4th Amendment Impact Terror Finance Investigations?
JWisdom.com: If Frank Sinatra married Edith Piaf with Rabbi Y.Y. Rubinstein (2 minutes) Life lessons from what would be regarded as the most inappropriate lyrics ever sung
Nov. 16, 2009
The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir : When borrowing is stealing
JWisdom.com: Deconstructing faith with Rabbi Warren Goldstein (9 minutes)
Nov. 13, 2009
JWisdom.com Sarah's subjective reality with Rabbi Sroy Levitansky ( 6 minutes)
Caroline B. Glick: Obama's failure, Netanyahu's opportunity
Nov. 12, 2009
The Kosher Gourmet By Marialisa Calta : A sweet sweet potato treat
JWisdom.com Does God get tired? with Rabbi Harvey Belovski ( 5 minutes)
Nov. 11, 2009
Rabbi Avi Shafran: Jews and money: When anti-Semitism isn't
JWisdom.com Marriages are not made in Heaven with Rabbi Lawrence Hajioff (VERY fast 15 minutes)
Nov. 10, 2009
Michael Doyle: Author of book exposing CAIR ordered to remove supporting documents from Web
JWisdom.com If the creation so loudly shouts the existence of the Creator, why aren't more people believers? with Rabbi Naftali Brawer (9 minutes)
Nov. 9, 2009
Mark Steyn: Shooter exposes hole in U.S. terror strategy
JWisdom.com It's never too late to have a happy childhood with Sarah Chana Radcliffe (5 minutes)
Nov. 6, 2009
Rabbi Berel Wein: Choosing to hear
JWisdom.com Zero to 1/60th: How to Empower An Hour with Gavriel Aryeh Sande (7 minutes)
Caroline B. Glick The mullahs' big week
Suzanne Fields A Fallen Wall for Fallen Man
Nov. 5, 2009
The Kosher Gourmet: Three scrumptious -- but simple -- butternut squash dishes
JWisdom.com Hidden Hints: Unlocking Faith & Prayer with Rabbi Jay Yaacov Schwartz (10 minutes)
Nov. 4, 2009
Tom Hamburger and Kim Geiger: Should prayers be covered?
JWisdom.com When God played peacemaker With Rabbi Sroy Levitansky (5 minutes)
Nov. 3, 2009
Martin Peretz: Beware, Barack. Beware, Rahm. Beware, Axelrod
JWisdom.com Are you are closet idolater? With Sara Yoheved Rigler (10 minutes)
Nov. 2, 2009
Paul Greenberg: The Holocaust is now on Facebook
JWisdom.com Abraham's Strange Change With Rabbi Yitzchok Fingerer (5 minutes)
Oct. 29, 2003
Mortimer B. Zuckerman: Graffiti On History's Walls (MUST-READ!)

Jewish World Review Jan.27, 2005 / 17 Shevat, 5765

Blizzard warms heart

By Lenore Skenazy


Printer Friendly Version
Email this article


http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | So were you snowed in? Cold enough for you? Great hat!

Shiver me timbers, New York has been socked by a nor'easter of weather clichés. The "stay warms!" are swirling. Boring? You'd think so. But like snowflakes themselves, every conversation turns out to be a little different.

This morning, for instance, as I was trudging into work, I fell into snowy step with my colleague Albor, who was freezing. I wasn't, because I was wearing (Mom, please note): long underwear, medium underwear, a scarf that could double as a bedspread and a hat that could double as a rabbit (and did).

"I should have worn something on my head," said Albor.

"That's the problem," I chided. "You grew up in Cuba, I grew up in Chicago. I learned how to bundle."

And in that tiny exchange - ostensibly about the weather but really about us - we had a great moment.

Most weather moments turn out quietly great, because unlike discussions about politics or the new boss or how much less you paid for your printer than me, the speaker always means well.

There's the sympathy comment: "Must've been hard getting to work today."

The concern comment: "Have you got gloves?"

The shared suffering comment: "I can't believe it's supposed to get colder!"

And the I-care-about-what's-happening-to-you comment: "How's the weather by you?"

Then there's the information-we-all-already-share comment that is nonetheless conversational catnip.

"The snow has stopped!" announced my neighbor Julie, as three families gathered in her apartment for a blizzard-inspired potluck dinner Saturday night.

Donate to JWR


The fact that all 10 of us were sitting in the same room looking out the same window did not stop this pronouncement from prompting swift reaction. On the contrary, we all stared out even more pointedly and began exclaiming things like, "Hey, it did stop!" and, "Wonder if it's over?" Perhaps a more banal conversation has never been recorded (except, "Did you see 'American Idol' last night?" "Yeah."), but it had the immediate effect of making 10 people feel optimistic, cozy and connected.

Bad weather is a collective experience, affecting us all the same way (except skiers). Trump or tramp, we all curse the slush.

Of course, there are some who will always feel that weather chats are the lowest conversational denominator - that an ice-breaking "Brrr!" is basically saying, "Look, we really don't have anything in common."

Anything, that is, except compassion, curiosity, vulnerability and wet socks. The things that make us want to buy the world a hot chocolate.

Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in Washington and the media consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.


JWR contributor Lenore Skenazy is a columnist for The New York Daily News. Comment by clicking here.

Lenore Skenazy Archives



© 2005 NY Daily News