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March 19, 2010
Rabbi Berel Wein: The Divine is in the details
JWisdom.com Stewards of sacrifice with Rabbi Sroy Levitansky (5 minutes)
Caroline B. Glick: Why Obama is waging war on Israel
March 18, 2010
Cal Thomas: Israel's New Enemy: America?
JWisdom.com Love me not? with Rabbi David Aaron (5 minutes)
Jonathan Rosenblum: Washington Throws a Tantrum
March 17, 2010
Rabbi Yonason Goldson: Orwell, Santayana, and Me
Jonathan Tobin: How Many Lives Is Biden's Pride Worth?
March 16, 2010
Steven Emerson: Combating Lawfare
JWisdom.com How to perform a miracle with Rabbi Yaakov Asher Sinclair (4 minutes)
Anne Bayefsky: Behind Obama's Dangerous Overreaction on Israel
March 15, 2010
The Jewish Ethicist By Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Father's obligations toward minor children
JWisdom.com Moody, Grumpy, Irritable Children with Sarah Chana Radcliffe (5 minutes)
Judith Graham: Get the whole picture before a CT
March 12, 2010
Rabbi David Aaron: You CAN have Heaven on Earth
JWisdom.com Manufacturing mediums with Rabbi Sroy Levitansky (4 minutes)
Caroline B. Glick: The march of the Red-Green brigades
March 11, 2010
Glenn Garvin: Conspiracy theories, why people believe them and how they spread
JWisdom.com For Yourself, Not By Yourself with Rabbi Lawrence Hajioff (8 minutes)
The Kosher Gourmet by Linda Gassenheimer : Turn leftovers into tasty New England hash
Paul Richter: Biden promises 'viable Palestine' is in the offing
March 10, 2010
Paul Greenberg: Death Checks In
JWisdom.com How To Get A (Real) Life with Rabbi Warren Goldstein ( EXTENDED EPISODE)
Paul Richter: Israel exerts soverign right to its capital as Biden looks on astounded
Richard A. Serrano: 'Jihad Jane' indictment alleges threat from within U.S.
March 9, 2010
Wesley Pruden: Joe's Israeli adventure
JWisdom.com Free To Be (Responsibly) You and Me! with Rabbi Naftali Brawer ( 8 MINUTES)
David G. Savage: Supreme Court to rule on free speech in case of soldier's funeral
March 8, 2010
The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Make a fuss about those who cuss?
JWisdom.com Finding or Losing Yourself? Here's How! with Rabbi David Aaron ( 5 MINUTES)
Steven Emerson: America must learn from the UK about the future of Islamist subversion
March 5, 2010
Rabbi Berel Wein: Golden Calf still with us --- except it has multiplied
JWisdom.com The Limits of Eternity with Rabbi Sroy Levitansky ( 4 MINUTES)
Caroline B. Glick: Biden's lost cause
March 4, 2010
Alan M. Dershowitz: How About A Real Campaign Against Abuses?
JWisdom.com Using Things, Loving People with Rabbi Lawrence Hajioff ( 7 MINUTES)
Jordan "Gorf" Gorfinkel's Everything's Relative
March 3, 2010
JWisdom.com Grasping The Name of Your Life Game with Rabbi Warren Goldstein ( 8 MINUTES)
The Kosher Gourmet by Marialisa Calta : A cowboy's recipes for really good grub
March 2, 2010
Rabbi Avi Shafran: Someone's there
Diane Toroian Keaggy : Have we misunderstood Michelangelo?
March 1, 2010
JWisdom.com Whole in One with Rabbi David Aaron ( 5 MINUTES)
Michael Muskal: Hillary meets with Israeli official, discusses gefilte fish dispute
Feb. 26, 2010
Rabbi Francis Nataf: The Megilla of Spring
JWisdom.com A Biblical Secret for a More Powerful You with Rabbi Sroy Levitansky ( 5 MINUTES)
Caroline B. Glick: When rhetoric rules the roost
Feb. 25, 2010
The Jewish Ethicist By Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: When walking away from your mortgage is both economically sound and makes ethical sense
JWisdom.com The Second Most Important Question in Your Life with Rabbi Yehoshua Karsh ( 5 MINUTES)
Seema Mehta : U.S.-Israel relations raised in California's Senate race --- by conservatives
Feb. 24, 2010
Rabbi Avi Shafran: The gift of the ‘prayer bomber’
Steven Emerson: Why Religious Freedom Commission is under attack
Feb. 23, 2010
Dennis Prager: Government, Yes! The Divine and Parents, No!
JWisdom.com The Last Laugh of Enlightenment with Rabbi Yaakov Asher Sinclair ( 5 MINUTES)
Anne Applebaum: Prepare for war with Iran --- in case Israel strikes
Feb. 22, 2010
Rabbi Yonason Goldson: Is it not refreshing Tiger Woods' career has crashed and burned so dramatically?
JWisdom.com Esther and the third Truth with Rabbi David Aaron ( 9 MINUTES)
Kelly Brewington: Going smoke-free may raise diabetes risk
Feb. 19, 2010
Rabbi David Aaron: Is the Divine beyond us or within us?
JWisdom.com Olympic Faith with Rabbi Sroy Levitansky ( 5 MINUTES)
Caroline B. Glick: Israel and the West are perpetrators of a myth that endangers the Jewish State
Feb. 18, 2010
Cal Thomas: Who is Rashad Hussain?
JWisdom.com A Wedding Disaster to Remember with Rabbi Y.Y. Rubinstein ( 3 MINUTES)
Feb. 17, 2010
JWisdom.com Think your life is messed up? with Rabbi David Aaron ( 11 MINUTES)
Greg Logan: 'Greatest Jewish sporting event of all time since David versus Goliath' may be postponed because of bar mitzvah
Feb. 16, 2010
Anya Martin : Boy's 'cerebral palsy' fixed with diet
JWisdom.com Feet On The Street Spirituality with Gavriel Aryeh Sanders ( 8 MINUTES)
Marty Peretz: Let Europe Mind Its Own Business. It Brings Nothing To The Table Save For Mischief
Feb. 15, 2010
Herb Geduld: Lincoln and the Jews
JWisdom.com Are Our Children Really Ours? with Rabbi Mordechai Becher ( 5 MINUTES)
Susan King: 'Wolf Man' reflected writer's wartime Jewish experience

Jewish World Review March 23, 2006 / 23 Adar, 5766

Breathing easier

By Lloyd Garver


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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | Last Sunday, I took a CPR class at the local Red Cross. I'd been wanting to do this for a long time, but since it was a four-hour class, it was always easy for me to find an excuse not to go. But this time, because of my love of humanity and the absence of any games on TV that I wanted to watch, I went to the class.


There were a few reasons that I wanted to learn CPR. I wanted to have confidence and to be more relaxed in case of an emergency situation. And I admit that when I fantasized about using my CPR and reviving someone, I kind of liked the idea of being a hero.


There were six of us taking the class from our instructor, Sean. Sean was a great teacher who exuded confidence. If I could just always have him with me, I'd be able to handle any emergency. The other five students all had jobs that required them to take the course and be certified. I was the only one there for heroic/neurotic reasons. (Sean wore surgical gloves throughout the class, explaining that he got fewer colds ever since he started doing this. So, maybe I wasn't the only one who hadn't checked his neuroses at the door.)


One of the first things I learned is that I need a new cell phone. I had been proud of the fact that, unlike the other members of my family, I'd resisted getting a new cell phone with all kinds of unnecessary features. I have no intention of ever watching "The A Team" on my phone or taking a picture with it of a shirt I'm thinking about buying. Unfortunately, a cell phone as old as mine is not what is called "GSM ready." In other words, it can't automatically tell the people at 911 exactly where I am like the newer ones can.


Once Sean started talking in more detail about CPR, we all seemed to have the same fear: what if we accidentally kill the person we're trying to help? But Sean quickly put this fear to rest. As he pointed to the plastic dummy, "Bob," he reminded us that the person you're working on, in the worst possible situation, isn't breathing and doesn't have a pulse. He's already dead. Our job is to revive Bob and keep him revived until the professionals arrive. So, you can't kill him. The worst you can do is to not miraculously revive him. (OK, I added the word, "miraculously.")


Bob was a very good patient, who never complained if we accidentally tickled him or pressed too hard on his ribs. On the other hand, Bob never thanked us for bringing him back to life.


We got a short lesson in using an AED, which is an Automated External Defibrillator. We had the thrill of yelling, "Clear!" Unfortunately this also brought on a little anxiety when Sean mentioned if the patient were a woman with a metal underwire in her bra or with metal piercings on her torso, we'd have to remove them. This didn't seem like the kind of action I'd be able to do calmly. But I reminded myself that taking off that woman's bra could save her life. Sounds like a line some teenage boy might use, but in this case it was true.


After taking the class, I felt that everyone should take CPR. You might save someone's life. Isn't that worth a few hours in a classroom?


Knowing that there's a chance that I might save someone's life gave me a new sense of responsibility — and anxiety. I realized that everywhere I go from now on, I might be called upon to respond to an emergency. My first instinct was to just stay home and avoid being around people so my CPR skills won't be tested. But then I realized that even though I might forget a detail or two of what I learned, I'm certainly more qualified to help someone than before I took the class. I'm not so anxious to be a hero as I was before. I'll be happy if I never have to use CPR, but I'll use it if necessary. It's like having a good spare tire in the trunk.


However, there's one set of circumstances about which I have complete confidence. I will spring into action without hesitation if I'm ever with a plastic dummy who has a heart attack.

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

JWR contributor Lloyd Garver has written for many television shows, ranging from "Sesame Street" to "Family Ties" to "Frasier." He has also read many books, some of them in hardcover. Comment by clicking here. Visit his website by clicking here.

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© 2005, Lloyd Garver

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