Have you ever been told, “It’s none of your business”?

There are situations that require our input, and there are times that it is best to keep our daled amos (distance). The problem is whether to “butt in” or “butt out” of situations that occur. Our holy Torah has examples that address the question of whether to mach zich visindig (get involved) or mach zich nisht visindik (turn a blind eye). Let’s look at two of them:

When Hashem informed Avraham that the city of Sodom would be destroyed, Avraham had the option of keeping silent or attempting to save the city. He chose the latter and repeatedly pleaded with G-d to spare the city. Avraham made it his business, even though he was facing The Boss!

Then there comes the story of Joseph and his brothers: The brothers were so frustrated with Joseph’s behavior that they were ready to end his young life. After reconsidering, they placed him into a pit. Now comes the oldest brother, Reuven, and plans to rescue Joseph. You surely know the rest of the story, right? Reuven’s plan fails, and Joseph is sold to wandering Yishmaelim. But, although Reuven’s plan did not succeed, he made it his business to try and rescue his brother.

Nu, you may comment, voss iz geven iz geven (what was-was). But what about today?

If you are over age 39 (Jack Benny’s permanent age) you have surely heard the tune “Enjoy Yourself.” It was composed by Carl Sigman and Herbert Magidson (Yidden, of course). The words of the first refrain go like this:

Enjoy yourself; it’s later than you think

Enjoy yourself while you’re still in the pink

The years go by as quickly as a wink

Enjoy yourself, enjoy yourself

It’s later than you think

The moon is a beautiful heavenly body that is often mentioned in our prayers. And if you are a shul-goer, you know that, once a month, the gabbai of the shul announces the appearance of the levuneh, the new moon, and the congregation goes outside to welcome it. They chant prayers honoring the moon with blessings and pleading with G-d for a long life of peace, happiness, vigor, sustenance, and honor in this new month – a life dedicated to love of the Torah and the fear of sin. This is called Kiddush Levuneh.

More than a few years ago, the moon was mentioned in a song that many Yidden sang or hummed. The song was “Shayn vee dee Levuneh,” and if you remember the tune to the song, you get a free pass to a geriatric center. If not, you can listen to the Barry Sisters’ version on YouTube. Several other musical groups sang the melody as well. The writers were Joseph Rumshinsky and Chaim Tauzberg, Yiddelach, of course.

Nu, asked a friend, you have written about some interesting topics. How about writing about happiness?

What makes a person happy varies from one person to another. There are volumes written about the topic, but it is interesting to look in our “own backyard,” so to speak. With that in mind, whom do you ask what makes them happy? Friends and mishpacha (family) – who else? If you ask the “man in the street,” his response might be “to have you stop asking questions!”

Since the idea of writing about happiness began early in the morning, I went to shul and asked Reb Arnold Shear, another early morning shul goer about happiness. Incidentally, Arnold and I attend the fabulous shiur presented by my son-in-law Shlomo Horwitz. (No ad intended.)

One sunny morning I noticed a deer fressing (eating without cessation) the grass in our yard. At that time, I believed that the deer was just passing through the neighborhood, on a goodwill tour, sponsored, perhaps by the local frum deer population. However it appeared that he was looking over the area for future residence. After all, the neighborhood was filling up with shomrei Shabbos (Sabbath observers), families that fed their pets glatt kosher food. Some of the chayess (creatures) that live here were even learning Yiddish! And the deer in this neighborhood have a better chance for survival than other deer because, face it, how many Yidden are hunters? We align ourselves with Yaakov, the student, rather than with Esav, the hunter, right?

Nu, you may remark, dray nisht dehr kopp (stop confusing me). Just continue the tale! Iz azoy (so, it’s like this): 

The song “Oh, My Papa” was popularized by singer Eddie Fisher more than a few years ago! In the beautiful melody and words, Eddie praised his “wonderful” father. Recently, I heard the tune again on the radio. It begins like this:

Oh, my papa, to me he was so wonderful,

Oh, my papa, to me he was so good.

No one could be so gentle and so lovable,

Oh, my papa, he always understood.