Human Being, The

If the point of our work is in its completion, if the beautiful end result is our sought-after goal, why, then, at its completion, isn't our satisfaction enduring? Chana Weisberg muses on the role of creativity in our life, and our world.

You've begun to accept the status quo, the easy path—the one with less resistance. You have stopped tackling new undertakings. You've just entered into your complacent adulthood...

I will never understand, Father. Why can't the world be simple? Why do we need to fight for our souls? Why can't the good side get along with the... other side?

In June, oil was $140 a barrel. Auto manufactures were replacing gas guzzlers with go-carts. Now gas is back to around $2.45 a gallon -- I guess our economy is back to rock solid...

The thought of endless hours in the evening without internet access is actually not a relaxing thought. It makes me nervous. It means I will need to be present, completely present, in my life and not my virtual life. And that is scary to me.

Every night at exactly 12:00, my grandfather would become very excited. He would wake me, saying, "Shtei uf, Chavale! Wake up, Chavale...!"

Down there, on the ground, was the piece of art. That's what they called it, anyway. It was black-and-white checkerboard tile. It looked like somebody had cut a square out of a kitchen floor and placed it on the ground. "You're kidding, right?"

Huh? How did that happen? He is really an astute fellow, so I have no doubt that he grasped very well that doing three times the work would not help lessen my load...

The EMTs told employees at the eatery to call 911 and then left when they were asked to help. The woman was eventually taken to a hospital, where she died a short time later...

Surrounded by original paintings and bas-relief mosaics, long-white-bearded Michoel Muchnik was working on a 3D mosaic of Shabbat and holiday candlesticks when I arrived at his Brooklyn studio.