June 3, 2025 – Among your friends and family, who brings the sunshine to your life? For whom will no amount of great cards, funny texts or entertaining emails suffice because they’re someone you so thoroughly enjoy actually talking with!?
For me, one of those people is the author of this card (and the four you see below), Rabbi Jeffrey Lazar. This Contributing Cardie and favorite wise man is among many Jewish friends who have been top-of-mind since incomprehensible hate crime reared its ugly head again. Yesterday was a rainy, booming-thunder day in South Florida, so I made a check-in call to the always-sunny Reb Jeff in New England, and we yakked for just six minutes shy of three hours!
Although I’m admittedly “a talker,” truth be told, it was Jeff who did most of it this time. That’s mainly because he’s such an enthralling person, I’ve learned it behooves me to just listen … and take notes! You can gain a better sense of what an exceptionally interesting man Jeff is by clicking on the button below to reach a selection of past Cardie Newsletters in which he was featured.
A bar/bat mitzvah teacher for many gratifying years, Jeff shared with me some of the “One Minute Manager messages” he employs to prepare the 12-year-olds for success. Now I knew of masterful Mark Twain, but had not heard his profound, “The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.”
Also new to me was the 12th-century rabbi and philosopher Maimonides, one of history’s most prolific and influential Torah scholars. “Doing mitzvahs with joy and loving God, who gave them to us, is a great form of Divine service,” is a message Jeff clearly lives by, as did his beloved wife Barb, who left this earth nearly two very long years ago now.
In our wiiiide-ranging conversation, he also quoted François de La Rochefoucauld, another new (as well as unpronounceable :) name to me, saying that the 17th-century French moralist had uttered, “An apology is a kindness too late.” I so loved that brilliant and powerful statement that I later googled it, and when nothing came up, wondered if Jeffrey may not have inadvertently quoted his own wise self!
My search did turn up a bunch of other great lines from Monsieur de la Rochefouchauld, such as, “No persons are more frequently wrong than those who will not admit they are wrong.” And the also true, “We rarely think people have good sense unless they agree with us.”
I can’t recall how our talk turned to books and movies, other than Jeff always has great uplifting ones to suggest. Yesterday’s recommendations:
Mitch Albom’s Have a Little Faith movie
Pay It Forward, the book by Catherine Ryan Hyde
And because he shared that he’s watched each of the following feel-good films no less than four times to fully appreciate the moral of the stories, Jeff inspired me to re-watch:
The Simple Life of Noah Dearborn
As you can no-doubt tell, this was only the tip of the iceberg that was our great, three-hour gabfest that I honestly had no intention of sharing. My mind is still absorbing and my heart is still smiling after my long chat with Reb Jeff. So this is all just to say that, as much as we love sending cards around here, I so savored the sunshine that Jeff beamed my way that I propose you give yourself the gift of settling in and reaching out to one of your own favorite people today. Ahh, enjoy and be nourished.
Jodee Stevens
Founder & Chief Creative
June 3, 2025 – Among your friends and family, who brings the sunshine to your life? For whom will no amount of great cards, funny texts or entertaining emails suffice because they’re someone you so thoroughly enjoy actually talking with!?
For me, one of those people is the author of this card (and the four you see below), Rabbi Jeffrey Lazar. This Contributing Cardie and favorite wise man is among many Jewish friends who have been top-of-mind since incomprehensible hate crime reared its ugly head again. Yesterday was a rainy, booming-thunder day in South Florida, so I made a check-in call to the always-sunny Reb Jeff in New England, and we yakked for just six minutes shy of three hours!
Although I’m admittedly “a talker,” truth be told, it was Jeff who did most of it this time. That’s mainly because he’s such an enthralling person, I’ve learned it behooves me to just listen … and take notes! You can gain a better sense of what an exceptionally interesting man Jeff is by clicking on the button below to reach a selection of past Cardie Newsletters in which he was featured.
A bar/bat mitzvah teacher for many gratifying years, Jeff shared with me some of the “One Minute Manager messages” he employs to prepare the 12-year-olds for success. Now I knew of masterful Mark Twain, but had not heard his profound, “The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.”
Also new to me was the 12th-century rabbi and philosopher Maimonides, one of history’s most prolific and influential Torah scholars. “Doing mitzvahs with joy and loving God, who gave them to us, is a great form of Divine service,” is a message Jeff clearly lives by, as did his beloved wife Barb, who left this earth nearly two very long years ago now.
In our wiiiide-ranging conversation, he also quoted François de La Rochefoucauld, another new (as well as unpronounceable :) name to me, saying that the 17th-century French moralist had uttered, “An apology is a kindness too late.” I so loved that brilliant and powerful statement that I later googled it, and when nothing came up, wondered if Jeffrey may not have inadvertently quoted his own wise self!
My search did turn up a bunch of other great lines from Monsieur de la Rochefouchauld, such as, “No persons are more frequently wrong than those who will not admit they are wrong.” And the also true, “We rarely think people have good sense unless they agree with us.”
I can’t recall how our talk turned to books and movies, other than Jeff always has great uplifting ones to suggest. Yesterday’s recommendations:
Mitch Albom’s Have a Little Faith movie
Pay It Forward, the book by Catherine Ryan Hyde
And because he shared that he’s watched each of the following feel-good films no less than four times to fully appreciate the moral of the stories, Jeff inspired me to re-watch:
The Simple Life of Noah Dearborn
As you can no-doubt tell, this was only the tip of the iceberg that was our great, three-hour gabfest that I honestly had no intention of sharing. My mind is still absorbing and my heart is still smiling after my long chat with Reb Jeff. So this is all just to say that, as much as we love sending cards around here, I so savored the sunshine that Jeff beamed my way that I propose you give yourself the gift of settling in and reaching out to one of your own favorite people today. Ahh, enjoy and be nourished.
Jodee Stevens
Founder & Chief Creative
What a beautiful card! And I can think of so many ways it will brighten the day of those I love…
“An apology is a kindness too late” wow, is that ever profound. We rely on a quick text or an email but you are so right, Jodee, we need to pick up the phone and have a real conversation. Maybe not an almost 3 hour one, but a call for sure. Thank you for that meaningful card, it will be on my shopping list.
Great wisdom from a dear friend. Glad you had the time to really be present with Rabbi Jeff on the phone. In our hurry-up world, truly taking time for connection with another is becoming as much a “dying art” as people say card sending is. And it’s just as loved when it is received. The gift of “presence” – even on the phone shows you value the other.
And this card you chose is one of my very favorites. It can be used for occasions both deemed “positive” and “negative.” It encourages hopefulness and finding strength. This is one I order again and again. :)
I love “An apology is a kindness too late”! And thanks for the reminder to keep reaching out to friends.
Such wonderful, “down to earth” wisdom! Thank you for sharing.