Friday night for the first time since my Bar Mitzvah, I did the weekly drash -- a short discussion of the week's Torah portion -- at Sabbath services. I was not exactly a volunteer, but I gave it a whirl. Unsurprisingly, since the portion was from the Book of Numbers, it entailed counting and I riffed on that. Among others, I cited someone not well known as a Torah commentator, Israel Isidore Baline, the son of a rabbi, who penned these words on counting:
When my bankroll is getting small
I think of when I had none at all
And I fall asleep counting my blessings
I think about a nursery and I picture curly heads
And one by one I count them as they slumber in their beds
If you're worried and you can't sleep
Just count your blessings instead of sheep.
Not bad advice for denizens of Silicon Valley, mystery writers, or anyone.
I don’t know how many of you remember where you might have heard these words? They were sung by Bing Crosby in of all movies, White Christmas. And of course, Israel Isidore Baline is better known as Irving Berlin.
Israel Isidore Baline
Harry Lillis Crosby
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