When ten of the spies reported that the Promised Land was inhabited by undefeatable giants and fortified cities, the people of Israel immediately lost heart. Panic swept the community. They cried all night. They complained that they would rather have died in Egypt. They even thought of appointing a new leader to take them back to servitude in Egypt. To them, that seemed preferable to entering Canaan only to be murdered by the powerful Canaanite nations.

Shalom and best wishes. Here are a few items for your attention/action.

Among Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik’s lectures, was one that dealt with the relationship between grandparents and grandchildren. “A grandfather stands before his newly born grandchild filled with paradoxical thoughts. Feelings of renewal merge with fading memories of the past.”

My wife and I recently had dinner in a fine New York kasher restaurant. At a nearby table, a father and daughter (about 12 or 13 years old) were seated together. How nice, I thought, that this father wanted quality time with his daughter, and took her out to a special dinner. However, the father soon received a call on his cell phone, and he was on the phone for the entire time that we were in the restaurant. The "quality time" with his daughter was not of a very high quality. She was picking away at her dinner, staring off into space, as her father talked endlessly on his cell phone.

Shalom. Here are a few reminders. We've had some good conversations on the new University Network discussion group, and I encourage you to enroll if you haven't already done so--and I encourage you to add your comments, raise your issues, and help make the discussion group a lively and worthwhile forum.

If you've enrolled on the discussion group but have not been receiving messages, please let me know asap. Today, you should have received the latest comment from Michael Makovi.

Shalom. I hope you had a good Thanksgiving holiday, and wish you a happy Hanukkah in advance.

We now have about 150 members in our University Network, with students from throughout the US as well as several other countries. Our group continues to grow, and we hope you'll invite your fellow students to sign up for the University Network by going to our website jewishideas.org

(This Angel for Shabbat column is sponsored by Yossie and Linnie (Tovli) Simiryan, in commemoration of the 15th anniversary of the passing of Reb Shlomo Carlebach.)

After going to battle to save his nephew Lot, Abraham meets with the king of Sodom. The king offers Abraham the booty from the war but Abraham declines to take anything for himself. Abraham introduced his response with the words: "I have lifted up my hand unto the Lord, God Most High, Maker of heaven and earth..." Most commentators take this to mean that Abraham took an oath.

Some years ago, I learned about a doctoral dissertation that explored the nature of charisma. The author spent many hours talking with and observing individuals who were widely regarded as being very successful in their interpersonal relationships. Among the group of charismatic people were clergy, doctors, teachers, businesspeople, and a bartender.

What qualities did these individuals have that made others feel attracted to them? What was at the root of their charisma? Why were these men and women so highly regarded among their peers?