Spotlight on CLAL
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Finding The Soul Behind Work And Money
By Judy Epstein, Director of Public Affairs
Working in new partnerships, CLAL President Rabbi Irwin Kula recently joined the American Business Associates (ABA) as the keynote speaker at their major event on Long Island. Meeting on March 26 at the Huntington Townhouse were close to 200 business leaders from across Long Island, New York City and Philadelphia, who came together to hear Rabbi Kula discuss how to find the soul in work and money, especially in an age of unprecedented freedom and affluence.
“Two of the most important differences between our generation and the one of just half a century ago are in our attitudes towards money and work,” said Rabbi Kula. “We are a generation whose work creates more wealth and abundance than ever before. Not surprisingly, we live better, and by choice work more hours. For us, the question is not so much how to get what we need, but to know what it is that we really need - not so much how to make our work productive, but how to reawaken the spirit of our work.”
Building on the success from his popular public television series, Simple Wisdom with Irwin Kula, he talked about the importance of building a balanced and meaningful life. “We need to re-imagine our work so that we can reconnect our livelihood to our lives,” said Rabbi Kula, who further pointed out that our relationship to money reveals a lot about who we are. “Money enters every aspect of our life. Often we confuse our net worth with our self-worth, but that is a big a mistake.”
Using Jewish wisdom as the foundation, Rabbi Kula spoke about the need for community and connection as central to creating fuller, richer lives. “There is a big difference between a good character and a good bank account,” he said, citing the importance of building deeper links with family, friends, community, and the world-at-large.
For many, regardless of their particular faith traditions, his words generated new conversations and thinking. At the end of the session, participants had the opportunity to network together and share their own stories.
Sponsors of the ABA event
included many local businesses and the Long Island Business News.
The ABA is the longest professionally managed business-to-business
networking organization in New York.
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