One thing I dig about Facebook is the massive quantities of otherwise unknowable information it brings me.
For example, today is Marc Saidel’s birthday!
Back when I was a kid, I attended Hebrew school with Jenna, Mr. Saidel’s daughter. We came up through the ranks of lukewarm Torah study together, learned our Hebrew letters together, sat through weekly two-hour sessions together, suppressing yawns, sharing laughs, wondering whether Carey Jackson would be showing up that week. We attended each other’s Bar/Bat Mitzvahs, pretty sure we showed up at a couple of overlapping parties …
And all the while, there was Mr. Saidel.
He was a v-e-r-y warm man, with a deep voice, a kind smile, gestures that made you think, “I like this guy.” I can’t recall what sort of Hebrew skills he had, or whether he ever taught one of my classes. But he was a positive presence in my boyhood.
And now, thanks to Facebook, I know today is his birthday.
How did we ever survive sans social media?
