How being a rabbi is like being a carpenter.

---

You must choose your material very carefully.  The best outcome starts with the best material.

What you are working with is living and organic. Variations are to be expected.

Even from the same species, group or family, every individual is completely unique.

You will make mistakes. Half of the job is knowing how to fix them.

Truly fine work is custom fit.

You must accept that nothing you do will ever be perfect.

Measure twice, cut once. 

Both are ancient traditions with modern practical applications.

When fitting things together, finesse is almost always better than force. But when all else fails, try a bigger hammer.

Tools and techniques change, but the goal remains essentially the same; to provide comfort and shelter in a beautiful way.

There will be mistakes and flaws along the way. But if you try to keep them to a minimum, they disappear when you step back and look at the whole picture.

It only takes a momentary lack of attention for people to get hurt. 

Patience is paramount. You may not be able to finish today. Sometimes you need to be able to just set things down and return to them tomorrow.

What you do matters much more than what you say.