Why are Jews successful economically? Why do we sleep 8 hours a night? And how do you play "Adon Olam" to the "Cups song"? Ah, the questions of the age.

I followed an NPR link and it led me to a explanation of a premise that is now explained in a book, The Chosen Few: How Education Shaped Jewish History, 70-1492.  It looks fascinating.  The  article itself is well worth a read, explaining the authors' premise:

"Modern explanations of why the Jews became a population of craftsmen, traders, shopkeepers, bankers, scholars, and physicians have relied on supposed economic or legal restrictions. But these do not pass the test of the historical evidence...  

The key message of "The Chosen Few" is that the literacy of the Jewish people, coupled with a set of contract-enforcement institutions developed during the five centuries after the destruction of the Second Temple, gave the Jews a comparative advantage in occupations such as crafts, trade, and moneylending -- occupations that benefited from literacy, contract-enforcement mechanisms, and networking and provided high earnings."

Apparently the article got so much feedback that there was then a follow-up article, where the authors answered the most popular questions, critiques, and comments to their premise.  Again, completely intriguing.

As I read these articles at some ungodly hour when I couldn't sleep, I thought this piece was worthy of note.  It's from a site called "slumberwise.com," so I can't account for its accuracy, but if it's true, it makes me rethink our sleeping patterns entirely.  Entitled, "Your Ancestors Didn't Sleep Like You," it describes how people used to sleep in two segments over a 12-hour period of time, how this is more natural to our circadian rhythms, and that this way of sleeping went out of style at the advent of electric light.  Who knew?

And lastly, just for fun, you know the ubiquitous Anna Kendrick "Cups" song?  I saw a great version of it on my FB feed, where a vocal band did a cover to Adon Olam, a liturgical prayer that is often reworked into different tunes.  Click on this link to enjoy an entirely new contemporary version of Adon Olam!