DECEMBER 16 • 2021 | 11

Gary Shapiro, president 
and CEO of the Consumer 
Technology Association 
and a member of Temple 
Israel, received the Légion 
d’Honneur (Legion of 
Honor) award, the highest 
French order of merit, on 
Oct. 20. 
 Conferred by President 
of France Emmanuel 
Macron, the award rec-
ognizes Gary’s service in 
spearheading France’s tran-
sition to a technology-for-
ward society and organizing 
CES, the world’s foremost 
technology event. 
 In remarks at the cere-
mony, Macron lauded Gary 
as a “tech pioneer who 
became a tech giant,” citing 
his “deep understanding 

of what tech requires” for 
business and commitment 
to “people, values and prin-
ciples.” 

samples at the ice cream 
counter or dominating the 
conversation (poorly) at 
the dinner table. Larry is 
rude and inconsiderate, 
but he is seldom wrong. 
He is what Rabbi Joseph 
Soloveitchik might have 
called a “Halachic Man” — 
an actualizer of “the ideals 
of justice and righteousness,” 
even when the rest of the 
world resents it.
If you think I am 
overdoing it, remember that 
there is an actual discussion 
in Talmud about the right 
and wrong way of putting on 
a pair of shoes.
And just as in the Talmud, 
there are no easy answers 
in David’s moral universe: 
If a friend lends you his 
favorite, one-of-a-kind shirt, 
and you ruin it, what are 
your obligations to him? 
(See: Bava Metzia 96b) If 
a thief breaks into your 

house and then drowns in 
your swimming pool, which 
wasn’t protected by the 
required fence, who is owed 
damages and how much? 
(See: Ibn Ezra on Exodus 
22:1-2)
In last week’s episode, 
Larry even touched on — 
consciously or not — a 
classic debate in the Talmud: 
If you and a friend are 
stranded in the desert, 
and your canteen has only 
enough water for one of you 
to survive, must you share it 
or save your own life?
Yes, Larry was talking 
about sharing a phone 
charger, but if the Sages 
had cell phones, what do 
you think they’d be talking 
about? 

Andrew Silow-Carroll is the editor 

in chief of The New York Jewish 

Week and senior editor of the Jewish 

Telegraphic Agency (@SilowCarroll). 

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Gary Shapiro receives the Legion 
of Honor award from French 
President Emmanuel Macron.

Temple Israel Member Receives 
Legion of Honor Award
“IT’S SOME KIND OF WONDERFUL!”
–NY1

OPENS IN 3 WEEKS • JANUARY 4-9, 2022 • FISHER THEATRE 

BroadwayInDetroit.com | ticketmaster.com | Box Office

Groups (10+) BroadwayInDetroitGroups@theambassadors.com (subject: Beautiful)

OC open-caption performance January 7 at 8:00PM

Photo: Joan Marcus

