Driving in an Autonomous World — Reflections for the New Year

“You should always be in the driver’s seat.”
My dad instilled this approach in me from a very early age, and even though I didn’t get my license until I was 20 something, I understood the significance of setting my destination in life, controlling my speed and direction, and rerouting when necessary (and often). In everything that I’ve pursued, I’ve carried this approach to reach success.
Rosh Hashana (“Head of the Year”) marks the beginning of the Jewish New Year, this year, 5779. In our tradition, we listen to the blowing of the Shofar to remind us to awaken and ask forgiveness for our mistakes, we dip apples in honey as a symbol of the sweet new year ahead, eat pomegranates whose seeds are as numerous as the mitzvot (good deeds) in the Torah, and most importantly, we spend time with friends and family, as we celebrate the Creation of the World as per our ancient Tradition. (More here for a brief explanation.)
In 2018, we live in a highly automated world — companies are testing driverless cars, hospitals, law firms and the stock market are being run (slowly) by robots and consumer trends are dominated by data and artificial intelligence. In our daily lives, we have electronics at home that respond to our voices and predict our needs, bills that are paid automatically, and calendar notifications that help us streamline our most basic tasks.
Each of these automations is supposed to make our world a better, safer, more efficient place, so as I adapt my GPS for the Jewish New Year, I’d like to share a few of the values that allow me to play a substantial role in affecting the outcome of my decisions, and hope they resonate with you.
Live. Give. Forgive.
These are the three words that Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks would put on a gigantic billboard. He says so in Timothy Ferriss’ Tribe of Mentors as part of an interview meant to inspire the author to answer the question “What would this look like if it were easy?”
I’ve learned time and time again that nothing comes easy in life, even when we have technology to decrease our loads. I could quote Rabbi Sacks endlessly, as he has been one of the greatest sources of wisdom and clarity for me over the past decade. In May 2008, I stumbled upon his Home of Hope album honoring Israel’s 60th Independence Day. Through song and short spoken recordings, Sacks painted a picture that Israel is strong due to the strength, resilience and incessant hope of the Jewish people. We all know that the story of the Jews has not been an easy one. On every holiday, we rejoice “they tried to kill us, we survived, let’s eat,” and while, in many cases this very abridged tale rings true, it is even more important to recall the hope and faith that kept us alive through the millennia.
As we approach the new year, we need to account for our own mistakes and triumphs over the past year, learn from them, and take ownership of our trajectory for the year to come. We must do our best to maintain our integrity and do our personal best, knowing that some “automation” from our Creator will help us along.
Make the World a Better Place
Every week, as my mom dropped me off at Hebrew school, she gave me a handful of change to put into the tzedakah box in my classroom. Tzedakah, the Hebrew concept of giving to charity, and tikkun olam, actively pursuing social justice, are at the core of my being. I often take the opportunity to be thankful for what I have and find ways to give to others. It can be giving a granola bar or yogurt to a homeless person on the street, donating to a fundraiser, helping a friend in need, or really any random act of kindness.
In the book I’m reading now, Mistakes I Made at Work, Harvard Law School professor and civil rights champion Lani Guinier advises:
“When I’m teaching, I often share with my students this quote from Howard Thurman, a theologian who greatly influenced Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: ‘Don’t just ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.’”
So be driven, go out and do, and your commitment to making your corner of the world a better place will shine through and impact others to do the same. Nobody can choose your good deeds for you, so take an active role in putting a smile on others’ faces, and you, too, will smile (but try not to do it for the ‘gram alone).
Build Your Happiness
I do not believe that true happiness is an inborn human trait. We have to work towards it, and build our lives and environments in such a way that will foster our growth and feelings of worth and value.
Earlier in the year, I finished Rabbi Milton Steinberg’s As a Driven Leaf (something that a colleague recommended to me around five years ago). The whole 480 page fiction novel kept me captivated, as it told the story of Talmudic Sage Elisha ben Abuyah, who grappled with remaining committed to Judaism while exploring the secular, Roman world around him. Thousands of years after the story was set, each chapter connected more and more with modern Jewish life. While Elisha is seriously questioning his commitment as a Rabbinic Sage, he confides in his non-Jewish confidant and teacher Nicholaus:
“I have of late made an interesting discovery about the processes of living. In our Tradition there are a number of epigrams about the prerequisites of human happiness. One of the Sages generations ago enumerated truth, justice and peace as essentials; another, God’s law, His service and acts of mercy. Actually, the stuff of spiritual peace is of a much less heroic character. A man has happiness if he possesses three things — those whom he loves and who love him in turn, confidence in the worth and continued existence of the group of which he is a part, and last of all, a truth by which he may order his being.”
Following Elisha’s wisdom, we need to make sure to maintain human contact, be part of communities and causes we believe in, and stick to our guns — have conviction and stand by our values. In this highly automated world, it’s easy to stray from these three principles, considering we text more than we speak on the phone or even see the people who matter in person. So let’s focus on being present and finding true meaning in our actual lives (and not as much through the personas we have online).
L’Shana Tova U’Metuka
I hope these three ideas bring light to you this holiday season and wish for a warm, sweet, prosperous, healthy, and connected New Year! Wherever you are, stay in the driver’s seat, allow yourself some autopilot wiggle room, and in the words of entrepreneur, Avi Jorisch, in his recent book Thou Shalt Innovate, How Israeli Ingenuity Repairs the World, “Be a mensch, make the world a better place, try your hardest, never ever give up, and have a good time.”
L’Shana Tova U’Metuka!

