I Am a Know It All
At what point in our lives do we come to the realization that we know everything? Let’s face the truth: We know everything about our cellphone, every gadget and gizmo in our car, every recipe, we’ve tried every restaurant, we have the perfect golf swing every time. We never need further instructions, we invest our money wisely without seeking any counseling because we know it all.
The fact is that we don’t know at all! Every day there are new life hacks and new ways of improving things we’ve been doing all the time and we’re constantly yearning to live a better life. Doing so takes research.
Yet I would say this: Since many readers of this column may have had a b’nai mitzvah or some elementary Jewish education, we avoid further Jewish education because we don’t think it will add anything to our lives — and of course we’ve got other, better things to learn.
So what if Jewish education teaches us how to have great relationships with life partners, children, friends, relatives, bosses, subordinates, and neighbors? Or how about how to protect our environment, maintain health and vitality, extend our life expectancy, be a success in business, learn negotiating skills, develop motivation, improve our memories, experience fantastic intimacy, defend against diseases, and so many other life skills?
Regrettably, we’ve been conditioned to think that Jewish education is all about our relationship with God and all the rituals, commandments, laws, and idiosyncrasies it takes to live a Jewish lifestyle. While that is truly available, it is not exclusive to Jewish education and, quite frankly, it’s just a minor part of that.
So, where are all these life hacks in Jewish education and how realistic are they, considering that many of them were written thousands of years ago? They can’t possibly apply to today’s society, so why bother researching them?
Nothing could be further from the truth! Life skills and concepts that are used today find their origins in the writings of the book of Proverbs, the Talmud, the Mishna Torah, the Torah, the books of Prophets, the Shulchan Aruch, and many more. There are so many different texts they can actually fill a Jewish library!
Of course, if just reading a book and learning from it was so simple, then we would not have the need for teachers at any level in the secular education process. There are a plethora of basic, mid-level, and advanced classes just waiting for you to enroll in person and online.
The question you have to ask yourself is: Do I really know it all? What if I knew more? What if I was able to utilize everything that life offers, because we certainly demand that from every gadget we buy, every technical innovation we pursue, and every new hack we learn.
This year, let’s change the course of our life by enrolling in a Jewish course — of course!
Andy Greenberg is a 25-year Conservative Jewish educator of grades 3-12 and a lecturer for adults of all ages.
