GPS Won’t Tell You Where to Go

Google and Waze are up to date with road construction, closures and traffic, but they’ll always be limited by finite intelligence. They can get us where we want to go, but they can’t possibly know if it’s good for us to be there.

By Rabbi Mordechai Lipskier – The Beis Medrash

Google Maps and Waze have drastically changed the driving experience. With a constant feed of current information, drivers can feel confident about the route they’re taking. Moreover, we can feel confident taking a unique route, even when we see everyone else heading a different way.

In this week’s sedra, we read about the Yidden’s travels in the desert. Interestingly, the Aron Kodesh, which contained the Torah, was not kept safely in the middle of the traveling caravan; it always traveled ahead, seeking places to camp. 

Since that time, Jews have been wandering through “deserts” both physical and spiritual. And, just like then, our compass and guide is always the Torah.

The two verses which describe the traveling of the Aron Kodesh are separated from the verses before and after them with a strange symbol: two inverted nuns, like this: ׆. This is the only place in Torah where this symbol is used.

The word nun can be translated as “fish”. So, the message of the Aron guiding us through the desert is encapsulated by two nuns–fish–swimming against the tide.

One sign of a healthy fish is its ability to swim upstream, against the current. The chassid R’ Avrohom Mayor would say, “We are like live fish. A fisherman who sees a group of fish swimming downstream cannot know for sure whether or not they are alive. Maybe they’re dead and just going with the flow. But if a fish is swimming upstream, even if it’s alone, the fisherman knows that at least this one is alive.”

There are always strong currents, trends and fashions trying to reel us in, and those who are weak and insecure with their own direction may easily be swept along. But, we have the strength to stay alive and swim against the current. The Torah is the wisdom of Hashem, and it connects us with the most precise compass available. Whether in areas of morals, ethics, politics, marriage or education, we always have the ultimate knowledge ready and available to us.

Google and Waze are up to date with road construction, closures and traffic, but they’ll always be limited by finite intelligence. For example: they can get us where we want to go, but they can’t possibly know if it’s good for us to be there.

The Torah is up to date with everything, because the Torah is one with the Creator of everything. By plugging ourselves into the Torah, we will feel happy and confident to go wherever it leads us—even when it’s against the flow. And like ardent Wazers we reach out to others to share our inspiration and direction.^[1]

[1] Based on Likutei Sichos vol. 8, pg. 287, and Tzohar Lateiva quoting Rav Dov Aryeh Berzhan.

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