Look at the screen. What do you see?

Can you please take a break from reading this email and… look at the screen?

Yes, you read that correctly. Take a break from reading this email and look at the screen.

That screen—whether it’s a laptop, an iPhone, a Samsung, or even a Blackberry (please, someone, tell me you still own a Blackberry!)—is an impressive combination of many parts.

It includes aluminum, copper, gold, silver, tin, rare earth minerals, and glass. If you were to track where all the components came from, you would realize that the screen in front of you has parts from all over the world. Most likely, pieces of your screen came from Australia, Guinea, Bolivia, Congo, Peru, Indonesia, and China (of course!).

Isn’t that incredible?

You might wonder, “Rabbi, what’s so incredible about this?” Let me explain. It has everything to do with this coming Shabbat.

This Shabbat, we celebrate the world’s birthday—the 25th of Elul, the day G-d began creation. As we know, humans didn’t show up until six days later, when Adam and Eve were created. Not only were they created on the last day, but they were also created last, after everything else.

Usually, when someone is late to the party, the party goes without them. But in this case, Adam and Eve were the highlight. Everything else was created beforehand because they—us!—are the ones who bring purpose and elevation to the entire creation.

As soon as humans walked the earth, everything was fully ready for them.

Around this time of year, the Rebbe often spoke about a verse in Psalms that describes Adam calling upon all creatures to bow down and serve G-d as soon as he was created. We have the same responsibility to the world around us—to bring the entire creation to serve G-d.

Think about those rare earth elements mined in Australia or the machines harvesting tin in Bolivia. All of it was created for us because we can elevate it.

How? By using it for holiness. When we use the world around us to do a mitzvah, we bring purpose, meaning, and divine energy into it.

Now, look at your screen again. We can use our laptops or phones to do mitzvot. Here are a few ways we can use our devices for holy purposes:

• Torah Learning: Study Torah online, or share Torah teachings on social media.
• Kindness: Email a friend to show you care, or help someone find a job.
• Shabbat: Disconnect from your devices for Shabbat, making them part of the day of rest.

The possibilities are endless!

When we do these things, we are like Adam on his first day—elevating the world and fulfilling our purpose.

And that is incredible.