The Divine Wrench
Algorithms are a topic that are understood through the lens of technology. Much like a screw is understood by its function and use. So too, a person is identified by his peers with a title that suits their actions. The best way to explain something is by actually showing someone the real thing, how it works and of course, its success in its purpose. Imagine for a moment, a person who never heard of a screw. I can try to explain what it is by describing the way a closet is built and how it remains connected and sturdy, or I can just pick up a driver and fasten two planks together. It’s the difference between theoretical potential and actual proof. As the Hebrew saying goes, “You cannot compare listening to seeing.”
A human being is the same way, we can describe them with their potential functions. For example, “Humans can use their arms to build magnificent architecture.” But we can also describe a person by showing off their handiwork and progress. For example, “This individual is an architect, and these are his magnificent builds.” Seeing the results is believing in their function. I can claim to be a professional, but without many five star reviews, people may still doubt my claim. From this understanding we learn that a title is earned by the progress made rather than just the will for progress.
The algorithm of our minds is fueled by our will. You must understand that the will works without will. For if will required will to will, that means, it would require a will to initiate the “first” will. The Mishnah in Avot 5:6 notes that the first wrench was created by God on Friday before evening, “Since one wrench needs another wrench to fasten its nut.” The word the Mishnah uses for “wrench” is “Tzvat.” Tzvat is mentioned in Baba Kama 59b as well, where it is used in the context of a deaf man spreading a fire that someone else handed over to him. Rabbi Yochanan states in the Gemara, “Even if one handed the deaf man a flame and he took it and lit a field, one would not be liable for the damages, since it is the “Tzavta – influence” of the deaf man’s, non-functioning mind, that caused the fire in the field.”
We are influenced by the first wrenches in our lives. God set a game in motion, and that game doesn’t end until the end; we must keep playing. We were born to specific parents, at a certain time in history, in this particular location, with these individuals in my orbit. Those start the gears and give us the ability to form a life with these circumstances. We build a life for ourselves based on our upbringing and the opportunities of the surrounding world. This is what we know to be true; this is the economy I get to work with, and this is my status in society. Influenced by these Godly motions, we use our faculties and play to win.
Our minds are simply playing off our own personal algorithms. It is what we know that brings us to grips with our reality. Take a person who is an excellent carpenter, for example. One day he gets a call from his accountant that he’s being audited by the collectors. His accountant sits him down for a meeting and starts discussing the reasons as to why he owes back-taxes. He says, “You see, based on the amount you made, before deducting expenses, your bracket would be 25%, but we filed you in the 20% since we added them in.” The carpenter thinks and says, “So since the closet is taller, it now has to be wider in order to support it properly.” This is the way he thinks, so naturally, every new concept will be compared to what he knows to be true.
So if we are educated properly and given an open door to wisdom, we can expand our reality far beyond our current circumstances (carpentry). We can tap into the vastness of knowledge handed down throughout the ages. And of course, if we have access to people with whom we can talk with so that we can nosh a little from their algorithms and slowly mold our own. It does take time for many to understand this on their own, so it would be a great service if we, us who already know this, awaken them to this. We should actively be inserting ourselves into the public eye so that they can learn from our actions and understand their own functions.
Imagine being stuck on one algorithm, for example, the Russian and Ukrainian war. The sympathetic videos towards the victims keep passing by your eyes all day long. This is where a lot of your energy goes, since these visuals trigger your sympathetic emotions. They can also induce anxiety to the worried and can ignite anger in the irate. These feelings lead to action, since the cause is so embedded in their mind, heart and soul. But since this individual never saw an opposing view in their timeline, or anything else for that matter, they will be driven by a pure ego-centric drive that may lead them to the evilest of crimes.
Some people live in the box, and as the Gemara in Brachot 5b notes, “An incarcerated man cannot free himself.” We need to be creative and think out of the box in order to break free. Just as our game is set up from outside of the box, we will succeed when we form a life for ourselves from an “outside the box” view. We must use that to our advantage and create our own wrenches through the original Godly wrench, so that we can tighten more and more wrenches around the world.
It is important to lead ourselves in the direction of peace. We need to cleanse our timelines from the zoomed in and egoistic lens and expand our horizons. Genesis 13:14-15: “Raise your eyes and see from the place that you are at… For the entire land that you see, to you are given and to your children until ever.” By allowing the perspectives of others into our lives we ultimately bring peace to ourselves and the entire world. Bring them all into focus and see how large your opportunities become. The small cage that held you in until now won’t even be noticed as you break free and go far beyond your wildest imaginations.
Step out and choose peace in your life. Be thirsty to learn more and more. Learn from everything, even the things that are seemingly bad. Everything that passes through your mind widens your viewpoint. And who knows, maybe you needed this problem in order to see it a bit wider. And mainly, bring peace into your life by being a wrench. Be the tool of will for others. Spread peace around the world and be a doer of good. Become an example rather than the teacher of theoretics. You will teach so many more, and reach way farther. Words can only be understood by the learned, examples are understood even by babies. Be the shining star which will make people want to be like you. Be the emissary of peace and the leader of will. Use what He gave you and make something out of yourself; make something good out of yourself. Be the person who is proud of the shape and form God created him in, “For you are molded perfectly.”
David Lemmer is an Orthodox Jewish Writer and Hypnotherapist. He can be reached at LemmerHypno@gmail.com