Hello from Mitzpe Yericho,

“How’s my driving?” We’ve all seen those bumper stickers on the backs of company trucks, as companies know how their employees drive reflects positively or negatively on their company. Interestingly, those signs appear on trucks here in Israel as well. I want to share an insight from a rabbi and author who I met recently, Rabbi Zev Shandalov, who writes about images in our daily life that can inspire us — especially as we prepare for the upcoming new year. In Hebrew, the sign reads, “Aich Ani Noheg/N’hee-gah?” The word for driving (noheg/n’hee-gah), however, is also basically the same as for “behaving.” So the sign could read, “How am I behaving?” Can we picture ourselves with a sign on our backs that asks others to comment on how we are behaving? As we’re going about our daily lives — interacting with our family at home, friends in the community, standing in line at the store, sending text messages, participating in meetings, speaking with colleagues at work — how are we acting? And what if there was a number to call to give feedback about how we’re doing? It’s certainly a question we can and should be asking ourselves on a regular basis.

When it comes to our behavior and actions, the grammatical form in Hebrew is reflexive — which means that we do it to and for ourselves. Others do not make us act or behave in a certain way, even though we’d love to claim that they do! I am responsible and in control of my behavior and actions. I choose my response in any given situation. I am driving my own behavior and choosing my own actions. So, as we prepare to start a new year and we’re evaluating our actions, we can take the opportunity to use the bumper sticker to ask about how’s my driving and apply it to ourselves. Hopefully, we can make whatever adjustments are necessary to become 5-star drivers on the road of life!