Is Life Like Waze?



I was told an interesting parable by my daughter Avital, in the name of Rav Daniel Stavsky.

This is an interesting approach to the old chestnut question how can we have freedom to choose, when God is all knowing and is in control of the whole world, down to the finest detail?

Life is like Waze. (Waze is an Israeli-invented GPS and traffic management system)

The beginning and end of each trip is defined.

The optimal route is also mapped out for us.

Yet, at any point in the journey we can use our own judgement to change or ignore the route, whether motivated by I-know-better, or simply failing to follow the instructions properly.

There may be significant consequences to departing from the instructed route - Waze no longer guarantees getting to our objective in an optimal way.

The optimal route can also be changed by Waze mid-stream, as conditions change in real-time on the roads. These factors are outside of our control or influence.

However, we can chose to contribute by sending Waze (and other users) information, such as about obstacles we experience in our journey, traffic reports, etc - thereby helping other people to have an easier journey.

What do you think - is life really like Waze?

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