On flying cars and kosher hot dog carts
You’ve got to give it to Elon Musk.
Whatever you think of the man, he is a creative genius. Last week, in a stunt that stunned millions of people around the world, he introduced the Tesla Roadster: a sports car that can fly, flip in the air, and even drive upside down.
It didn’t take long for the memes to start flying. My favorite was a mitzvah tank driving along and flipping in the air. The only piece missing was a caption: “Chabad. We will do whatever it takes to reach another Jew!”
I’m not in the car business, and I don’t plan to buy a Roadster anytime soon. Honestly, I don’t even know how many people will ever use this feature. What impressed me most was the creativity behind it. I can imagine them sitting in a meeting, planning the next car, with Elon saying, “Okay, guys, that sounds good, but it’s not crazy enough! Do something even more impressive!” And then someone says, “How about we make the car flip in the air?” and everyone goes, “Yes, that’s it!”
Tesla guys: 10 points for creativity!
I’ve always had a soft spot for creativity. Lately, though, it’s been on my mind for a different reason: the passing of a man I never met, yet whose life made an impact on mine.
His name is Rabbi Yisroel Rubin, and he was the rebbe’s shliach (emissary) to Albany, N.Y. To me, he was the symbol of a creative Chabad rabbi, all because of one article I read about him.
The article was published in Kfar Chabad magazine. I must have been less than 10 years old when I read it. It told the story of Chabad of Albany, but what jumped out at me were the creative ways Rabbi Rubin found to reach more people.
I vividly remember it describing the young Chabad rabbi arriving in town and wondering how to engage more people. Seeing all the hot dog carts downtown, he came up with an idea: he bought his own hot dog cart. Of course, it was kosher, with signs inviting people to eat kosher and do mitzvos.
And when one day his eyes fell on one of those little matchbooks covered with ads, he thought to himself: Hey, let’s use this to tell people about Shabbos candles!
The article went on to describe more and more creative ideas. I was hooked. It felt like a new world had opened up to me.
Rabbi Rubin passed away three weeks ago, and ever since, I’ve wanted to share how inspired his creativity made me feel, but I couldn’t find the words. So thanks, Elon, for the flying car that helped me write this article.
Here’s the thing about creativity: the world is full of it, and most of it goes toward making more money or grabbing more attention (which usually brings more money, too).
If Rabbi Rubin had wanted to, he could have been a marketing genius, helping a company grow its bottom line. Instead, he chose to use his creative mind for something else: to make the world better and to bring people closer to their purpose.
That wasn’t just his personality. It was his shlichus. Over the years, I’ve read a lot about how the Rebbe encouraged creativity. Actually, not encouraged: insisted. Creativity is a gift from G-d, and when G-d gives us a gift, it’s because our purpose in life is to use it. The Mitzvah tank (which, as of yet, is still not flying) is a perfect example. So was a kosher hot dog cart in downtown Albany.
And while I can’t compete with Rabbi Rubin, I try to learn from his lesson. Some of my ideas become something local, some end up in my mental trash bin (oh, it’s super big), and one idea I’m very proud of ended up happening hundreds of miles away. When Tesla introduced the Cybertruck, I designed a Mitzvah Cybertruck and posted it on social media. A few months later, a Chabad rabbi in Florida actually made it happen, telling me my post had inspired him.
I wonder if that Chabad rabbi in Florida knows that, in a way, his Cybertruck started with a 9-year-old reading Kfar Chabad magazine.
Rabbi Rubin: Thank you. Your hot dog cart is still rolling.
Rabbi Mendy Kaminker is the rabbi of Chabad of Hackensack and an editorial member of Chabad.org. He looks forward to your comments at rabbi@chabadhackensack.com.