I am so happy there is a Bar Mitzvah this week. You see, my job is to talk about the important things going on in the world. And if there was no Bar Mitzvah, my job would be talk about a whole bunch of depressing developments in the US and in Israel. Important topics but depressing. But since it’s a Bar Mitzvah, I get to talk about what’s important to 13-year-olds. And the most important thing for most kids between the ages of 7 and 13 is… Roblox.
Yes, that’s right. Roblox is the most popular video game for kids in that age bracket. While those of us who are blessed with children were rolling our eyes that our kids were wasting so much time on this app, what I should have done is pay attention to the fact that they loved it so much and invested in Roblox stock. In the past year alone, stock of Roblox had an increase of 250% and is now valued at 89.23 billion dollars.
Gabe, our Bar Mitzvah, is a huge fan of Roblox. Despite the fact that you swim, you sew, you draw, you have a great memory, you’re good at math, and you love to read, and despite all these talents and interests, you spend a lot of time playing Roblox. You, and 280 million other monthly users. Why?
So I spent my Friday morning doing a deep dive into Roblox. When your child asks you what rabbis do all day, you tell them, they spend their day reading about video games. And I concluded (with apologies to Forrest Gump,) that life, Jewish spiritual life, is like the game of Roblox.
How so?
Gabe happens to be a tech whiz who plans on being a hacker for the NSA. Gabe could probably write code to create anything he wants. Most of us regular people don’t have a clue how to create things using computer code. One of the things that makes Roblox so popular is something called Roblox Creator. Roblox creator allows people like me and you to make Roblox games.
There is a big debate as to what happens when we do Mitzvos, when we do good deeds. The rationalists suggest that the objective of Mitzvos is to transform our character. You do a good deed, you become a better person. But the Kabbalists believe that when we do a good deed, we are actually creating spiritual worlds. What they are saying is that there is a code being written every time we perform a good deed and that code is creating incredible things.
For example, we are all right now studying Torah. The rationalists will say that the outcome of our studying is that we become more knowledgeable and therefore more refined. However, the Kabbalists will tell you that behind the scenes there is code driving the entire universe, kind of like the Matrix, and when we learn Torah or do any Mitzvah, we are tapping into that code, rewriting that code, and refining the entire world. When we learn Torah over here in Baltimore that could be bringing more peace to Sudan. When we do a Mitzvah, it could impact the course of history.
Being Bar Mitzvah means that you are now a Spiritual Creator. Now, every time you say a blessing, every time you are kind – and that’s often, you are not just changing yourself, you are literally changing the world.
That’s one way that life is like the game of Roblox. But there’s more.
I used to assume Roblox was a single game, it’s not. I learned this the hard way. I was trying to be cool and told a teenager that one of my children likes Roblox, and the teenager asked, “Which game?” I said, Roblox. He asked, “Which game?” I again, said, Roblox. I subsequently learned there are 40 million games on Roblox and counting. When a child goes on the Roblox app, the opportunities before him or her are endless. And in some respects, this is a perfect metaphor for teenage hood. As we get older, the options open to us become fewer and fewer. But when we are young, the options are almost endless.
The Ramban in Parshas Bamidbar observes that when the Jewish People were counted, they were not allowed to count those who were from the ages of 13-20. And he explains that this is because there is a blessing given to Avraham that his children will be infinite. What he is saying is that the blessing of infinity, of endless possibilities, is specifically open to us during these precious teenage years.
Life is like a game of Roblox.
But there is a dark side to this analogy. And that is that Roblox is also a dangerous place to spend time. There are bad games, games meant to corrupt the minds of our youth, and there are also bad characters, horrible people looking to do bad things.
In Roblox, and really with all technology, our parents should take advantage of parental controls. It may be annoying to the child, but it is undoubtedly in the best interest of the child. In life, we have the 365 prohibitions of the Torah given to us by G-d. Following those restrictions can sometimes feel constricting but without a doubt, Hashem, our loving Father, gave them to us to protect our society and protect our soul. Those restrictions are in our best interest.
But here is where the analogy falls short. There is one flaw with Roblox. I believe this flaw is actually what makes it so attractive, and it’s also what makes it such a terrible metaphor for life. You see, Roblox is easy. Watch someone play Fortnite and then watch someone play Roblox. Fortnite guy is at the edge of his or her seat. Their face is scrunched up and they’re sweating. If they’re talking to a friend while they play they are yelling. This is how people play Roblox – lying back on their bed, casually chatting to a friend, Roblox is a chill.
And maybe that’s okay for a young and innocent child; life should not have to be so complicated. But as we get older, as we become a teen, life will inevitably get hard, and sometimes more than hard.
Those who believe in G-d, especially a loving and good G-d, are faced with a question. If G-d loves me so much, why does He make it so hard? To make matters worse, in the Torah portion we read today, G-d highlights the fact that He makes our life difficult. G-d describes in glowing terms how He made us live in a treacherous desert. Is that a good thing?!
This question comes up in so many parts of life. Every Passover we thank G-d for taking us out of Egypt. But don’t we also believe that G-d placed us in Egypt?! The same question can be asked about thanking G-d for healing us. Didn’t He also give us the illness in the first place?!
One way of addressing this question is as follows (Rabbi Leff): If someone were to walk over to you and break your legs. Then, they would pay all your doctor bills and visit you in the hospital. Would you be thankful to them? No, you’d think they were crazy.
But let’s say, a doctor walks up to you and notices that you have some form of disease and the only way to heal this disease is for your legs to be broken. Then they break your legs, they pay your bills and visit you in the hospital. And now when you are done at the hospital you are healthier than ever. Of course you would thank them.
G-d says in our parsha, “V’yadata im l’vavecha, and you should know in your heart, ki kaasher y’yaser ish es b’no Hashem Elokecha m’yas’reka, like a parent disciplines their child, that is why I put you through hardship.” (Devarim, 8:5) A loving parent pushes their child, not out of anger, out of love, out of a deep recognition of the child’s potential. But the only way to attain that potential is through a struggle.
This is why we thank G-d for taking us out of Egypt. It wasn’t a punishment. It was G-d’s way of pushing us to get to the core of who we were. And we thank G-d for healing us because we believe that maybe just maybe that illness was somehow given to us to push us to a higher level.
When your mom pushed you to lein, Gabe, it wasn’t easy, but she did it because she believed in you. When your mom pushed you to change schools for next year, Gabe, it won’t be as easy as this past year, but it’s being done because you have potential that is waiting to be unlocked.
The popularity of Roblox is a sad commentary on society; a society obsessed with comfort and an aversion to any friction. A few years ago, the New York Times published an article titled, the Age of Anti-Ambition. Life as a game of Roblox, life as a big comfortable, cozy chill is a travesty. Because that means we’re losing out on so much of our G-d-given potential.
Life IS a game of Roblox in that our good deeds are writing code that is changing the world in ways we cannot even imagine. Life IS a game of Roblox in that the options before us are endless, especially in our teenage years. Life IS a game of Roblox in that there are dangers, and restrictions are there for our benefit. But life is NOT like a game of Roblox in that life can be challenging, and that’s a good thing. Some of the great difficulties we deal with in life is G-d, our loving parent, helping us actualize our potential.
Gabe, you’ve already learned this important lesson, you and your parents have a lot to be proud of. But now that you’re Bar Mitzvah, the game, the real game, has just begun.