DAVID SACKS
AWARD-WINNING HOLLYWOOD COMEDY WRITER
Born and raised in New York City, David Sacks attended Harvard College, graduating with a degree in Government. While there, he began his comedy writing career at the school’s humor magazine, “The Harvard Lampoon.”
Among the shows for which he’s worked are “The Simpsons” (where he won an Emmy Award), “Third Rock from the Sun” (a Golden Globe Award), “Malcolm in the Middle,” “Murphy Brown,” and “Final Space” on Adult Swim. David is the co-founder of and Senior Lecturer at the Happy Minyan of Los Angeles. David is married and raises his family in Beverly Hills, CA.
David Sacks gives the weekly Torah podcast, “Spiritual Tools for an Outrageous World,” and has spoken to enthusiastic crowds across the U.S., Europe, Israel, and South Africa. His topics range from the meaning of life, to Hollywood’s impact on the world, to achieving happiness.
That’s So Random
DAVID SACKS
People think the world is random, but the truth is we live in an exquisitely ordered universe.
From the outer reaches of space, to the air we breathe, to our genetic makeup, down to the tiniest particles... all that exists is order.
In our galaxy alone, there are over 100 billion stars.
Did you ever wonder why they don’t all crash into each other?
Factor in all the black holes and it should be total chaos.
And yet stars adhere to the most exacting of orbits, never veering from their Divine choreography.
The air we breathe is 78% nitrogen and 20% oxygen. If there were less oxygen, we’d suffocate. If there were more, every fire would become a conflagration.
On the DNA level, human beings have 23 pairs of chromosomes. If we had 24 pairs, we’d be melons, or snails, or tomatoes. If we had 22 pairs, we’d be opossums or beans.
The subatomic realm is even more precise. Add a single proton to an element and it changes into a different element entirely.
So then why do people think everything is random?
I don’t think they do.
I think what they really mean is...
Life is mysterious.
People perplex us, and we are confounded by God.
We then project our bewilderment,
Onto the canvas of reality,
And conclude that everything is random.
But in truth, nothing is.
How do we reconcile these two extremes?
By not falling into the trap of thinking that just because we can measure the circumference of the earth, we’re equally adept at unraveling the mysteries of life.
God desired the knowable and the unknowable to live side-by-side.
And so, we too should do our best to be good neighbors with the unfathomable and not take its “No Trespassing” sign too personally.
Once we grasp this, the pressure always to have an answer will fade, and in its place, will only be wonder.
And if it all that fails,
Well...
Here’s a simple song that I wrote to help me through the befuddlement.
I don’t know where I’m going,
I don’t know where I’m going,
I don’t know where I’m going,
But the Driver is Good.