Page 2 THE JEWISH GEORGIAN September-October 20<strong>08</strong> What is the measure by which to judge? I just read an article about a new software system in use by retail merchants that compiles data on the productivity of an establishment’s employees for use in evaluating their performance and assigned work schedules. <strong>The</strong> system furnishes such information as the tickets written per hour, the average value of the ticket, the total sales dollars produced, and the hours worked. It then presents this information in a comparative form to show performance relative to other employees. Here is another example of the impact of the computer age on management methodology: a marriage of data assemblage, mathematical formulation, and highspeed computations for the purpose of judging performance. Each sales person is evaluated, each supervisor is evaluated, each manager is evaluated, each division head is evaluated, and, eventually, each line officer is evaluated. And what is the measure by which they are judged — dollars and cents, a measurement that can be tallied? <strong>The</strong>re are very few endeavors in life for which a measurement has not been established. <strong>The</strong>se might be units, dollars, grades, graduates, deaths, size, speed, etc, but the purpose is to quantify results and measure these in relationship to a soughtafter result. Sometimes the measurements are self-imposed; however, in most of the cases they are part of a system that is established for us. THE <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Georgian</strong> <strong>The</strong> <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Georgian</strong> is published bimonthly by Eisenbot, Ltd. It is written for Atlantans and <strong>Georgian</strong>s by Atlantans and <strong>Georgian</strong>s. Publisher Marvin Botnick Co-Publisher Sam Appel Editor Marvin Botnick Managing Editor Marsha C. LaBeaume Assignment Editor Carolyn Gold Consulting Editor Gene Asher Associate Editor Barbara Schreiber Copy Editor Ray Tapley Assistant Copy Editor Arnold Friedman Makeup Editor Terri Christian Production Coordinator Terri Christian Medical Editor Morris E. Brown, M.D. Photographic Staff Allan Scher, Phil Slotin, Phil Shapiro Graphic Art Consultant Karen Paz Columnist Andi Arnovitz (Israel),Gene Asher, Jonathan Barach, Janice Rothschild Blumberg (Washington), Marvin Botnick, Shirley Friedman, Carolyn Gold, Jonathan Goldstein, George Jordan, Marice Katz, Balfoura Friend Levine, Marsha Liebowitz, Howard Margol, Bubba Meisa, Erin O’Shinsky, Ben Rabinowitz (Israel), Lew Regenstein, Roberta Scher, Jerry Schwartz, Leon Socol, Rabbi Reuven Stein, Hannah Vahaba, Cecile Waronker, Evie Wolfe Special Assignments Susan Kahn, Lyons Joel Advertising Michael Pelot Marsha C. LaBeaume Bill Sonenshine Editorial Advisory Board Members Sam Appel Rabbi Alvin Sugarman Sam Massell Jane Axelrod Albert Maslia William Rothschild Gil Bachman Michael H. Mescon Marilyn Shubin Asher Benator Paul Muldawer Doug Teper 8495 Dunwoody Place, Building 9, Suite 100 Atlanta, GA 30350 (404) 236-8911 • FAX (404) 236-8913 jewishga@bellsouth.net www.jewishgeorgian.com <strong>The</strong> <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Georgian</strong> ©20<strong>08</strong> BY Marvin Botnick <strong>The</strong>re is, however, a segment of life and accomplishments that really falls out of measurement tools. While there are certain criteria that are used, often in a metaphoric way, many times the actual tally of results is subjective, judgmental, and not necessarily verifiable. I speak of God-given commandments and not temporal rules. Unlike the philosophical approach of the Greeks who sought to investigate meanings, the <strong>Jewish</strong> teachings approached the issue from a basis of a belief in a supreme power from whom we receive guidance in our search for the foundation of our lives. <strong>The</strong> allegorical concept of a parent teaching his child is a closer representation of our <strong>Jewish</strong> idea. Our view of an educational process rather than a philosophical, abstract approach is consistent with our belief in a God who wishes us to seek justice. Micah said, “It hath been told thee what is good, and what the Lord doth require of thee: only to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humble with thy God.” So what if we do not fulfill the obligations of our contract with God, who will know, and what difference will it make? Do we see many of the societal occurrences and personal experiences on a cause-and-effect basis? And most importantly, do we believe that the visible act without the inner spiritual motivation meets the standard? While our tradition teaches us that we are responsible to follow the dictum set forth by Micah, in the hustle and bustle of our world and the rush to succeed in the competitive secular world, we do not reflect on this responsibility as often as we should. During this season of the High Holy Days, many of us do take the time to immerse ourselves in our <strong>Jewish</strong>ness, and it is the time when we retreat from the secular world and wrap ourselves in the cloak of our teachings. It is the time when we should try to measure introspectively the quality of our actions against our responsibilities to live our lives in concert with our duties as a priestly nation. We are commanded to work towards the creation of a perfect world: a just and merciful society that seeks to bring about peace and equality. In an essay by Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik — a 20th-century American Orthodox rabbi, Talmudist and modern <strong>Jewish</strong> philosopher who is regarded as a seminal figure by Modern Orthodox Judaism — he draws the distinction between “quantitative” and “qualitative” time. In this essay, Rabbi Soloveitchik defines quantitative as a measure of time by the clock and calendar. On the other hand, qualitative is not measured by length but rather by “pure quality, creativity, and accomplishment.” <strong>The</strong> qualitative measure should not fall within our present-day definition of tangible possessions and the accumulation of wealth. While supporting and sustaining our ability to provide for our worldly needs and those of our family is an imperative, we must be concerned about the effect that our actions or inactions have on the greater world. So as we once again hear the sound of the shofar, let us remember that there is a special obligation for us to fulfill the contract that was entered into between God and the Jews through Abraham to so live our lives that the world is moved closer to a just and merciful existence. Let us look within ourselves to judge how our lives measure up to our responsibilities.
September-October 20<strong>08</strong> THE JEWISH GEORGIAN Page 3