Forget the Small Steps: Take a Leap from Zero to One

By Rabbi Meyer Laniado

The significance of Rosh Hashanah is not the new year, the first day of another year, but the absolute FIRST of ALL years. Rosh Hashanah is the monumental shift when the world went from absolute zero to one. From nothing to something.

In our prayers, we recite: “Hayom techilat ma’asecha, zichron l’yom rishon.” “Today marks the beginning of Your [God’s] creations, a remembrance of THE first day.” This symbolic declaration represents a seismic change, surpassing incremental or exponential growth.

Zero to one is a radical departure—a leap from the absence of a concept to its sudden existence, from non-action to action. It is the profound moment when something emerges from nothingness. It ushers in new possibilities and unprecedented transformation. This departure shatters conventional expectations and disrupts the status quo, moving away from incrementalism toward a leap into uncharted territory.

Humanity’s creation was a revolutionary change to a qualitatively different level of existence, transcending all preceding life forms. Endowed with selem Elohim, we possess rationality, reason, and intelligence far beyond any other creature (Beresheit 1:26-27; Moreh Nebukhim 1:1). This unique capacity for meta-thinking and theoretical mathematics has spurred groundbreaking achievements, such as space travel and sending a rocket to the moon. Embracing our extraordinary creative power and potential is the essence of Rosh Hashanah.

Rosh Hashanah reminds us to challenge ourselves and express our unique humanness, our selem Elohim. Note that we do not confess or repent on Rosh Hashanah. There are no supplications or confessions. We recognize the singular moment of God’s creation, the world’s creation, and humanity’s creation. How God created a new world, a new existence that surpassed all models, frameworks, probabilities, and potentialities. Most importantly, humanity was gifted with this capacity. As our rabbis described, we are each an ‘olam maleh (Mishna Sanhedrein 4:5),’ a full world, a pregnant world, full of possibilities and a potentiality to go beyond the probable to create paradigm-shifting innovation.

In personal and professional pursuits, we often seek comfort in the practical and the proven, gravitating towards incremental improvements, relying on the tried and tested. However, to experience transformative growth, we must be willing to venture into uncharted territory and break free from convention.

History demonstrates that those great individuals who left an indelible mark on humanity embraced the unknown, the implausible, and previously deemed impossible. Despite the risks of failure and others’ skepticism, they forged ahead with unwavering determination. Their bravery, perseverance, and suspension of disbelief led to groundbreaking advancements in technology, innovation, philosophy, art, literature, and general human capability.

Ribbi Aqiba exemplifies the leap from zero to one. The Midrash haGadol portrays a middle-aged, illiterate, poor shepherd guiding someone else’s flock. His destiny is dramatically altered when he changes course and devotes himself to Torah study. The transformative journey he ignited established the foundation of the Judaism we know today.

But Ribbi Aqiba’s path was not linear. Abot deRibbi Natan relates his epiphany, experienced while standing by a well one day: “If something soft can carve something hard, then all the more so, the words of Torah, which are like steel, can engrave themselves on my heart, which is but flesh and blood.” That was the moment he “immediately went to start studying Torah.”

However, in Midrash haGadol, Ribbi Aqiba does not immediately join the Yeshiva to begin his studies. Ribbi Aqiba returns home after this eureka moment at the well. Even after his wife encourages him to join the Yeshiva in Jerusalem, he hesitates, concerned that the other students–children–could mock him.

His wife provides brilliant advice. She says: “Let’s do something radical.” She covers a donkey with dirt and plants a garden on it. Then, she instructs Ribbi Aqiba to take the “donkey garden” to the market. On both the first and second days, the people in the market mock Ribbi Aqiba. But by the third day at the market - no one ridiculed him anymore. “Go and learn Torah,” she said. “Today they will laugh at you. Tomorrow they may laugh at you. But on the third day, they will no longer mock you.”

We can relate more to the Midrash haGadol version of the story, where even after his well epiphany, Ribbi Aqiba was still hesitant to venture into the unknown. His wife acknowledged that scorn will ensue, but eventually, others would no longer view his actions as unusual. Many visionary thinkers and inventors encountered similar challenges. Yet, their persistence eventually generated the new norm.

This midrash is noteworthy because Ribbi Aqiba’s “zero to one” moment was NOT his mindset shift at the well, as the story continues without him taking any forward action. Rather, it was his realization that he needed to “jump in” to the Yeshiva and transform from a non-student to a student. That was the moment when his conception was brought forth into the world.

On Rosh Hashanah, we revisit our hopes, dreams, big ideas, and epiphanies. And over the course of the year, we, too, will, as Ribbi Aqiba did, find reasons why they will not work, be possible, or be worth it. Sometimes, we are right, but if we truly desire it, return to it year after year, and continue to hope for it, we need to take that radical step.

Our selem Elohim has imbued us with the ability to envision new realities. God asks us on Rosh Hashanah, the day the world went from zero to one – to make our own “zero to one” step now and step boldly into the horizon of the unknown.