Learn Something Online in the New Year

Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are holidays of transformation. Many rabbis encourage congregants to use the High Holy Days as a time of reflection and personal growth. In sermons, rabbis speak of mending fences and healing fractured relationships, improving your outlook on life and making a difference in the world. This past Rosh Hashanah, however, I decided to talk about transformation in terms of taking on something new.

Rather than preaching about the importance of being a better person in the coming year -- something I've certainly spoken a lot about in Rosh Hashanah sermons past -- this year I decided to give some practical advice to the congregation. My message was that is never too late to transition to something different.

A generation ago it was commonplace for people to stay in the same profession and even the same job for a lifetime. By the time they retired they felt it was too late to start something new and different. Today's generation is less static and more flexible. That doesn't mean simply having the courage to transition from one profession to another. It can mean taking on a new hobby, going back to school or even launching that company you always dreamed about.

No matter how old you are or how comfortable you are with your status quo, I encourage you to consider taking on something new in the new Jewish year of 5776. Whether you're interested in learning a new language, taking a cooking class or learning to read Torah, the necessary resources are available today thanks to the power of the Internet. Of course it takes a commitment and no matter how busy you are these days, time will never stand still to allow you to take that class without making a sacrifice.

Technology today makes learning a new skill or hobby so much easier. Never before in human history has the access to education been so readily available. Reliable online classes are everywhere. Khan Academy can teach you new skills and YouTube videos can teach you new hobbies. You can get that master’s degree online that you probably thought was out of reach at this stage in your life. In the Digital Age, it's possible to simply take a walk every evening and learn a new language along the way. Listening to educational podcasts during your commute to work can be rewarding and provide you with the proficiency to transition to a new career.

Here are some recommendations for transformation and educational growth in the new Jewish year thanks to modern technology:

CODE ACADEMY
With the evolution of the Web and mobile apps, being able to write code has never been more in demand. Coding isn't just for young college students; it is an ideal skill for retirees as you can work from home. One Code Academy student went from knowing nothing about coding to building one of Time Magazine’s 50 Best Websites.

Bruce Jenner and My Father-In-Law: Transition and Transformation

The summer of 1984 was my first exposure to the mega-international sporting event known as the Summer Olympic Games. At eight-years-old, it was the summer of American patriotic pride and athletic world domination for the United States. My favorite athlete that summer was Carl Lewis, but I also remember my parents pointing to the athlete in the tank top and long hair running with the Olympic torch and telling me about the great Bruce Jenner, who famously won the gold medal in the Decathlon event of the 1976 Summer Olympics eight years earlier. Of course I was already familiar with Bruce Jenner because I was an avid player of the Apple II computer game, Olympic Decathlon, in which Jenner was a character.

To say 2015 was a year of transition and transformation for Bruce Jenner would be quite the understatement. The famous Olympic athlete who became a reality TV star seemed to transition from male to female in front of us all. The legendary American male athlete Bruce Jenner will be known to my children's generation only as the woman Caitlyn Jenner. With the popularity of such TV shows as Amazon's Transparent, transsexuals are becoming more accepted in our society. Jenner's decision to begin transitioning to a woman must have been extremely difficult and, while her transformation was extreme, she still serves as a wonderful example for us all during the upcoming Days of Awe, a time of transformation.