Mark Gallagher, an executive in Formula One auto racing, spoke about a conversation he had with ‘David’, a driver from the Williams team. David had suffered a terrible accident when his steering had failed during a test lap. David described it as one of those accidents where you genuinely feel frightened because you know you're about to hit the wall, hard, very hard.
After the crash, Sir Frank Williams himself, founder and chief executive of the team, invited David to the Williams factory. Frank brought him into the boardroom for an unusual meeting: to face the mechanic who hadn't bolted the suspension together properly.
The mechanic was devastated. He apologized profusely and said, "I just cannot believe what happened. I was building your steering system when I got distracted by a colleague. I walked away to do another job and completely forgot to come back and finish it."
Mark asked David, "So what happened to that mechanic?"
David's answer was fascinating. "Frank promoted him," he said. "He made him head of all steering systems. Frank's reasoning was simple: that guy will never, ever let another Williams car leave the garage without perfect steering. He's completely focused now because he never wants to repeat that mistake."
As we prepare for Shavuot, we're reminded that we are a nation of kohanim. Each and every Jew needs to see themselves as a true prince or princess, a child of G-d. We don't need to beat ourselves up when we stumble and make a mistake. Instead, we need to recognize that we're not just cogs in the factory, we are the head. And as head of "steering," or whatever area we've erred in, we must ensure we never repeat it.
Although we are not literally the "head of steering," we are the head of our own life. As we once again receive the Torah, let's commit to doing our best and not making the same mistake twice. As the saying goes: first mistake, shame on circumstances; second mistake, shame on me.
May we all be blessed with receiving the Torah with joy and pnimius.
Rabbi Kushi Schusterman