Leaving atheism, baking Challot for Shabbat and then making Kiddush Marc Zuckeberg may be on to something. Now Marc shared his Yom Kippur introspection with the social media community apologizing for past mistakes. Here is the post from his Facebook page:
“Tonight concludes Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year for Jews when we reflect on the past year and ask forgiveness for our mistakes. For those I hurt this year, I ask forgiveness and I will try to be better. For the ways my work was used to divide people rather than bring us together, I ask forgiveness and I will work to do better. May we all be better in the year ahead, and may you all be inscribed in the book of life.”
People speculate what he means by ‘mistakes’ and ‘my work was used to divide people rather than bring us together’. Unfortunately, many will interpret the words according to his or her own political alignment. But let’s take a look at Marc’s spiritual alignment. People who attain the wealth and influence Marc Zuckerberg has attained run the risk of what is says in the Torah (Deuteronomy chapter 8, verses 12,13 and 17:
“…lest you eat and be sated, and build good houses and dwell therein, and your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and gold increase, and all that you have increases, … and you will say to yourself, “My strength and the might of my hand that has accumulated this wealth for me.” (Translation from Chabad.org)
Such a person has no use for introspection for he would have to admit his great fortunes are G-d given gifts and that would end his self-serving way of life. The Torah has no problem with people becoming wealthy, it just warns of the danger of becoming arrogant and coming to deny G-d in the process.
So the fact that Marc in the past year went from leaving atheism, to making Kiddush and baking challot with his wife and children and now sharing his introspection and his readiness to question his own previous actions and apologizing for them is quite refreshing. We can all learn from his act of courage and honesty. Each of us can look into ourselves and not be afraid to question what we’ve done in the past and even apologize (publicly) for it.
I believe we haven’t heard the last word from Marc as of yet as he keeps on his search for truth.