There's No Magic Only Tricks

I found some videos on youtube where the secrets behind famous events by magicians are revealed. In one of them, a pair of men, who appear to be French, remind us to remember that "there's no magic only tricks."

Trickbusters 

What's the message for the practitioner of Torah Im Derech Eretz? When you deal with the world, watch out for the illusions. They are only tricks. So you want to get a college degree? Fine. Just don't fall for their illusions, the promise of grand truth, or even of parnassah. Most of college is not geared toward parnassah but towards liberal arts which make the professors a parnassah but not you. They'll teach you how to think they say. There's some truth to it, but only so much. After your fifth paper you know how to write well enough, maybe not to be a professional essayist, but enough to get through life and most careers. Now you have only 7 semesters to go. They do this all in elegant edifices and with expensive books with covers more beautiful than the contents.  I can't tell you how many people I know with degrees from the alluring Ivy League schools and their also Ivy's who can't make a living. Your hear the name Harvard and your heart flutters. It has such allure. Yet William F. Buckley told us, "I'd rather entrust the government of the United States to the first 400 people listed in the Boston telephone directory than to the faculty of Harvard University." It's not what it seems.

Then there's the corporations. They lure you to work for them with promises of the work-home balance and great benefits. And you find yourself working at home until 2 in the morning. One of the greatest crimes of America is the creation of its corporations of the 60 hour work week. You think it's getting you somewhere but really it just uses you up. America has redefined the purpose of life as career and yet most people dislike their work but do it far too many hours a week, a habit they started in college which sold you the dream of career. Illusions.

You find yourself paying thousands in medical costs. You find out that the training programs are threadbare. I know of a company that boasts of its "extensive training programs" consisting of thousands of courses but in reality they are only course descriptions with no offerings. You hear the name "Google" and dream of working there. I know a guy who works there and works day and night under insane pressure. It's destroying him. Illusions.

I'm not saying that you shouldn't get a degree or work for a corporation. Just don't expect magic. Don't fall for the illusions that really are just tricks. Stay grounded in Torah. As for the world outside of Torah, get out of it whatever good you can but don't expect too much, expect far less than it promises. Better to transform the pieces of it that you can than allow it to transform you.