Inflated Times

Over a lovely Memorial Day weekend I happened to spend some time at the Asbury Park boardwalk. There is this really cool place (both cool interesting, and cool air conditioned) on the corner right next to the Stone Pony, early stage of Bruce Springsteen. It is the Silverball Pinball museum - a free play museum of pinball machines from the 1960's to today. You pay a flat fee and then play as much as you want for the hour purchased.

Here's what I noticed while the bells were ringing all around me racking up points. On the 1960's machines scores were recorded in 10,000's. By the time you got to the 1980's, scores were regularly in the 100,000's with high scores around 250,000. The 1990's, however, were posting scores in the millions. Hundreds of millions if you were up on the leader board.

What happened?

I dare say the games looked more flashy but the essential pinball was the same in 1960 as in 1990. You just earned a lot more for each hit. What is it about our culture that so defines ourselves by numbers that our games reflect the inflated worth of generations?

Interestingly, we have just started reading the Book of Numbers. Our Jewish tradition chose to call this book "numbers" in English, not "Desert" or even "wanderings" which would be much closer to the Hebrew name of the book - bamidbar.

Numbers are a way to define ourselves - a millionaire, one in a million, he looks like a million bucks. To many, although not to me I must confess, the aura of a million has lost its luster. What can you do with a million now - it's the billionaires who are really awed. (I'd still be ecstatic with the million) So if I want you to feel special, I'd better say you are one in a billion. And honey, you look like a billion bucks.

The number of Jews is a way of measuring ourselves not only physically but spiritually. (Many people object to numbering Jews due to Germany's branding of numbers on Jews in WW2. I graciously respect this opinion and would like to focus on the biblical concept of numbering through coins and other means to ascertain a population) We are succeeding when our numbers are high. Abraham was only one man, yet he and Sarah started something that now numbers in the tens of millions. Is it enough? Do we need to stretch for billions? Will that mean more?

We are playing a numbers game. We are losing more and more Jews to assimilation and disinterest. Where are those boundaries? When do the numbers scream out to us -- beware! The ship is sinking.

These are some good questions. I'd love to hear your opinions. What do you think?