Too Many Choices, Not Enough Clarity

by Audrey Lichter

Senator Ben Sasse is facing pancreatic cancer. In the midst of that reality, his focus hasn’t turned inward—it’s turned outward. He speaks about his love for his family and his country, and about the larger issues we often avoid: the impact of AI on jobs and the economy, our obsession with national politics, and the steady erosion of local civic life that quietly weakens our communities.

It’s striking, but not surprising, that someone confronting the limits of time would center on what truly matters—family, friendship, and the gift of being present.

His message feels especially resonant this week, as we read Kedoshim. The Torah doesn’t speak in abstractions here—it commands us to be holy and then tells us how: build a just society, treat others with dignity, act in ways that reflect the fact that we are created in the image of God. Holiness, in other words, is not removed from daily life—it’s embedded within it.

Holiness is not removed from daily life—it’s embedded within it.

And yet, daily life has a way of distracting us from exactly that.

Last night, I tried to watch a movie. I scrolled through Netflix for thirty minutes, sampling a few options, starting and stopping, unable to commit. Eventually, I just shut the TV off. There were too many choices, and none of them felt worth the time.

It’s a small, almost trivial example—but it points to something larger. We live in a world of overwhelming abundance: endless content, constant information, limitless options for how to spend our time. And paradoxically, all of that choice can leave us scattered, distracted, and unsure of what’s actually worth doing.

That’s why intention matters so much. Without it, our days get filled for us—by algorithms, by habits, by noise.

Hopefully, it won’t take a terminal diagnosis to remind us to focus on what really matters. Hopefully, we can take that reminder from our tradition instead—from the call to live with purpose, to pursue meaning, to choose deliberately how we spend our time and attention.

And maybe, on a lighter note, part of that wisdom is also knowing when not to scroll endlessly—and when to just ask someone you trust for a good movie recommendation.

Audrey Lichter is the founding Executive Director of Chai Mitzvah. She has been a professional Jewish educator for more than 30 years, and is also the founding principal of Yachad, the award-winning community High School of Greater Hartford. As a lay leader, Audrey has been the recipient of many community awards and has been very involved locally and nationally in the Day School movement.