Are You A 10x Engineer?
Are You A 10x Engineer?
This Dvar Torah was originally published in Torah && Tech, the weekly newsletter I publish together with my good friend Ben Greenberg. To get the weekly issue delivered straight to your inbox click here.
Hiring managers, recruiters, CFOs, Founders, all of them are on the search for the mythical “10x Engineer.”
“Hire a 10x Engineer” common wisdom goes, “and your codebase will practically write itself!”
But what is a 10x Engineer? And how do you find one? Is it the bearded dude sitting alone in the corner of the office surrounded by cans of energy drinks and banging away in vim on his mechanical keyboard?
In this week’s Torah portion, Lech-Lecha, we learn all about Avraham, the founder of monotheistic Judaism.
Avraham accomplished a lot in his life. According to the Medrash, he smashed his father’s Idols, was thrown into a fiery furnace by a threatened King Nimrod, and was given ten tests by G-d and passed them all. It is no surprise then that G-d referred to Avraham as “Avraham Ohavi” (Avraham, the one who loves me).
Yet, if you wanted to know WHY it was that G-d chose Avraham to father the Jewish nation, the Torah doesn’t mention any of that.
כִּ֣י יְדַעְתִּ֗יו לְמַ֩עַן֩ אֲשֶׁ֨ר יְצַוֶּ֜ה אֶת־בָּנָ֤יו וְאֶת־בֵּיתוֹ֙ אַֽחֲרָ֔יו וְשָֽׁמְרוּ֙ דֶּ֣רֶךְ יְהֹוָ֔ה לַֽעֲשׂ֥וֹת צְדָקָ֖ה וּמִשְׁפָּ֑ט
“I have known him because he commands his children and his household after him, that they should keep the way of G-d to perform righteousness and justice…”
-Bereshis 18:19
What made Avraham stand out from the others, wasn’t his own righteousness; Noah was righteous as well. But, while Noah was content with being righteous and wasn’t too worried about the rest of his generation, Avraham traveled the world to spread knowledge of G-d and “righteousness and justice.”
In the words of Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak of Lubavitch:
We find that G‑d’s love for our father, Avraham, was mainly because “…he will command his children and his household.” All of Avraham’s work in service of G-d, and in the tests to which G-d subjected him, cannot be compared to his teaching others and bringing them closer to G-d, i.e., to his bringing merit to others.
-Igrot Kodesh vol. 6 page 91, brought in Hayom Yom for 8 Tammuz
So what is a 10x Engineer? A 10x Engineer is not an engineer who writes 10x more code than other engineers. A real 10x Engineer is an engineer who can boost the productivity of their team 10x. An engineer who mentors, uplifts, shares their knowledge, and ultimately brings ten other engineers up to their level.
So please don’t go chasing unicorns. Instead, be like Avraham, and no need to stop at 10x Engineer! Be a 10x Jew and a 10x human being!
Shabbat Shalom
Yechiel
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