In a Hebrew column tied to the inauguration of a new bicycle club in Hadera’s Eco Park, Rabbi Ben Zion Nordman argues that motion is the basis of life, while stagnation represents decline, death and impurity. He says the setting, a new “Bicycle Club” opened by the “Way of the Bicycle to a Goal” initiative of the “Arrow to a Goal” nonprofit, led him to reflect on the lesson of riding a bike, where staying still means falling.
Nordman writes that this idea matches the weekly Torah portion, Chukat, which opens with the red heifer laws and the severe impurity of contact with the dead, described by the sages as the “father of fathers of impurity.” In his reading, death is complete absence of movement, and life means constant physical and spiritual progress. Citing the Vilna Gaon’s commentary on Proverbs 15:24, he says a person cannot remain on one level, because if one does not rise, one inevitably slips backward.
He adds that spiritual growth does not require dramatic upheaval, but small daily advances, more kindness, more study, an improved trait, or a kind word to someone else. The article also broadens the metaphor to the universe, saying galaxies, stars, Earth’s rotation and even atoms all exist in continuous motion, and that if everything stopped, the cosmos would collapse.
Finally, Nordman says the event prompted a practical personal reminder to move more in everyday life, reduce screen time, and bring more physical activity and vitality into routine. He ends by hoping people will keep pedaling forward, every day, in action and growth.
