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Are We Actually Living Better Lives — or Just Better-Measured Ones?
The series 11 Apple watch sits on display at the Apple Store in New York City, US, Sept. 19, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton
“Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted.” This line is often attributed to Albert Einstein, but it wasn’t actually Einstein who said it. The line was included by the sociologist William Bruce Cameron as an aside in his 1963 book Informal Sociology: A Casual Introduction to Sociological Thinking, where he was trying to make sense of human behavior.
Cameron’s point was simple: the most important things in life — meaning, relationships, purpose — don’t lend themselves easily to measurement.
And yet, despite knowing that, we’ve built an entire culture around pretending the opposite is true. We count everything. Steps, calories, hours of sleep, screen time, heart rate — even “mindfulness minutes.”
Our smartphones gently — or not so gently — remind us how we’re doing, where we’re falling short, and how close we are to hitting whatever arbitrary target we’ve set for ourselves. Ten thousand steps. Seven hours of sleep. Less than two hours of screen time. It’s all there — neatly packaged, color-coded, and quietly waiting to be judged.
And it’s not just health. Productivity has become a numbers game, too. How many emails did you clear? How many tasks did you check off? How long was your “deep work” session? There’s a subtle satisfaction in watching the numbers go up, in knowing that today looks just as “successful” on paper as yesterday — or maybe even a little better.
The problem is, somewhere along the way, we stopped living our lives and started monitoring them. A walk isn’t just a walk anymore — it’s 6,742 steps, with 3,258 still to go. A good night’s sleep isn’t about how energized you feel, but whether your app gives you a respectable score in the morning.
Even relaxation has been quantified, reduced to something that can be tracked, optimized, and improved. We’ve convinced ourselves that if we can measure something, we can master it. And if the numbers look good, then we must be doing something right.
But there’s a quiet cost to all of this. Because when everything becomes a number, meaning has a way of passing through the cracks. You can hit every target and still feel like something is missing. You can complete the checklist and still wonder what, exactly, you’ve accomplished. The data says you’re thriving. But are you?
Which raises an uncomfortable question: are we actually living better lives — or just better-measured ones?
Some years ago, I was confronted with that question in a far more intense setting. When my late father was in the ICU, and I sat by his bedside day and night, I got drawn into that same world of numbers — only now it seemed to be urgent, almost existential. Every monitor became a source of meaning.
Oxygen saturation, heart rate, blood pressure — I watched them obsessively, as if decoding their fluctuations would somehow give me control over what was happening. When a number dipped, my stomach dropped with it. Then, when it rose, I felt a flicker of relief. It was all I had to hold onto.
Until one of the ICU doctors, with the calmness that only comes from experience, gently interrupted my quiet panic. “The numbers tell a story,” he told me, “but it’s not the whole story.” And then he pointed — not to the screen, but to my father. “You have to look at the patient. You have to understand the situation as a whole. There’s more to clinical treatment than numbers.”
It was a subtle correction, but a profound one. At that moment, I realized how easily numbers can seduce you into thinking you understand something fully, when in fact, you’re only seeing a narrow slice of reality. The data matters — of course it does — but without context, without humanity, without the bigger picture, it can just as easily mislead as it can inform.
At first glance, the mitzvah of Sefirat HaOmer — the daily counting of the days between Pesach and Shavuot — looks exactly like the kind of thing our metric-obsessed culture would embrace. It’s a countdown: 49 days, neatly packaged, each one delivering you closer to the “goal” of Shavuot. It feels almost tailor-made for a world that loves progress bars and streak counters.
But when you stop and think about where it appears — in Parshat Emor, embedded among the festivals — it suddenly stops making sense. Because the festivals aren’t countdowns. They are not valuable because they lead somewhere else.
Pesach isn’t meaningful because it gets you to Shavuot, and Sukkot isn’t a steppingstone to anything beyond itself. Each one stands on its own, a self-contained moment of sanctity. Which means Sefirat HaOmer can’t simply be a countdown. It has to be something else entirely.
What emerges instead is something much more radical. Sefirat HaOmer isn’t about getting somewhere — it’s about what happens along the way. Each day is counted not because it brings you closer to 49, but because the day itself matters. The counting is not cumulative – each day stands on its own. You’re not building toward a total; you’re giving weight, dignity, and purpose to each individual day.
And that’s where the contrast with modern life becomes clear. Today, we count steps so they can add up. Miss a day, and the streak is broken. Fall short, and the number loses its meaning. Everything is about the aggregate, the total, the final score.
But imagine if each step mattered on its own — not as part of a running tally, but as a meaningful act in its own right. Imagine if the goal wasn’t 10,000 steps, but 10,000 moments of awareness. That’s Sefirat HaOmer. Not a race toward Shavuot, but a discipline of noticing that every single day, on its own, is worth counting.
The deeper lesson is that the Torah doesn’t reject counting — it redeems it. It takes something that, in our world, is often about control, performance, and accumulation, and turns it into something reflective, intentional, and human. The numbers still matter, but only when they point beyond themselves.
As the ICU doctor reminded me, the data tells a story — but it’s not the whole story. You have to look at the person. You have to see the bigger picture. Sefirat HaOmer asks us to do exactly that with our lives. To stop obsessing over totals and start paying attention to moments. Because in the end, the question isn’t how much you’ve counted. It’s whether what you’ve counted actually counts.
The author is a rabbi in Beverly Hills, California.
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Israel’s Eurovision Delegation Departs for Austria Led by Singer Noam Bettan
Noam Bettan, Israel’s representative for the Eurovision Song Contest 2026, poses in this undated handout photo. Photo: Courtesy of Kan, Timor Elmalach/Handout via REUTERS
The Israeli delegation for the 70th Eurovision Song Contest, led by Israel’s representative in the competition Noam Bettan, departed the Jewish state on Friday morning and traveled to Austria for the annual event taking place this month.
Israel’s national airline El Al shared photos on Facebook of Bettan aboard the plane taking him to Vienna, where he will compete in the Eurovision with his original song “Michelle.” The song features lyrics in Hebrew, French, and English. Bettan, 27, will perform the track at the Eurovision with five dancers on stage, Israel’s national broadcaster Kan announced.
The Ra’anana native, whose parents are French, will represent his home country in the Eurovision this year after winning the latest season of the Israeli televised singing competition “Hakochav Haba” (“The Next Star”) in January.
“I am very happy and excited to represent our beautiful country in the biggest music competition in Europe, on the biggest stage in the world,” Bettan said before taking off on Friday morning, as reported by Kan. “I am coming with an open heart, and I want to give all the light and love I receive from everyone, back to the whole world … We have given our souls to bring the most amazing performance possible on stage with lots of surprises. There is going to be great joy on stage! It is a great privilege and responsibility, and I will do everything to represent with honor.”
El Al CEO Levi Halevi said he is confident Bettan will be successful in the competition. “Noam is going to represent us in a challenging time when it is of great significance to represent the country with honor around the world,” he added.
The first semi-finals for the Eurovision, in which Bettan will perform, will take place on May 12, followed by another semi-final on May 14. The grand final will be held on May 16.
Thirty-five countries are participating from around the world. Ireland, Slovenia, and Spain have announced they will not air the 70th Eurovision Song Contest or compete because of Israel’s participation. Iceland and the Netherlands will also not compete in the Eurovision this year due to Israel’s inclusion, but they will broadcast the competition.
Eurovision Song Contest Asia will launch in November 2026 and will be hosted in Bangkok, Thailand.
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Albanian Prime Minister Promotes Kanye West’s Upcoming Concert in New 60,000-Seat Stadium
Ye, formerly known as Kanye West. Photo: BANG Showbiz via Reuters Connect
Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama confirmed on Thursday an upcoming concert in the country by Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, despite a number of the rapper’s previous shows being canceled across Europe because of his past antisemitic behavior.
Rama shared a video on Facebook that features footage of the Grammy winner during his previous concerts, along with a message that announces the date of the concert in Tirana, Albania. The “Flashing Lights” singer will perform one night only on July 11.
The Yeezy founder will also reportedly have a temporary venue built for him in the city that will be called “Eagle Stadium.” It is expected to hold approximately 60,000 people and will be located near the Tirana-Durra axis, Albania’s Minister of Tourism, Culture, and Sports Blendi Gonxhja confirmed in a Facebook post, which was also shared on the ministry’s official Facebook page.
The Ministry of Culture noted that the concert will be paid for through ticket sales, but some partnered institutions will “facilitate” its progress, according to BalkanInsight.
“In every aspect, it is our obligation to welcome and facilitate the development of such events that bring numerous benefits to tourism and the economy,” the ministry reportedly said. It added that the concert “will have an extraordinary impact on the promotion of tourism and the local economy.”
The United Kingdom, France, Poland, and Switzerland have all recently canceled Ye’s concerts amid controversy over his past antisemitic actions and comments, which include selling T-shirts that feature a Nazi swastika, expressing admiration for Nazi leader Adolf Hitler, releasing a song titled “Heil Hitler,” and posting several antisemitic comments about Jews on X. Australia banned Ye from entering the country last year.
Italy is still set to have Ye headline its Hellwatt Festival in July, but Pina Picierno, vice president of the European Parliament and senior member of Italy’s Democratic Party, said the government should take action to prevent the concert from taking place. “The United Kingdom denied the visa. France effectively prevented the Marseille concert. Italy, meanwhile, is just staying idle with 68,000 tickets sold, as if nothing had happened,” Picierno told the local newspaper La Gazzetta di Reggio.
Ye apologized for his antisemitic and pro-Nazi comments in January in an advert in the Wall Street Journal. He attributed his offensive behavior to manic episodes related to untreated bipolar disorder and declared, “I am not a Nazi or an antisemite.”
As part of his world tour, Ye is set to perform this summer in India, Turkey, The Netherlands, Spain, and Portugal.
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Iran Hands Over New Proposal for Talks With US to End War
An Iranian flag lies amidst the rubble of a building of the Sharif University of Technology, which was damaged in a strike, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Tehran, Iran, April 7, 2026. Photo: Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
Tehran has submitted its latest proposal for negotiations with the United States, Iranian state media and a Pakistani official said on Friday, a move that could break a deadlock in efforts to end the Iran war.
The official, involved in Pakistani mediation over the war, said Pakistan had received the proposal late on Thursday and had forwarded it to the US.
Neither the official nor Iranian state news agency IRNA gave details, and the White House declined to comment, while saying negotiations continued. Global oil prices, which remain well above $100 a barrel, eased following news of the proposal.
The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has caused unprecedented disruption to energy markets, choking off 20% of the world’s oil and gas supplies and causing a record rally in oil prices.
The blockade of the vital sea channel has also increased concerns that there will be an economic downturn. The US Navy is blocking exports of Iranian crude oil, and on Friday the US Treasury warned shippers that they risked sanctions if they paid tolls to Iran to pass through the strait.
A ceasefire has been in place since April 8 but reports that US President Donald Trump was to be briefed on plans for new military strikes to compel Iran to negotiate had pushed global oil prices up to a four-year high at one point on Thursday.
Iran has activated air defenses and plans a wide response if attacked, having assessed that there will be a short, intensive US strike, possibly followed by an Israeli attack, two senior Iranian sources told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
‘TREACHEROUS AGGRESSION’
Washington has not said what its next steps are. Trump said on Tuesday he was unhappy with the previous proposal from Iran, and Pakistan has not set a date for new talks on ending a war that has killed thousands, mainly in Iran and Lebanon.
After US and Israeli airstrikes on Feb. 28, Iran fired at US bases, infrastructure, and US-linked companies in Gulf states, while the Iran-backed Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah launched missiles at Israel, which responded with strikes on Lebanon.
Underlining the concerns of the Gulf states, UAE presidential adviser Anwar Gargash said the “collective international will and provisions of international law” were the primary guarantors of freedom of navigation through the strait.
“And, of course, no unilateral Iranian arrangements can be trusted or relied upon following its treacherous aggression against all its neighbors,” Gargash wrote.
Trump faces a formal US deadline on Friday to end the war or make the case to Congress for extending it under the 1973 War Powers Resolution.
The date looks set to pass without altering the course of the conflict after a senior administration official said that, for the purposes of the resolution, hostilities had terminated due to the April ceasefire between Tehran and Washington.
Financial and energy markets remained on edge because of concerns about the impasse over negotiations and worries that there could be a prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
IRAN SAYS NOT TO EXPECT QUICK RESULTS FROM TALKS
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei cautioned on Thursday against expecting quick results from talks.
A senior official of Iran‘s Revolutionary Guards said any new US attack on Iran, even if limited, would usher in “long and painful strikes” on US regional positions, while Aerospace Force Commander Majid Mousavi was quoted by Iranian media as saying: “We’ve seen what happened to your regional bases; we will see the same thing happen to your warships.”
Trump repeated on Thursday that Iran would not be allowed to have a nuclear weapon, and said the price of gasoline – an important concern for his Republican Party before midterm elections in November – would “drop like a rock” as soon as the war ended.
Iran says its nuclear program is solely for civilian purposes.
The conflict has aggravated Iran‘s economic plight, which could head toward total collapse. However, the regime looks able to survive a standoff for now, despite the US blockade that has curtailed its energy exports.
Axios news site reported that one plan to be shared with Trump during a briefing by top US military leaders that was scheduled for Thursday involved using ground forces to take over part of the strait to reopen it to commercial shipping. Trump is also considering extending the US blockade or declaring a unilateral victory, officials have said.
Washington did not immediately announce any details of its plans.
In a sign that the US was also envisaging a scenario where hostilities cease, a State Department cable due to be delivered orally to partner nations by May 1 invited them to join a new coalition, called the Maritime Freedom Construct, to enable ships to navigate the strait.
France, Britain, and others have held talks on contributing to such a coalition but said they would help to open the strait only when the conflict ends.