Going Forth as a Driver

On May 7, exactly 16 years minus 5 1/2 hours after his birth, my son, Gabe, took his driving test at the Winnetka Department of Motor Vehicles office.

"Are you nervous?" the test instructor asked.

"Yes," Gabe answered.

"Don’t be, or we’ll both be dead."

I, too, was nervous. Nervous that he wouldn’t pass the driving test. And nervous that he would. And so, while he demonstrated his ability to start, stop, turn and back up in a straight line, I paced inside the building and out, like an expectant father outside a maternity ward, not allowed to witness the actual birth.

And birth it is. Of an adult. With a newly bestowed sense of independence and responsibility.

As a parent, I fear for his safety.

"It’s 100 percent guaranteed every new driver will have an accident," our insurance agent said. And, already, Gabe has put a major gash in the front fender.

"That’s your free one," my husband, Larry, said.

Worse, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety reports that two out of five deaths among U.S. teens result from motor vehicle crashes.

Legally and technically, Gabe has been prepared by Valley Bob’s Driving School. And while the name may not inspire confidence, the school has ably provided the requisite hours of classroom and behind-the-wheel instruction, as well as extra defensive driving training. Plus, Larry and I spent more than 50 hours driving with him.

Emotionally and spiritually, Gabe has been prepared by his Judaic studies class at Milken Community High School. There, he created a driving amulet, a project that acknowledges this all-important rite of passage in the life of every 10th-grader.

According to Rabbi Bob Baruch, Gabe’s Judaic studies teacher, "The big theme in the 10th-grade curriculum is lech lecha, going forth. God says to Abraham, ‘Go forth from your native land and from your father’s house to the land that I will show you.’ Obtaining the driving license is part of the going forth for yourself."

Baruch explained to the students that amulets are magic charms that give people power and protection.

"They come from the Jewish folkloric and superstitious tradition but also have deeper spiritual meaning to people," he said.

The project, now in its second year, was created by Judaic studies teacher Andrea Hodos and artist-in-residence Benny Ferdman and incorporates both symbols and Torah verses.

"Our goals are celebrating independence; acknowledging the need for protection, both from God and from inner demons; and recognizing responsibility. They actually spell CAR," Hodos said.

And so, on a small rectangular piece of wood, the students designed their amulets, first selecting a Jewish symbol with significance to them. Students chose lions, unicorns, hamsas (an amulet shaped like a hand), elephants and other symbols that they traced onto a piece of copper. Next, they made the symbol stand out by repeatedly tapping the area outside the design with a nail before attaching it to the amulet.

"This isn’t easy. You have to beat it, to shape it to your will," Ferdman said.

Gabe chose an endless knot, which, to a parent, is a perfect depiction of adolescence.

"My journey is just beginning, but it never ends," Gabe explained.

Students added one to three verses of Jewish text pertaining to independence, protection or responsibility, which they engraved, usually cryptically, with a wood-burning pen. Some selected "their eyes were opened" (Genesis 3:7) or "you shall be a blessing" (Genesis 12:2). Gabe chose the concept of pikuah nefesh (the saving of lives).

"Nothing is more important," he said. "When you’re driving, you have to have respect for the power you control."

In addition, students added a traffic sign such as No U Turn, Keep Right or One Way, which they glued onto the amulet.

"Look at traffic signs as symbols. Turn the road into a poetic experience," Ferdman said.

Gabe took Maintain Top Safe Speed.

"You can’t ‘wuss out,’" he said.

They also added other personal symbols, often indecipherable to others.

"The owner of the amulet is the only one who needs to know what it means," said Ferdman.

On the last day of class, the students received their finished amulets, which Ferdman had shellacked and fitted with a key ring. Together with Baruch, they recited the "Shehecheyanu," marking this milestone which, in our culture, short of sexual initiation, most says adult.

As a parent, I realize I cannot accompany Gabe on his journey. Nor can I always protect him. But I hope that this amulet, which he has attached to his key chain, will protect him by reminding him of who he is and what he believes, by reminding him that he as well as the others on the road are created b’tzelem Elokim (in the image of God).

And I hope, as God says to Abraham as he sets off on his journey, that Gabe, too, "will be a blessing." To his family, his community and, most of all, to himself.

Jane Ulman lives in Encino with her husband and four sons.