During Thursday night setup for Shabbos, I mentioned to Raizy something about doing another late night drive near midnight.

Avi – who has been setting up selflessly and dedicatedly for four years now – politely asked “Where do you and Raizy like to go on drives to?” The truth is that we do enjoy a little joy-ride, either ourselves or with the kids, especially in daytime hours down scenic country roads – it’s always beautiful, anytime of year.

But this was something different. We’ve been doing midnight rides several times this week that weren’t scenic – they had to do with a NYS inspection.

You’re not going to believe this kind of thing because I’ve been driving for more than twenty years and had all kinds of cars new and old, and never had this experience before.

Our daughter’s car is a 2003 Hyundai Sonata, a really sweet little car, rides beautifully. We got it used and it’s been great. But now we’re having trouble getting it inspected. Nothing fails – all systems are great, but the emissions sensors are coming back “Not Ready”.

Our friendly mechanic couldn’t help us, so he sent us to the dealer. The local Hyundai dealer has seen this many times before. The solution is both simple and incredibly complicated. The car needs to be driven a certain number of miles in certain speeds and under certain conditions for those sensor to be “ready” and get inspected.

Ah, but those conditions! To get a sense of what I’m talking about google “OBD readiness” or “drive cycle readiness” and to make it more interesting, add Hyundai to the search. Apparently, every car has it’s own shtick with this, some easier, some more complex. And sometimes difference even with cars of the same make and model! With some its just a matter of driving it 100 miles, others have stranger more specific requirements.

With us – its that we start with a cold start (engine off for more than 8 hours), get quickly onto a highway and maintain a certain unvarying speed of (first 50-55 MPH and then a steady) 55-60 miles an hour. The worst part? You have to decelerate instead of brake off the highway. So you just have to ease off the gas and taxi off onto an exit ramp (that’s not too short or too rounded etc..) without braking.

Easier said than done, and this is really only possible late at night with little or no traffic on the roads. How else to maintain such a steady even speed and get off the highway without braking? Suffice it to say that’s been a challenge.

We hope this story has a happy ending, and this car lives on for many years to come in good health. But in the meantime there’s a lesson for us as we head towards winter break:

Don’t Brake! Yes, brakes are important, they keep us from crashing and colliding, and allow us to slow down as needed. But the lesson from the drive-cycle is that breaks shouldn’t only be about brakes. It’s not about stopping everything. We ought to continue to maintain speed, continuous and steady in all matters of spiritual and personal development and growth. Not too fast, not too slow, and keep it going, don’t brake…

And yes – we found a source text for all this in this week’s Torah portion, Parsha Vayishlach. See verses 33:12-14:

Esau said to Jacob (after they made up): “Come, let us travel alongside each other.” Jacob replied: “You know that my children are tender and the flocks and cattle are upon me. If I drive them too hard for one day, all the flocks will die. My lord, you go ahead. I will make my way at my slow pace according to the gait of the work that is before me.”