The earth is not perfectly spherical. It bulges a bit around the equator so a person standing at zero degrees latitude is about 13 miles farther from the center of the earth than one standing at a pole. (The author of this essay also bulges a bit around his equator but this is better discussed elsewhere.) The reason for this bulge is the outward “centrifugal force” caused by the rotation of the planet.

Centrifugal force from rotation causes loose unrestrained matter to fly outward from the center; indeed it is this force that enabled Dovid to sling a rock at high speed at Golias. The earth’s rotation similarly propels mass outward at low latitudes resulting in the equatorial bulge. The force is strong enough that a person weighing 150 pounds at the North Pole weighs about seven ounces less at the equator. (Hmm … maybe the author should move toEcuador!) The reason that the earth’s surface does not fly outward is that the centrifugal force is countered by the pull of gravity an inward-propelling force also known as the “centripetal force” (which means “toward the center”).

An old saying claims that “what goes up must come down” testifying to the universal presence of gravity. However we routinely use GPS navigators that receive signals from satellites that are 12600 miles above the earth yet don’t come down. The reason they stay up is that they continuously orbit the earth at a speed of around 8 700 miles per hour. This circular motion produces a centrifugal force that counters gravity’s centripetal force. Aerospace engineers (okay “rocket scientists”) carefully choose orbits that balance these forces to keep the satellites at a constant altitude.

This GPS technology is vital to modern life. It’s not just used in navigation; it’s also used to transmit accurate time signals to businesses such as banks which in turn use this information to securely send and receive data. Satellites are used for weather prediction environmental monitoring and a myriad of other applications. Our 21^st-century lives would be very different without the balance of centripetal and centrifugal forces. To ask which force is “better” is a meaningless question since both are vital.

Another feature of modern Jewish life is that we experience a wide variety of approaches to Torah life. In a small European shtetl or a tiny Yemenite village the residents were exposed to a limited variety of minhagim; we now have access to ideas and approaches of many types.

Consider for example Satmar Chassidus. The Satmar Rebbe Rav Yoel Teitelbaum ztz”l had an intense love for Torah and Yidden that led to an approach of protective isolation from the world. Much as a young man with a shiny new car parks it far from others so it does not get “dinged” by opening doors the Rebbe sought to guard Torah life and hashkafah from the smallest impurity of the immoral surrounding society.

On the other hand the Lubavitcher Rebbe Rav Menachem Mendel Shneerson ztz”l starting from the same intense love of Torah and Yidden sought to share the Torah widely. The hashkafah of u’faratzta led to an approach of active engagement with the external world. Almost anywhere on the planet one finds the presence of Chabad.

We find Satmar to be a strong inward force in Judaism. It is centripetal. Chabad strains outward — it is centrifugal. Which is correct? Which is better? As with the world of space technology the questions are meaningless. Without both forces our physical existence would be impossible. Without the committed approaches of both Satmar and Chabad our spiritual existence would be greatly lacking.