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For the past year, I’ve found myself thinking often about Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, the sole survivor of the Air India plane crash on June 12, 2025.

Out of hundreds of passengers, he was the only one who walked away alive. Since then, he has spoken openly about living with enormous guilt and trauma. I can only imagine the emotional weight of waking up every morning knowing you survived when so many others did not, including members of your own family.

And I keep wondering what that does to a person. Does every day suddenly feel heavier? More meaningful? Is there a pressure to somehow live life more fully because you were given another chance that others never got?

Right now, I feel driven. We are 15 years into building The Jewish Grad Organization (JGO) and I genuinely love where we are. We're growing, reaching more grad students than ever and I feel like our impact has only gotten more meaningful.

But with every win also come questions in the back of my mind. Am I doing enough? Am I present enough with my family? Am I growing enough as a person? And maybe most importantly, am I actually living an inspired life?

Vishwash hasn't done many interviews, but he did say a few weeks after surviving the crash: "I don't know how I survived."  

Moses in Psalms says: "Teach us to count our days, so that we may acquire a heart of wisdom." He doesn't ask for more days, but he asks for the wisdom to appreciate the days we have.

Most of us naturally count our lives in years, birthdays, milestones, and anniversaries. But Moses is challenging us to think differently: A meaningful life isn't measured only by how long we live, but by how fully we live. Whether we are present for the people we love, or pursue what truly matters, whether we grow, contribute, and make a difference while we have the chance.

Vishwash reminds me that none of us knows how many days we are allotted in this life. The question isn't whether we have enough time; it's what we're doing with the time we've already been given. It’s like that final scene from the movie Saving Private Ryan, where an elderly Ryan stands at the grave of Captain Miller and the men who sacrificed their lives so that he could live. Overcome with emotion, he turns to his wife and asks, "Tell me I've led a good life. Tell me I'm a good man." That’s the question all of us are trying to answer: If we've been given the gift of another day, are we using it well?

I'm trying to be present for my family, to be a better leader, a better Jew, and a better person. Some days I do better than others, but overall my goal is to live an inspired Jewish life.

Shabbat Shalom,

Dave