A God-fearing individual need not necessarily fear the “new”; he need not necessarily feel that it is his duty to fight against new things and protest them.
On the contrary, we believe that if “God created to do,” then our duty is to improve and perfect the work of God in the world.
God says, “I finished My work; now it is your turn.”
Life is full of problems.
This reality is an essential and built-in part of life.
It is not merely a local problem, such as whether to wear leather belts or what to do on a rainy day; it is a question of approach:
How should we deal with matters that require attention and rectification?
Adam was told, “Thorns and thistles shall it sprout for you” (Gen. 3:18).
If a person sows in the ground, and thorns and thistles grow instead of his desired crop, he must ask himself:
What should I do with this problem?
This is an essential question, one that is not connected to external conditions or to advantages that some people may have over others, but only to how each person decides to deal with the problems that arise in life.
–Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz