JULY 8 • 2021 | 29

people in the desert in 
painstaking detail. Each leg, 
each stopover of the 40-year 
journey is mentioned by 
name. Why is that? If any-
thing, there’s good reason not 
to dwell on the drawn-out 
journey, which only became 
necessary because of the sin of 
the spies.
But perhaps the verse does 
so to underline that each step 
of a journey is important, each 
moment is significant, each 
mitzvah is a milestone. We 
should not look at life as one 
unit. We should savor each of 
its components.

MISSION INCOMPLETE
The arc of Moshe’s life embod-
ies this idea. He was appointed 
with the mandate to lead the 
Jewish people out of Egypt, 
bring them to Mount Sinai to 
receive the Torah, and then 
to lead them into the Land 
of Israel. Due to events in the 
desert, Moshe’s mandate to 
lead the people into Israel was 
transferred to Joshua. And so, 
in a certain fundamental sense, 
his mission was incomplete.
The fairy tale ending would 
have been Moshe triumphant-
ly leading the people into the 
Land of Israel. But the Torah is 
a book of truth. It’s a descrip-
tion of life as it is. And in real 
life “We are born in the middle 
of things, and we die in the 
middle of things.
” There are no 
neat beginnings and endings, 
no neat resolutions.
God is the master of the 
universe, and it is not in our 
hands to complete our arcs 
and wrap up our lives in a neat 
little bow. All we can do is 
focus on and appreciate each 
moment; take each task and 
each mitzvah one at a time; 
ensure we win life’s small vic-
tories.

All we can do is live with 
complete faith that Hashem 
will give us the time we need 
on this earth to do what we 
need to do — what we were 
born to do — even if it feels 
messy and unsatisfactory, even 
if it feels that things are incom-
plete.
The key is to live with 
humility and appreciation — 
the humility that comes with 
understanding that we don’t 
control everything, and the 
appreciation that comes with 
savoring each moment and 
each small victory. And we 
need to encourage that attitude 
in our children. To encour-
age them in each milestone 
accomplished, each mitzvah 
performed, each moment of 
grace and kindness, no matter 
how seemingly small.
As Jews, we believe in a 
Final Redemption — an era 
of the Messiah, in which the 
world is perfected, peace and 
closeness to God reign on 
Earth, and human history is 
brought to a glorious close. We 
all long for such a time.
And yet, there is only one 
generation that will merit to 
witness this closure. We hope 
and pray that we are that gen-
eration — that the redemption 
happens today — and yet we 
carry on with our lives with 
the peace of mind that every 
good deed we do, every step 
we take in the right direction, 
every small difference we 
make in improving the world 
we live in is part of the unfold-
ing of human history and lead-
ing inexorably toward the time 
we all long for.
It’s about the small steps on 
the journey of life. 

Rabbi Warren Goldstein is the chief 

rabbi of South Africa. This essay was 

archived on aish.com.

5829 Maple Rd. Ste. 129 
West Bloomf
 eld, MI 48322

248.757.2503

www.maplepharmacyrx.com

FREE
DELIVERY

MAKE MAPLE PHARMACY… YOUR PHARMACY!
MAKE MAPLE PHARMACY… YOUR PHARMACY!

OUR MISSION IS TO BRING SERVICE BACK TO 
PHARMACY FOR A HAPPIER, HEALTHIER YOU!!

10% 
SENIOR CITIZEN DISCOUNT
Not Valid on Prescriptions

Maple Pharmacy offers:

• Low Price Medications

• 90 Day Supplies

• Durable Medical Equipment

• Diabetic Supplies

• Natural Supplements, Vitamins 
and Nutraceuticals

• Compounding bio-identical hormones, 
pain creams & other medications

• Blister Packaging Available

MAPLE
MAPLE PHARMACY
PHARMACY

IMMUNIZATIONS
AND SHINGLES
SHOTS AVAILABLE

www.maplepharmacyrx.com

Now offering
the Moderna 
COVID
Vaccine!

Let Old Friends be your 

Michigan-Florida Connection

Keyes Real Estate

Estate Property Sales from
Listing to Clean-Out!

Buy • Sell • InveSt

Throughout South Florida, Including Boca, Boynton, 
Delray, Broward and Miami-Dade Counties

Nina Spinner-Sands

NinaSpinner-Sands@keyes.com

(954) 290-8293

Rita Morse

RitaMorse@keyes.com
(305) 609-7559

JN 1/8 page

Weekly
Headlines 
Delivered
to Your Inbox.

thejewishnews.com/newsletter