JULY 28 • 2022 | 45
we cannot be consumed with our goals
to the point where we are unable to
savor the small moments and the small
victories. Because these small moments
and small victories are an important
part of our lives.
Every moment of life is precious. We
learn this from pikuach nefesh — the
principle that virtually all of the Torah’s
laws are suspended in order to save a
life. Even if it’s to prolong that life for
a few moments. Life is nothing but the
sum of small moments. Each moment is
sacred because life is sacred.
Torah learning provides a good
illustration of the importance of small
moments and small victories. The
Mishnah teaches that the mitzvah of
learning Torah has no fixed limit. The
Vilna Gaon has a novel reading of the
Mishnah. He says that this teaching
applies at both ends of the spectrum —
there is no upper limit on the amount of
Torah one can learn, but there is also no
minimum amount; each word of Torah
we learn is a distinct mitzvah with
eternal value.
Kindness is another example. We have
a Torah mandate to make this world a
kinder, gentler place. But the mitzvah of
chesed is fulfilled through incremental
actions and gestures — a kind word, a
small gesture, a brief embrace. Tzedakah
is another example — a mitzvah
performed one coin at a time. And
prayer. It is made up of many individual
words. Each of which has its own
meaning and opportunity for devotion
and connection to God.
We see this principle articulated most
explicitly in the Mishnah in Pirkei Avot:
“It is not on you to complete the work,
but nor are you free to desist from it.”
(Pirkei Avot 2:16). Though the Mishnah
is referring specifically to the mitzvah
of Torah learning, which being God’s
infinite wisdom, by definition can never
fully be comprehended or “completed,”
it applies no less to every mitzvah we
perform, and all of the objectives we
pursue over the course of our lives. “We
are born in the middle of things, and we
die in the middle of things.”
This could also be the message at
the beginning of our Torah portion,
Massei, which chronicles the journey
of the Jewish people in the desert
in painstaking detail. Each leg, each
stopover of the 40-year journey is
mentioned by name. Why is that? If
anything, 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.
The arc of Moshe’s life embodies
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 triumphantly
leading the people into the land of
Israel. But the Torah is a book of truth.
It’s a description 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 victories.
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 incomplete.
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 encourage 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 generation
— 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 unfolding of human
history and leading 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 first published on aish.com.
“WE NEED TO SAVOR EACH MOMENT,
EACH ACCOMPLISHMENT, EACH STEP
ALONG OUR LIFE’S JOURNEY.”