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.”

