This week, outside of Israel, we read the Parsha of Chukas. The Torah relates an incident where G-d (seemingly) told Moshe Rabbenu to "speak" to the rock in order for it to spout forth water. Instead of speaking to the rock Moshe Rabbenu hit the rock and it was therefore decreed that he would not enter into the Land of Israel. This is a simplified explanation as the commentators struggle to find clarity on exactly what Moshe Rabbenu did "wrong". We obviously do not have a true comprehension of the spiritual level that Moshe Rabbenu was on and we can't really understand why any of these acts would have resulted in such a decree. Our sages teach us that Hashem is "exacting with the righteous like a hairsbreadth" so on Moshe Rabbenu's level there was some infraction that now prevented him from entering the Land of Israel. The commentators also tell us that had Moshe Rabbenu in fact led the Jewish People into the Land of Israel the Final redemption would have come.

One thing that I think we can learn from this is that we never know how much one decision or mistake can change the entire course of history for ourselves or even the entire Jewish Nation. We sometimes think, what is the big deal if I do x, y or z. We think our actions are for the most part inconsequential in the grand scheme of things but the truth is they are not. Each one of us is created in the "image of G-d". People use this idea to explain the "rights" that reality confers upon us, but the book Nefesh HaChaim explains that the idea of being created in the "image of G-d" confers upon us dramatic "responsibility". We have a tremendous power to impact reality, history and mankind through our actions, speech and thought.

Shabbat Shalom,

Heath