Weekly Torah Portion

I go on a specific bike ride pretty regularly. It’s a beautiful route: peaceful, refreshing, the kind that clears your head.

For months I passed one spot that was under construction. Week after week, I’d glance over and see the same thing — a mess of dirt, machinery, and fencing. It never looked like much was happening. No big changes. Just the same scene repeating itself.

Then I took a few weeks off for Pesach vacation. When I returned and rode past that spot again, I was stunned.

A full building had gone up. The frame was standing tall. What had looked like nothing for so long had completely transformed. Of course, it didn’t happen overnight. It was the result of putting one brick on top of another, day after day. Slow and steady progress was happening when no one was paying attention.

That image comes to life in this week’s Torah portion of Emor. Among the excitement of the holidays of Pesach, Shavuos, and Sukkos, there’s a commandment that’s easy to overlook: the lighting of the Menorah in the Mishkan every single day. Not just on special occasions, but every day, with pure oil and quiet consistency. The flame had to burn “tamid”, constantly.

Why is this detail mentioned right after some of the most spiritually uplifting times of the year? Perhaps to show us that growth isn’t found only in moments of inspiration. It’s also found in the steady rhythm of showing up each day.

In the choices no one sees. In the small wins. The putting forth of effort when we are not in the mood. The prayer when we just don’t feel all that inspired or close. The decision to try again despite every part of us telling us not to.

Sometimes we feel like we’re not making progress, whether in our health, relationships, work, or spiritual growth. We keep going, but it feels slow, unremarkable, even pointless at times. Still, something is happening beneath the surface. Quietly. Brick by brick.

And then one day, we take a step back and see what was being built all along. We see a person who is so much closer to the highest and truest version of ourselves!

This week, choose one brick you’ll keep laying. One flame you’ll keep lighting. Trust that Hashem sees the structure long before we do.

Because the impact is not in one dramatic moment. It’s in the quiet power of consistency, which builds something lasting and deeply beautiful.