Weekly Torah Portion

A child who couldn’t behave himself unfortunately had to be expelled from a Jewish day school. Many years later the principal encountered him and saw that he had become a successful adult with a happy family. The principal asked how he had managed to emerge from such a troubled childhood.

“For two years after I was kicked out, every single Friday my rabbi from the school called to check on me. He never missed a single week. That deeply impacted me and helped me improve.”

The principal was impressed and wished him well. When he next saw the rabbi he shared the encounter, emphasizing how his care had been so impactful. The rabbi was taken aback. “It is true that I called him every Friday. However, not one time did he actually answer the phone call.”

While there are several lessons embedded in this story, the most obvious one may be the most important: small things can make big differences, and the power of those differences sometimes may be invisible for a long time.

We have been reading in the recent Torah portions about the Jewish people’s Exodus from Egypt. It is likely the most pivotal moment in our history as a nation, and also represents the most powerful event of G-d’s intervening in nature and in history to show His love for His people.

We mention the Exodus multiple times a day in our liturgy, invoke it in the Kiddush every Friday evening, and celebrate it all night every year on Pesach. Men even wear the Biblical passages about the Exodus on their heads and arms in the Tefilin, and we bolt it to our doorways in the Mezuzah. So what is its key lesson?

The landmark commentary of Nachmanides (1194-1270) explains: “A wondrous miracle shows that the world has a G-d Who created it, and Who knows and supervises it, and Who has the power to change it. …G-d has not abandoned the world to chance.” The Egyptians denied or doubted this outlook. The miracles of the Exodus proved them wrong.

We remember and transmit to our children and grandchildren the celebration of a G-dly world every day, week, and year, and even physically surround ourselves by the words, too.

We perform mitzvos as an expression of thankfulness to G-d. But their purpose ultimately is to demonstrate our belief in Him, and His creating the world and us as its primary residents, about whom He cares deeply. When one believes in the legacy of the open miracles of the Exodus, he or she will acknowledge the “hidden” ones as well: every breath of life and the intricacy of the human body; the blessings of fresh food and clean water; the gifts of those nearby who help and support us.

Just observing these seemingly small gestures – the Almighty’s routine “phone calls” to us showing His care – can prompt us to feel His love and strive to connect with Him. Even if we don’t always take the call, taking note of His care can serve as inspiring encouragement.