Unleashing Nuclear Power from Within

Be as careful with a minor mitzvah as with a major one, for you do not know the rewards of the mitzvot. (Ethics of the Fathers, 2:1) 

The last time a Jewish army went into enemy territory and came back victorious without suffering a single loss was when Moshe led us. In 1967, when we fought for six days, we lost 777 men. Today, when we fought Iran for 12 days, we didn’t lose a single warrior.  

Hashem is blessing Israel!  He is blessing our military! Any victory is a feather on the cap of our brave children who fought for it. This victory against Iran is more – it’s an open miracle from our Father to His children.  

The Lubavitcher Rebbe teaches us that a nuclear weapon is something that can unleash massive amounts of energy on the world from the single, simple deed of splitting an atom.  One small act can unleash the energy of the sun upon an entire city.  

If such a small act can create such darkness and death, for sure Hashem puts in His world the same opportunity to create even more light and life through the same simple decisions.  

Our Own Personal H-Bomb 

Since the war with Iran, every Israeli feels the uncertainty. Every time we hear a sound that “wails,” our heart beats faster until we can identify the sound and confirm it’s not an air-raid siren. I know someone who had to change the ringtone on his cellphone because it sounded too much like the mobile alerts that would come from the Home Front Command.  

We know Hashem is in control. He saved us from Hamas. He rescued us from Hezbollah. He made sure the missiles from Iran wouldn’t touch our children. In Israel, we are resilient because we know Who is watching over us, and Who has been protecting us for thousands of years.  

What can we do to express our gratitude? The instinct is to match His great deeds with great deeds of our own. 

It’s a great idea, but what is a “great deed”? In Pirkei Avot, we are warned: Be as careful with a minor mitzvah as with a major one, for you do not know the rewards of the mitzvot. (Avot 2:1).  If we don’t know the rewards of a mitzvah, how can we know what Hashem sees as a mighty deed.  How do we unleash the nuclear energy inside us if we don’t know which button to press? 

Not All Mitzvot Hide their Reward 

The greatest sin is to embarrass a fellow Jew. This is why the sin of lashon hara (evil speech against a fellow Jew) is considered to be the worst there is. We were exiled for 70 years to pay for the sins of immorality, idolatry, and murder. We are now exiled from our land for nearly 2,000 years for the sin of speaking about a fellow Jew in such a way that we humiliate him.  

This implies that the greatest kindness is what you can do towards a fellow Jew. Every morning, we recite a Mishnah (Peah 1:1) which states These are the precepts that have no prescribed measure . . . acts of kindness. Right after that, we recite a Gemara from Shabbos 127a which states These are the precepts whose fruits a person enjoys in this world but whose principal remains intact for him in the World to Come . . . acts of kindness.  

This does somewhat contradict the Mishnah in Pirkei Avot that states we don’t know the rewards of the mitzvot, because in some cases . . . we do! 

What does that mean for all of us? 

The greatest kindness we can do is for a fellow Jew. The Jews we can do constant kindnesses for are our spouse and children. We can perform acts of kindness towards our fellow Jews countless of times each day! 

The Daily Discovery  

It’s a mitzvah and an act of kindness to wash the dishes. It’s a mitzvah and an act of kindness to take out the garbage.  It’s a mitzvah and an act of kindness to say “Thank you” to everything your soulmate does – especially the things they do every day that we’ve gotten used to. It’s a mitzvah and an act of kindness to complement our kids on everything they do. All our lives we pursue validation from our parents – Baruch Hashem, we have a daily opportunity to give it.  

You know what the greatest kindness of all is? To smile when they get upset. To bend when they want this and you want that.  

A great repentance for the sin of evil speech, speaking evil when you don’t really have to, is to refrain from speaking when you want to say something. When your loved one is going through something – anything from a rough day to hearing bad news – and they snap at you. They say something where you feel justified in “retaliating” with a harsh word and yet you remain silent. This moment is a moment of repentance that counters all those moments when you hit someone with harsh words and really didn’t have to.  

It’s a “small deed,” but so is pressing the button.  In both cases, we unleash unprecedented amounts of positive energy upon our families, our community, and all Am Yisrael.  

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David Ben Horin lives in the Jezreel Valley with his family, Afula’s famous sunflowers, and the local camel, Matilda. David loves to write about Judaism, Torah, Israel, and personal happiness.