One Starfish at a Time

B"H

Unrelated to anything specific in this week's Torah portion,
I'd like to share with you a story I love:

One day, a man was walking along the beach when he noticed a boy picking something up and gently throwing it into the ocean.

Approaching the boy, he asked,

"What are you doing?"

The youth replied, "Throwing starfish back into the ocean. The surf is up and the tide is going out.

If I don't throw them back, they'll die."

"Son," the man said with exasperation, "don't you realize there are miles and miles of beach and hundreds of starfish?

You can't make a difference!"

After listening politely, the boy bent down and picked up another starfish.

Smiling at the man, the boy threw the starfish into the surf, and replied:

"It made a difference for that one."

This story can teach a profound lesson to each one of us: Making a difference for just one person is huge - it's vital.

Many years ago, there was a community Chabad Rabbi who planned a class for Jewish women on the subject of "Taharas Hamishpocha" - family purity, the special mitzvah for married Jewish women to immerse in a mikvah [body of water] once every month.

Unfortunately for him, only one woman showed up. One!

When asked how things were going in his synagogue, the Rabbi complained to his Rebbe about this particular abysmal turnout to his well-prepared class.

The Rebbe answered him: "Moshe Rabbeinu (Moses) was born from only one mother."

It would be wonderful to positively affect the entire world for the good. But each of us was, by divine Providence, placed in a specific location

and circumstance, with specific friends, neighbors and family members, to interact with in a positive way and uplift. One by one.

A famous biblical example of the powerful effects that come from elevating one's specific surroundings and circumstance, can be seen in Joseph.

Joseph had been thrown in a dungeon for a crime he hadn't committed, and had already been incarcerated for many years.

One morning, he sees 2 dejected prisoners in his dungeon, and walks over to them with a friendly smile. "Maduah p'neichem ra'im hayom?" He asks them.
"Why are your faces sad today?"

They tell Joseph of their bad dreams and he interprets them.

The butler is later freed, and upon hearing Pharaoh's nightmare, he begrudgingly admits that there is a Hebrew slave that can interpret dreams.

Joseph interprets Pharaoh's dream as meaning that starvation will hit Egypt soon, and Pharaoh then raises him to 2nd in command,

in charge of saving grain in order to eventually feed the entire starving world...

It comes out, that because of one kind action, one friendly gesture, Joseph ended up saving the entire world!

One mitzvah, one kind deed, can go a long way, especially for that one person.

As Maimonides teaches: "One is obligated to view the world as a balanced scale of good deeds and bad: One good thought, speech or action, can tip the scales and bring redemption to the world."

A smile can light up someone's day, shedding light in a dark moment.

'No one ever greeted Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai before he greeted them, not even a stranger in the marketplace.' - {Talmud Berachot 17a }

As we near the end of the joyful month of Adar, and enter Nissan, the month of redemption, may we remember to be joyful and impart joy & warmth to those around us.

And may this joy lead us to the ultimate joy of the time of Redemption,
may it happen now.

Shabbat Shalom!

-Daniel

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Remember: Your next deed will change the world. So make it a good one!