Yael Eckstein July 17, 2024
But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I am giving you.” — Numbers 20:12
Every week in the synagogue, Jews read the Torah from Genesis to Deuteronomy. Torah The portion for this week is Chukat, meaning “requirement,” from Numbers 19:1–22:1.
One of the greatest gifts my parents gave me was the belief that I could accomplish anything I wanted, even if I made many mistakes along the way. This perspective is what allowed me to confidently step into the role of President and CEO of The Fellowship earlier than I had planned, after my father, The Fellowship’s founder Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, passed away unexpectedly.
My father was no longer around to guide me, but I still retained the lessons he and my mother taught me. Thanks to my parents, I knew that even if I made some mistakes, if I was willing to learn from them and grow from them, I would eventually succeed.
Let’s learn from our mistakes
This week Torah As we read this, we learn that even the greatest leaders make mistakes, even Moses. God commanded Moses to speak to the rock that would produce water for the thirsty Israelites, but instead he struck the rock. God described Moses’ actions as a failure in “Trust me enough to honor me as a saint in the sight of the Israelites.…As a result, God decreed that Moses would not be the leader to lead the nation of Israel into the Promised Land.
According to Jewish teachings, this episode is an example that the heroes of the Hebrew Bible were not perfect, otherworldly human beings whom we can never aspire to be like, but were flesh and blood, human and fallible, like you and me.
It is encouraging to realize that even the greatest people of all time made mistakes at one time or another. Moses may have failed at this task, but it was certainly not a failure. It teaches us that we don’t have to be perfect to be great, we just have to learn from our mistakes and keep trying.
In Proverbs 24:16, King Solomon wrote: “Even if the righteous fall seven times, they will rise again, but the wicked stumble when disaster strikes them..”Both the righteous and the wicked fall, but the wicked remain down while the righteous rise again. We all make mistakes, but how we react to our mistakes is what makes the difference.
Friends, whether we are trying to reach a lofty goal or simply trying to become better people, we must remember this wise advice: we never fail at something until we stop trying. As long as we are willing to learn from our mistakes and keep trying, we will succeed, and with God’s help, we can accomplish anything.
Your turn:
Next time you make a mistake, instead of feeling defeated, ask yourself what you can learn from it. Even our mistakes can become important steps towards achieving our goals!
