The Inchworm | Rabbi Eliezer Feuer

It is said about Napoleon, once when he was going through a challenge and things seemed uncertain, he gathered together with his generals in a secret hiding place, and they, through the night, poured over the maps, deciding and discussing whether or not they should attack. Napoleon sat off to the side on a rocking chair, seemingly looking out into space, while his generals continued through the night to contemplate and pore over those maps. It was a little peculiar to them that their general, Napoleon, the mighty Napoleon, didn't seem to pay attention to what was happening around him. Throughout the night, Napoleon watched as a little inchworm made its way up the wall, only to fall down. It started again and continued up the wall, a little higher, and fell down again. Throughout the night, Napoleon watched as this inchworm continued to make progress, finally coming to the ceiling. Falling down, starting over, getting further, falling down. Until finally, at dawn, this inchworm got to the other side. Immediately, he jumped up and he told his generals: Let's go! We're going to attack! The generals looked at him and said, Where were you the whole night? What happened? He said: I learned a valuable lesson from the inchworm, that although you take small steps and it's slow and sometimes you fail, if you keep on going, you will eventually succeed. And that's why now I have the inspiration to get up, to regather my strength, and we're going to attack and we will be victorious. R’ Yaakov Edelstein comments on the last Pasuk in Parshas Mishpatim, when it discusses Moshe Rabeinu going up the mountain, And Moshe ascended the mountain into the midst of the cloud. Moshe Rabeinu went up the mountain into a cloak and a smokescreen. Says Rashi, And Hakadosh Baruch Hu made a path for him. Hakadosh Baruch Hu made a pathway in the smokescreen, in those daunting moments, a pathway for Moshe Rabeinu. Says R’ Yaakov Edelstein, It's inevitable, through the journey of life, when we are ascending the mountains, the challenges of life, there will always be the smokescreens, the cloaks, the darkness, the challenges. It's up to us, it's incumbent upon us to continue the journey upward. And if we will dedicate ourselves to that journey, then Hashem will make a path for every single one of us. It's a vital task for every single Jew in the world to understand that it's all about the small steps and to overcome the challenges. And if we commit ourselves to those small steps, ultimately, no matter what comes in our way, Hashem will show us the correct way and to connect and to be able to rise to the challenges and conquer the tallest peaks.