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Don't forget to cross your t's and dot your com's.



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 Perhaps one of the most frequently asked questions revolves around the incredibly vast amount of mitzvos and details that constantly require our attention as Jews - is it really all that necessary? Does it really matter if I fulfill each mitzvah exactly as described by Chazal? Isn't it good enough if I do the general idea?
Although the following on-line conversation is not new, it is well worth another read. Perhaps, after reading and thinking through the following, we will have a better idea of the necessity and importance of every last fine detail.

Dear Rabbi,

Why does the Jewish religion seem to obsess over insignificant details? How much matzah do we have to eat, which spoon did I use for milk and which for meat, what is the right way to tie my shoelaces? It seems to me that this misses the bigger picture by focusing on minutiae. Is this nitpicking what Jews call spirituality? (I actually already sent you this question over a week ago and didn’t receive a reply. Could it be that you have finally been asked a question that you can't answer?!)
Sol

 

Dear Sol,

I never claimed to have all the answers. There are many questions that are beyond me. But it happens to be that I did answer your question, and you did get the answer. I sent a reply immediately. The fact that you didn't receive it is itself the answer to your question.
You see, I sent you a reply, but I wrote your email address leaving out the "dot" before the "com". I figured that you should still receive the email, because after all, it is only one little dot missing. I mean come on, it's not as if I wrote the wrong name or something drastic like that!
Would anyone be so nitpicky as to differentiate between "yahoocom" and "yahoo.com "? Isn't it a bit ridiculous that you didn't get my email just because of a little dot?
No, it's not ridiculous. Because the dot is not just a dot. It represents something. That dot has meaning far beyond the pixels on the screen that form it. To me it may seem insignificant, but that is simply due to my ignorance of the ways of the web. All I know is that with the dot, the message gets to the right destination; without it, the message is lost to oblivion.

Jewish practices have infinite depth. Each nuance and detail contains a world of symbolism. And every dot counts. When they are performed with precision, a spiritual vibration is emailed throughout the universe, all the way to G-d's inbox.

If you want to understand the symbolism of the dot, study I.T.
If you want to understand the symbolism of Judaism, study it.

All the best,
Rabbi

If we put in enough effort and care into the mitzvos we fulfill, we are hopeful that they will successfully reach their destination. Just stay tuned for the response message. Read between the lines. The responses are there. But they're not black on white - they're in vivid, vibrant colors ... in every aspect of our lives!
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Say to yourself ten times today:
"Hashem, give me the understanding to know what You want from me today and I'll do my very best to succeed!"