What's Small for You is Huge for Him
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Rabbenu Yona writes that one of the reasons that people become distant from Hashem is because they feel that they are already so bad that it doesn't matter what they do. People think that Hashem doesn't want their Avodah. If only they would know how precious they are to Hashem and how much anything that they do matters. The Gemara says in Masechet Avodah Zarah: "יש קונה עולמו בשעה אחת"- A person can acquire eternal life in just one moment. What could a person do in one moment? The Maggid of Mezeritzh explains that even if a person who has been off the path would make one turn toward Hashem with sincerity, that would give him eternity. The Chovot Halevavot writes in Shaar Cheshbon Hanefesh: "אל תמעט בעינך שום טובה שתעשינה לשמו כי המעט ממך רב אצלו"- "A person should not underestimate even the smallest thing he does for Hashem. What we think is small, is great in His eyes." Sometimes we think, "What's the point? What's this little thing going to do anyway?" That's not true. It does a lot.
The following story was told in the Yated Neeman a few years back. (There are some details that have been changed due to certain sensitivities.) There is a Rabbi from Israel who spends his days trying to bring Jews who are so far away from religion back to their father Hashem. About five years ago, shockingly, this Rabbi's own teenage son went off the Derech. He wanted nothing to do with Judaism. The Rabbi was broken. Nothing he did was able to bring him back. About a year later, he was talking to a group of boys about how important it is to keep Shabbat, and he gave them a very powerful speech. Afterwards, the boys came to him and said, "We are not ready to start keeping Shabbat, but we are willing to keep just one Shabbat, this week." They would not drive their cars, turn on lights or touch their phones for 24 hours. The Rabbi said, "That's great." The Rabbi was very happy. But one of the boys asked, "Rabbi, is this really going to matter, if we keep just one Shabbat? Isn't it ultimately meaningless, being that next Shabbat we are all going to go back to our regular ways?" "No," the Rabbi answered. "You don't understand how valuable this is. Do you have any idea how much I would be prepared to give up to have my son come back to spend just one Shabbat with me like the old days? There is no price too high for a chance to hear him say something about the Parasha at the Shabbat table, to sing Shabbat songs with him, to sit next to him in Shul and to learn Torah with him. And now, concluded the Rabbi in a soft voice, "our Father in Heaven is going to have eight of his lost sons back with him for one Shabbat. How fortunate is He."
Hashem adores us and wants more than anything to be close to us. Never underestimate anything we could possibly do to get closer to Him. No matter how far away we have veered. "כי המעט מכם רב אצלו"- What we think is small is great in His eyes.
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