Sometimes It's the Little Things That Count

I was wondering what I was going to write my next post about when I scrolled through the comments on the retirement posting and found my answer. The comment was as follows:

"I think we spend too much time worrying about all the little things like if retirement is jewish or not when we should be looking at the larger picture. The retirement question is only a tiny part of a much bigger problem. If we would concentrate on that problem the retirement issue would go away or fix itself." Doni

Certainly Doni's perspective is not all that unusual. A lot of people agree with him that you have to see the whole, examine the whole and fix the whole. Start at the top and work your way down; start on the outside and work your way in. Fixing one flat tire won't help you if all four are flat; you still can't drive the car. Don't get me wrong; I've used this method on some problems and it has worked. But there is another approach that also works.

For me the other approach is illustrated by an old English rhyme that was often used to encourage children to look at the logical consequences of their actions, showing the possible events that could follow a single act. Many have also used it to illustrate the idea that "the devil is in the details." It's the small things that you do or don't do that can influence what kind of a "whole" you are going to have.


For Want of a Nail

For want of a nail the shoe was lost.

For want of a shoe the horse was lost.

For want of a horse the rider was lost.

For want of a rider the battle was lost.

For want of a battle the kingdom was lost.

And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.

It is the initial action--the lack of a nail--that influences all of the other events that follow. Fixing that one part of the problem will have influence on the other problems that have followed from it. If you change something on the bottom you're going to effect change on the top as well.

It doesn't matter which particular aspect of the problems In frum Klal you start with--if you change that little part you've made a start. Let's be really honest here. No one but no one has an adequate and/or accurate picture of what frum Klal in total actually is or even who belongs in it. That,too, is one of the problems. Sometimes we don't have the knowledge or the resources to do a total overhaul. We can continue to rail at frum life in general or we can change the broken lightbulb in the bathroom and go on from there. Because if you can see in the bathroom then maybe you'll be able to replace the broken tiles. Or maybe the leaky faucet. Or the moldy shower curtain.