Question:
Dear Rabbi: I was deeply impacted by my religious grandmother, who taught me many Jewish rituals, but as I grow older and wiser I struggle to relate to her obsession with detail. Does G-d really care if the spoon is milchig (dairy) or fleishig (meat)? Doesn't He have more important things to worry about? I have a hard time believing that my actions are so vitally important to Him. I would appreciate your thoughts on this matter.
Answer:
I had a really busy week, and when I missed a few calls from one of the community members, I grew concerned. When I later received an email, ostensibly from him, titled "Private message" I was relieved; however, as I clicked on the link I grew suspicious. When it asked for my "double password encryption", I realized it was a definitely a virus delivered unbeknownst to the sender. My secretary wasn't so lucky and unfortunately she too clicked on the link. She had to spend a good few hours yesterday undoing the damage and promptly notifying her contact list of the danger.
All from a single click.
Our bodies too are created extremely carefully: A single extra chromosome in our DNA is the difference between a healthy child and one with Down Syndrome; a slight excess or deficiency of hormones can drive a person to behave like a madman; even a knife that was improperly cleaned after being used for peanut butter is enough to kill someone with peanut butter allergies.
See what a single drop of snake venom does to human blood in mere seconds. Click here to view.
Clearly, it's not the quantity the counts; it's the quality.
If your work is completely unimportant, then a slight indiscretion might not make much of a difference. But when you are doing brain surgery or are in the NASA control room, a mere millimeter is the difference between life and certain death!
"For you are sons of Hashem your G-d." For reasons beyond our control, we were chosen by G-d to be the apple of His eye. And just like the king cares far more about his inner circle, and certainly his princes, more than anyone else, the Creator of the Universe is deeply impacted by your decisions more than by any other of His creations.