Well, it has been a full week since the last posts went up to this blog. Lots of background activity continued, as I jotted down notes and collected items of interest, but nothing actually got posted. The lesson: WiFi isn’t good enough, you need to have a cellular laptop card. I took a vow before leaving Los Angeles this week that I would have one by the time I returned. Never again do I wish to deal with the massive frustrations of non-access!

“Keep looking up. Don’t look down or you’ll get afraid.”

We took the kids to AdventurePlex, a fantastic indoor/outdoor safe play zone in Manhattan Beach. The highlight was the rock climbing installation in the side yard. For some of the kids, it was a cinch to zip up the walls (at least, the easier ones). For others, each step was a challenge, and we could see them literally shaking as they clung to the side of the building. My brother- and sister-in-law (back-seat climbers) shouted encouragement from below: “Keep looking up! Don’t look down or you’ll get afraid!”

The Talmud teaches: A scene of weeping that will take place in the end of days is described by the Prophet Zecharia (12:12). One of the Sages interprets this as a reference to the slaughtering by Hashem of the Yetzer Hara (Evil Inclination) as both the righteous and the wicked look on.

To the righteous this inciter to evil appears as a huge mountain, while to the wicked he seems like a thin hair. Both groups weep at the sight. The righteous weep as they recall the anguish they experienced in overcoming this force of evil and they wonder how they were able to conquer such a formidable mountain. The wicked weep as they wonder why they were unable to overcome such a thin hair. (Succah 52a; as explained on the  Ohr Somayach website)

I was reminded of this teaching as I greeted the children below the wall, and showed them how far they had reached, and compared it to their previous attempts.

Those who succeed in climbing the mountain — i.e., the righteous — will say, “How did we ever climb the mountain?” And the wicked will weep, “Why didn’t I ascend? It was so easy.”

If you set your sights high, you achieve astonishing heights by climbing one small step at a time. Looking up a step at a time from below, it doesn’t look so hard, and you will be surprised by how far you are able to go. On the other hand, if you look down, it’s overwhelming. Your body has a visceral reaction to the height and the potential for failure. You freeze. You’re scared. You come down. Then you look back up and wonder, “Is that all? Why did I let that frighten me?” But your turn is over.

I can say about the most important accomplishments in my life (or projects-in-progress) that had I known (or had I thought too much about) all that would be required for successful implementation, I probably wouldn’t have started. You have to just set your goal, take it one step at a time, and never look down.