#Blessed

48: The officers appointed over the army’s thousands, the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds, approached Moshe. 49: They said to Moshe “Your servants counted the soldiers who were in our charge, and not one man is missing from us.

The war is over. The Jewish army returns victorious. Everyone gets a fair share of what was conquered during the war. Soldiers and civilians alike.

Then, something unexpected happens; the commanders come to Moshe and say, “We counted. Not one man is missing. We want to give something back.” Moshe and Elazar took their donation of gold and used it towards building the Mishkan.

Now pause on that for a second; no one asked them to donate. Just a feeling; we were part of something bigger, and we needed to respond. But what’s even more interesting is who felt this. It wasn’t the average soldier on the ground. It was the commanders, the ones overseeing the operation. The ones who saw the full picture.

Because sometimes, the only way to truly recognize a miracle is to step back far enough to see it.

Think about that in your own life. When you’re in the fight juggling work, family, finances, responsibilities, it’s hard to see the blessing. You’re too close to the chaos. Too caught in the mud. But others? They’d love to have your problems. To have your job, your spouse, your children, your health. Because they see your life from the outside. The way the commanders saw the battlefield.

So what do we do? We learn from those officers. We lift our eyes. We zoom out. We remember to count. Count our people. Count our gifts. Count the moments that didn’t go wrong. The mornings we woke up. The accidents that didn’t happen. The opportunities that came our way without us even noticing.

And when we really stop and look? We’ll realize something simple, but powerful; blessing is all around us. The only question is whether we’re willing to step back far enough to see it and be grateful enough to give something back.

Shabbat Shalom!