Just a Second

The Los Angeles Clippers and Denver Nuggets were matched up in the first round of the NBA playoffs this year, and the Clippers took a 2 games to 1 lead after three games, despite being the underdog. With the score tied and seven seconds to go in game 4, Denver had the ball for the final shot. Nikola Jokic, the team’s best player, took an awkward shot with time running out — and it looked like the shot was too long and the game would go into overtime. However, Aaron Gordon caught the ball in midair and dunked the ball through the hoop for the winning basket with one second on the clock. Denver tied the series at two games apiece, and went on to win the next two games and advance in the playoffs.

In basketball, even the final second is important, as the Los Angeles Clippers learned the hard way that evening. And every second is important in Judaism, too.

Judaism places great value on every second of life, emphasizing both its sanctity and its potential. Time is not just an afterthought in Jewish theology — it is a holy vessel for action, transformation, and divine connection. Judaism teaches us that life is not measured merely in years or even days but in moments. Every second of life is sacred. Every breath, every heartbeat, and every instant holds infinite value.

In the Talmud in Masechet Sanhedrin, it states: “Whoever saves a life, it is as if they saved an entire world.” This not only applies to the act of saving a life, but to the significance of sustaining it — even for one more second. The Mishnah in Ohalot states that even if a person is dying and has only a very brief time to live, we are obligated to do everything possible to preserve his or her life. Jewish law requires us to do what we can to extend those seconds — not because we expect a recovery, but because even one more moment is meaningful.

Why? Because in a single second, everything can change. Ecclesiastes teaches us about the fragility of life – and how things can change in a second: “Man also does not know his time … like fish caught in an evil net … so are people ensnared at a time of misfortune when it suddenly falls upon them.”

This poetic imagery reminds us that life can change in an instant — a moment of peace can become a moment of crisis. Our friends Baruch and Judy Sterman’s son, who was serving in Gaza, recently was the victim of a sniper’s attack and unfortunately had his arm blown off. His life changed in a second. This isn’t meant to scare anyone; however, it should create a sense of urgency: we should always try to live with awareness, gratitude, and purpose.

The Talmud recounts the story of Elazar ben Durdaya, who transformed his life with sincere repentance. His teshuva at one moment was so powerful that a heavenly voice declared that he had earned a place in the World to Come. The Rambam says that a person can actually change identity through genuine repentance, and in that split second, he or she is no longer the same person who sinned.

Judaism also believes that every second is an opportunity for good — for teshuva, for learning Torah, or for performing an act of kindness. A moment can hold a mitzvah. A shift in perspective. A turning point in a relationship. A choice to begin again.

Judaism sees every second of life as precious, holy, and potentially transformative. A single moment can hold the weight of eternity — it can be the turning point for a soul, the chance to do a mitzvah, or the instant in which reality shifts. This awareness invites a person to live each moment consciously … with reverence, with humility, and with possibility.

This is not just a nice idea — it’s a Jewish truth. Life can change in a split second. A phone call … a diagnosis … an opportunity … a tragedy … a spark of inspiration. We are not promised the next hour, minute, or second, but we are given this one — right now.

There’s a parable told among the sages:

Imagine that every morning, Hashem places 86,400 “spiritual coins” into your account. These coins aren’t made of gold or silver — they are seconds, moments of time. Each one is a gift from God, entrusted to you alone.

You can use these seconds to learn Torah, to say a kind word, to help someone in need, to recite a bracha, to daven with true kavana, to smile at someone lonely.

But there’s a rule: whatever you don’t use by nightfall is gone. You can’t save today’s unused time for tomorrow. It’s as if the angels arrive at midnight and sweep away what was wasted.

The Vilna Gaon cried in his final moments, not for missed riches, but for the missed opportunity to do one more mitzvah, to earn one more eternal moment.

We don’t get to choose how many days we have, but we do choose what to do with the seconds we’re given.

And so, Judaism urges us to cherish time. Use it with intention. Fill it with kindness. Every moment is a gift, and every moment has the potential to change a life — maybe even your own.

Every second is a spark. Will you use it to light the world?