The Extra Mile

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V'etchanan (Deuteronomy 3:23-7:11 )

An elderly widow, grief stricken and struggling after losing her husband, discovered that she would have to be quarantined for Passover due the Coronavirus pandemic. She couldn’t believe that she could not be able to at least spend Passover with her children like in previous years, and would be completely on her own.

She was inconsolable.

One of her neighbors found out about her distress and explained that since their flats were near each other, the family would happily move their dining room table next to her open window to have the Seder, so that she could safely join them.

When the first days of the festival were over, the woman called her children, bubbling over with joy, and relating that the family had even had the same customs and tunes as her late husband!

Little did she know that they had called up her children prior to Passover to find out her family’s customs, and had run the Seder accordingly!

It wasn’t enough for them to ‘just’ move their entire table to her, but they even researched and ran it differently to ensure that their elderly neighbor would have the best possible experience!

Throughout this week's Torah portion we find different commands regarding observing different laws in the Torah.

Towards the end, we are told, "And you shall do that which is right and good in the eyes of the Lord" (Deut. 6:18).

Knowing that the Torah does not contain unnecessary material, what new instruction does this verse add?

Rashi and Rambam explain that doing "right and good" means going above and beyond the letter of the law, in serving God, and in aiding one’s fellow man.

Doing more than the minimum shows that it is more than just a duty and that the person really and truly cares.

A valuable message to keep in mind when we do acts of kindness.

We can do the basics, or we can go that bit further.

Always ask the question: What more can i do to bring an extra smile to the persons face?

As the saying goes: "Go the extra mile, it’s never crowded!"

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