Today is Tzom Gedaliah, which comes right after Rosh Hashanah during the Aseret Yemei Teshuvah. We fast because Gedaliah ben Achikam, the leader of the small group of Jewish people who remained in Eretz Yisrael after the Churban HaBayit, was murdered.
The Gemara tells us regarding this, שְׁקוּלָה מִיתָתָן שֶׁל צַדִּיקִים כִּשְׂרֵפַת בֵּית אֱלֹקֵינוּ — the death of tzaddikim is comparable to the burning of the Bet HaMikdash. But we may ask, there have been many great tzaddikim who passed away throughout the generations whom we don't fast for. What was so significant about the death of Gedaliah that we fast over it until today? In fact, at that time, the Bet HaMikdash had already been destroyed. Yerushalayim had already been devastated. Most of the Jewish people had already gone into galut. What was left? Just a small remnant of Jewish people living in Eretz Yisrael under Gedaliah.
But perhaps that's the very point. That small remnant had so much potential. There was still Jewish life in Eretz Yisrael. There were still fields to plant and homes to build. Hashem could have produced an entire future just from what remained. But then Gedaliah was murdered. The people became afraid and eventually fled.
There is a great lesson here for us. Sometimes a person looks at his life and thinks about what he doesn't have. Maybe things did not turn out the way he hoped. Maybe he lost an opportunity. Maybe years have gone by and he didn't accomplish what he should have. He looks at what's left and thinks, What could I possibly do with this? Tzom Gedaliah teaches us: Never underestimate what's left. Hashem can build an entire future from what looks to us like very little.
Imagine a man who once had a successful business that eventually began to fail. He lost his customers, went into debt, and with no choice he had to close. He was devastated. He felt that everything he had built was gone. But sometime later, an old contact called him looking for help locating a certain product. The man knew the industry very well and was able to make the right connection. That led to another call and then another, and eventually he began working as a consultant and broker. Using all the knowledge and contacts he had gained over the years, he ended up making a much better parnassah without all the overhead and pressures of his previous business. What he thought was just what remained from his old business was exactly what Hashem used to build his future.
This is a very important message now during the Aseret Yemei Teshuvah. We just stood before Hashem on Rosh Hashanah and thought about all the areas in our lives that we need to improve. We may have chalishut hada'at. We may think, Look how many years have gone by. Look at all the opportunities I've missed. What do I have left? But Hashem doesn't want us to be discouraged. He wants us to be encouraged. As long as He gives us another day, there is tremendous potential just in that day.
Maybe someone hasn't learned as much Torah as he should have, but he can start right now, today. Maybe a person hasn't been praying the way he should, but he can start right now with today's tefillah, especially now when tefillah is so powerful. Maybe there's a relationship that a person needs to improve or a middah that he's been struggling with. Today he can take a step. We have no idea what Hashem can build from that one step.
This is one lesson we can learn from Tzom Gedaliah. After so much had been lost, what remained still had so much value. The same is true in our lives. We should never say, "It's too late," or, "There's not enough left." We have today. Hashem has given us so much potential. Our job is to use what we have right now and trust that Hashem can build an entire future from it.