The Things You See

The things you see:

A single shoe in the middle of the road.

A flicker of fear on a child's face.

A frayed cuff on an otherwise well-dressed man.

A door ajar, a stifled cry, a pleading look...

Walking down a crowded downtown sidewalk millions of stimuli flitting by like a school of tiny fish through loosely-woven net (for example), tens of thousands of objects will enter and exit your field of vision every second. Some of them you'll see; the vast majority you won't. The things you see, I won't notice. And vice versa. It's not that your vision is better than mine, or that I'm more perceptive. It's simply that from the millions of stimuli competing for your attention every minute, a certain few will snag on the fibers of your consciousness, while the rest flits by like a school of tiny fish passing through a loosely-woven net.

Why do you see the things that you see? Is it all just a swirling galaxy of chance? Or is there something deeper at play here?

"Do not stand upon your fellow's blood" commands the Torah (in Leviticus 19:16). Quoting the sages of the Talmud, Rashi adds the following words of explanation: "to see his demise and you can save him."

The simple meaning of this statement is clear. The Sages are telling us that the meaning of the Torah's instruction, "Do not stand upon your fellow's blood," is that it is forbidden to stand by and watch your fellow die if you can save him.

But there is a deeper meaning to the Sages' words.

In his teachings, the founder of Chassidism, Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov, greatly emphasized the doctrine of Hashgachah Peratit, "Specific Divine Providence." Specific divine providence means that not only did G-d create the world for a purpose, but every event in G-d's world, and every detail and aspect of every event, is specifically ordained and to serve a particular function within that purpose. Everything that happens is for a reason, and every aspect of every thing that happens--where it happened, when it happened, who saw it happen, how that person was affected by seeing it happen, etc., etc.--is also purposeful.

So if you see something, not only is what you saw significant, but also the fact that you saw it. Indeed, you could just as easily not have noticed. The fact that you did means that you can do something about it.

"To see his demise and you can save him."

If you see a fellow human being in mortal danger; if you see suffering or need; if you hear a cry for help that others fail to notice, that doesn't mean that you are more "sensitive" than they are. In fact, it stands to reason that there is an equal number of things which someone else will sense and you will not. It simply means that each person is shown and made aware of things in which he or she is meant to take a part.

...there are no tourists in G-d's worldIn this world that G-d made, there are no tourists--just local residents. There are no fans in the bleachers--only players on the field. No audience--just actors.

The things you see--the very fact that you saw them means that you can, and must, help in some way.