Dear Friend,

The ubiquity of video cameras has changed the way we see crime—literally. A criminal could once have committed a crime with the (un)reasonable expectation to deny it later.

Today, with cellphones in almost every pocket—and security cameras attached to homes and businesses—the digital trail makes it much harder to hide illegal actions. And it’s not just criminals who are being recorded. All over the world, police officers are beginning to wear cameras, insuring that the guardians of the law conform to proper standards as well.

To us Jews, this is nothing new. This Shabbat, as part of the annual study of the Ethics of Our Fathers, Jews all over will read the words of Rabbi Judah the Prince: “Know what is above you, a seeing eye and a listening ear, and all your actions are written in a [heavenly] book.”

Never mind body cams, livestreams and digital footprints. G‑d has been recording us all along, taking note of our misdeeds and our good deeds as well. Beyond simply policing our behavior, He is cheering us on, hoping that we make the right moves.

So how will you spend the next moment? Will it be something you want viewed by the Supernal Periscope?

Menachem Posner
on behalf of the Chabad.org Editorial Team