This is a simple one. Little stick guy spends a long time making a pretty obvious choice.

What’s his problem? Why is he having such a hard time with this decision? Is it that he doesn’t believe the signs? I think he does. I think he’s pretty sure that there are terrible, miserable things behind that door. They’re just not real enough to him to scare him.

But what interests me more is what he will do if he chooses the bad door and finds terrible, miserable things there. Will he recognize his own error and try to correct it in the future? Or will he blame the signs, or the doors, or anything else he can think of?

For me, that’s what is compelling about this very short little story, and it’s also what is compelling to me about the verse from the Parshah. We have this set of actions and consequences mapped out for us right there. We’ve probably even tested them a few times. But will I continue to dismiss them as threats, or will I accept that my actions mean something? Of course, as always, I could be wrong about the little guy.

I’d love to hear your version.

Dovid