Midges

“Sex, the food chain and the habits of the National Park Service are slowly doing them in.”

Catchy Huh? This title splayed across the byline of a major article some years ago. The real story goes like this:  every evening at sunset, tiny midges begin to mate. Just as the lustful urges begins to beg these insects on, the flood lights in the National Park bring on a nocturnal daylight. Throngs of frenzied midges while responding to the instinctual urges are undone by the lights and in swarms they crash into lamps and thick columns.

Their bodies become delicious meals for spiders, which feast on the midge body parts, scattered over their webs and strewn over the ground. Birds then swoop down to enjoy spider a la mode. And the National Park Service is wringing their hands because concrete and marble are eroding from the mess.

Kids are kind of like midges. In the aggregate they make a mess. One will leave one or two toys in variety of places. Another child comes along deposits some crayons in the corner. The next one as spoon. And so on.  You get the idea.

Finding one one potato chip is no big deal. Neither is an aveira (sin) but they tend to mount and accumulate.  One aveira begets more.  So it is with mitzvot.  Our sages declares long ago, “mitzvah goreret mitzvah.”   Another will soon follow. Just like evil is catching, so is goodness. I like to think of this when I see a baby spell her bowl of cereal on the floor. For the third time. I also like to think this when I have the opportunity not to pray. Or kick the dog when no one is looking. Or cheat on my taxes.