Parshat Balak and the Power of Unexpected Blessing

On Tuesday morning, I made a special effort to watch the live coverage of NASA’s release of the first set of images from the James Webb telescope. The event was delightful for two reasons. The first, had to do with the palpable excitement from all of the scientists and technicians who worked on the project. Their tireless work paid off, and now they were sharing that work with the world. Hearing them describe their work with such awe, listening to them explain the significance of each of these spectacular images– I felt like I could share in their success, that their triumph was also mine.