We read in the Torah about Bnei Yisrael’s journey out of Mitzrayim, and honestly, it’s frustrating to watch.

Hashem saves them from slavery with incredible miracles—the ten plagues, the splitting of the sea—and what happens? The next moment, they’re panicking.

“We’re trapped! The Egyptians are coming! We’re all going to die!”

So Hashem splits the sea, saves them again, and then they believe in Him and in Moshe His servant.

Great, they finally get it!

But then—next crisis—they have no water. And they start complaining again.

“Did you take us out of Egypt just to die in the desert? Were there not enough graves in Egypt?”

And this cycle keeps repeating. Hashem constantly saves, provides, and shows them the greatest miracles, yet they keep complaining.

It’s easy to judge them. “What’s wrong with these people? How can they be so blind?!”

But here’s the thing—the Torah doesn’t record history just for the sake of storytelling. It only records what’s relevant to us. In fact, it skips most of the 40 years in the desert, jumping from the second year almost to the end.

Why?

Because this isn’t just about them. This is about us.

The Torah is teaching us something fundamental about human nature—and about Hashem’s kindness.

Hashem gave us the ability to forget. Not just complete forgetting, but a loss of inspiration over time.

And that’s a gift.

Because if we were able to hold onto the full weight of every realization we ever had, if we never lost that clarity—then we wouldn’t have free will.

If you saw Hashem’s greatness constantly, without a moment of doubt, how could you ever not serve Him? You wouldn’t have a choice.

Free will exists because we forget. Because inspiration fades.

That means our job is to constantly work on ourselves to recognize Hashem, to strive to see Him in our lives.

Otherwise, we start taking everything for granted—our life, health, freedom, sight, hearing, taste—everything.

The more we get used to something, the more we stop appreciating it. Unless we actively do something about it.

And this is why gratitude is an avoda—a daily effort.

By training ourselves to notice and appreciate Hashem’s gifts, we build ourselves up into better, more aware, and more grateful people.

This is exactly why I created 4-Minute Gratitude—to help train our minds to stop taking things for granted and start appreciating all the incredible blessings Hashem gives us each day.

Because the more we recognize Hashem in our lives, the more connected we become.

And that’s how we truly live the dream.

You may also like:

The Last Day of Chanuka: Lighting the Way Forward Overcoming Darkness: Chanukah’s Guide to Faith and Gratitude The Divine Design of Life: Struggles, Purpose, and Redemption Finding Purpose Through Struggles: A Journey of Growth, Gratitude, and Giving Shattering the Glass: Seeing the True Reality From Self-Doubt to Self-Discovery: Embracing the Value Hashem Sees in You