D'var Torah: Look at the heavens and count the stars, are you able to count them? So too, will be the numbers of your descendants"(Bereichis 15:5). HaShem promised Avraham that his descendants would be as numerous as the infinite stars. Why did HaShem compare Klal Yisrael to the stars, as opposed to other countless things, such as the grains of sand? A verse in Tehillim states, "HaShem counts the number of stars, and calls each one by name." Just as HaShem recognises the unique quality of each and every star, so too, HaShem recognizes the unique radiance of each and every Jewish soul. HaShem loves each one of us with a unique and unbounded love.
Moral: If the inanimate stars are precious to HaShem, how much more so is every member of HaShem's beloved people, infinitely precious in His eyes.
Application: Envision the billions of endless stars. Reflect on the wonder of HaShem lovingly calling each star by name. Rest assured that the love and devotion that HaShem has for each one of us is incomparably greater than His love for the stars. Hear HaShem lovingly call you by name, and reveal to you the Light of the Shechinah.
(Based on the commentary of Rabbi Simchah Wasserman)
