At NASA, when an endeavor is unsuccessful, they don’t call it failure, they call it “an early attempt.” 

There are two sides of this coin that make it such an effective methodology. 

1. Wallowing in failure never helped anyone.  If you let past mistakes consume you, you will not be able to overcome those mistakes.

2. Examining past performance helps to fine tune our future ventures.  An early attempt means it was a stepping stone to the later attempts.  A little introspection can be the most effective guide.

This week’s Torah portion details one of the most amazing accomplishments that any human being can complete:  bringing another human life into the world.

When you see a new life for the first time, it’s easy to be overwhelmed with joy and appreciation to God.  It’s easy to bask in the wonder of that moment.  But not long after that initial excitement the Torah asks something else of a new mother.

And when the days of her purification have been completed, whether for a son or for a daughter, she shall bring a sheep in its first year as a burnt offering, and a young dove or a turtle dove as a sin offering, to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, to the kohen.

Leviticus 12:6

She brings a thanksgiving offering and a sin offering.  The commentators bring various explanations for what specific sin she could need atoning for, but Rabbi Yehuda Appel suggests that the main take away is that she needs to do a heshbon hanefesh, a personal accounting.  She should look back at her life, at both the good and the bad, the things to be thankful for and the things to reconsider. 

She has a new baby to care for now.  Raising a child is a novel undertaking, another path in her journey.  She needs to plan her next steps carefully to ensure that the child is molded into a solid adult.  The more lessons she can take from the past, the more effective she will be at creating this new future.

Every one of us has victories and every one of us has defeats, but it is not sufficient to bask in success or stagnate in failure.  We must, every step of the way, examine ourselves critically and accurately.  With that knowledge of ourselves securely in our hands, our achievements can be like the stars in the heavens.