In this week’s parashah, the Torah tells us that Moshe Rabbeinu saw a Mitzri striking a Jew. The pasuk says, “Vayifen koh va-koh” — he looked to the right and to the left — and he saw that there was no person. Chazal explains that Moshe saw prophetically that no future Jewish neshamah would ever come from this Mitzri; there were no zechuyos and no spiritual continuation destined to descend from him. Moshe then killed the Mitzri through the Shem Hashem.

This raises a powerful question: why did Moshe use the Shem Hashem at all? In the sefer of Rabbeinu Yehudah HaChassid, we find a remarkable story. A non-Jew once came to curse him. Rabbeinu Yehudah HaChassid responded by reciting the Shem Hashem. When the man heard the holy Name, he was so deeply shaken by its kedushah that it awakened something inside him, and he eventually converted to Judaism. The holiness of the Shem aroused the hidden spark of neshama buried within him.

With this in mind, we can understand Moshe Rabbeinu’s actions in a new light. Moshe did not simply seek to destroy the Mitzri. Rather, Moshe wished to see whether exposure to the Shem Hashem would awaken any inner spark of kedushah within him — any possibility of teshuvah, any hidden Jewish soul destined to emerge from him in the future. When Moshe saw prophetically that there were no zechuyos and no spiritual future, the Mitzri could not withstand the overwhelming holiness of Hashem’s Name and died. It was not merely an act of punishment; it was a revelation that nothing inside him was capable of responding to kedushah.

At the same time, the parashah teaches us something even more fundamental about Moshe Rabbeinu. The Torah tells us earlier, “Vayar besivlosam” — Moshe saw the suffering of Klal Yisrael. Rashi explains that Moshe made a special effort that his eyes should truly see and his heart should feel their pain. Rav Chaim Shmuelevitz zt”l teaches that sight is the gateway to compassion. A person can genuinely feel empathy only when he learns to see another human being, to notice their tears, their struggles, their loneliness, and their burdens. But simple looking is not enough. A person must look with effort, with concentration, and with heart. When one observes carefully, he becomes capable of feeling another person’s pain from the depths of his neshamah. Chazal even say that a blind person is considered as if he were not alive. The Mir Rosh Yeshiva explained that one who cannot see others lives alone in his own closed world, and a life of aloneness, without connection to other people, is only partially alive.

Chazal relate that when Moshe was a shepherd, one sheep ran away. He chased after it and found it drinking from a stream. Moshe said that had he known it was thirsty, he would have carried it instead of tiring it out by chasing it. Hashem declared that a person who has such compassion on a sheep will surely care for His children, and Moshe was chosen to become the leader of Klal Yisrael. Moshe’s leadership was rooted not only in wisdom and prophecy but in a heart that saw and cared.

Both teachings now merge into one deep principle. Moshe Rabbeinu is the model of a person whose eyes see and whose heart feels, and who believes in the power of awakening the hidden spark of kedushah inside another person. Sometimes a Jew encounters a moment that suddenly awakens the nitzotz kedushah within. It may be a pasuk of Torah, a niggun, a mitzvah, a moment of tefillah that becomes real, a visit to a Jewish cemetery, or an encounter with a tzaddik. One moment of holiness can shake the soul and change the direction of a life.

There is a story of a secular doctor who lived near Tel Aviv. His father requested to be buried in a Jewish cemetery. The son wanted to understand what was unique about Jewish burial and what a Jewish cemetery truly means. During his search he met a rav, began to learn, became inspired, and eventually did complete teshuvah, developing into a genuine talmid chacham. A single moment of kedushah awakened the inner spark that had been silent for years.

Every Jew contains within himself nitzotzei kedushah. Sometimes they lie hidden beneath layers of distraction, habit, or distance. Hashem sends us experiences, moments, and encounters that awaken that inner light. If we listen to them instead of ignoring them, if we allow our hearts to be touched, we can rise higher and higher in our avodas Hashem. And when we learn from Moshe Rabbeinu to see other people — to notice their pain, to believe in their inner spark, and to treat them with genuine rachamim — then we not only awaken ourselves, but we help awaken others as well.

As we reflect on these ideas, I think of my rebbi, Rav Asher Zelig Rubenstein zt”l, whose yahrtzeit is approaching. He was a person who truly knew how to see others. Once, while I was in yeshivah, I had a painful tooth problem. The Rosh Yeshiva noticed immediately, called me into his office, and told me that I needed to see a dentist so I could learn properly. He also said that he would pay for the treatment. He was not only taking care of a tooth. He was seeing a bochur, his pain, his learning, and his future. That was who he was — eyes that noticed, and a heart that felt.

May we learn from Moshe Rabbeinu and from our rabbeim to open our eyes and open our hearts, to see the suffering of others, to respond with compassion, and to believe in the inner spark of kedushah that lies within every Jew. When we do so, we ourselves become more alive and bring more light into the world.