Smile, You’re on Camera

My son had a good day. He was part of his class’s Shavuot talent show where he joined 30 others in a series of dance performances in front of all the parents. He was great, keeping step with all the students. When it was over, I gave him a big hug and showed him his performance on the camera.

He was happy, but a little disappointed. He was excited that he could see his class perform, but he thought he could do a little better.

“Daddy, if I knew that you were taping me, I would have tried harder.”  He just told me the secret to life.

We go through our days as if nobody is listening. We pretend to be living in a playroom where nothing is measured beyond the amount of fun we are having. What you don’t realize is that you are, in truth, in a place with a million cameras where everything is reviewed at all times.

Imagine your surprise when you complete your life, only to see several judges watching a video of everything you did! You will say the same thing: “If I knew that you were taping me, I would have tried harder.”

Imagine what will be the endgame for all those divas on television who realize that the real cameras were rolling even when they left the stage? Was it worth the fame, the money, or the influence?

Imagine what will be the endgame for all the activists who fight for every level of human indecency. What happens when they understand that they were fighting to make being a decent person that much harder. That they were fighting the very One Who holds the camera and keeps score?

What about the male predators who used their fame or influence to violate countless women and laugh about it? Will they be smiling once their tape is played before Hashem?

What about all of us? The key is to understand that you are under greater scrutiny than Donald Trump at every moment.

Ever been on a job interview? For 90 minutes, three people scrutinize everything you say, everything you don’t say, and the way you say it. It’s supposed to be an informal and comfortable process, but in the end this process will determine if you will have enough to feed your family next month.

For those 90 minutes, every word that comes out of your mouth is planned. Every body movement is followed closely. Every moment is dissected to make sure that at all times I put my best foot forward.

That’s this reality. It may seem informal, but everything is as vital as a job interview where your life is on the line. Every second can be invested in a mitzvah. The small things count as much as the big ones, and one bad mistake can destroy 90 minutes of hard work.

It’s up to us to internalize that all the world’s a stage and at every minute the red light is blinking. Smile, you’re on camera.

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David Ben Horin lives in Israel with his wife and children.