He Thought His Calls Were Being Ignored. He Was Wrong. | 10@9 | 2026.05.27

T.S. Eliot once wrote: “There is only the trying; the rest is not our business.” This moving story tells of a high school teacher who refused to give up on a struggling student. Week after week, he made calls that seemed to go unanswered and unnoticed. Eventually, he assumed the effort had failed. Years later, he discovered he was completely wrong. Sometimes we never see the impact of our kindness, persistence, teaching, parenting, friendship, or concern for another person. But that does not mean the effort was meaningless. Some of the most important things we ever do may appear to bear no fruit at all - until one day we learn otherwise. Michael Whitman is the senior rabbi of ADATH Congregation in Hampstead, Quebec, and an adjunct professor at McGill University Faculty of Law. ADATH is a modern orthodox synagogue community in suburban Montreal, providing Judaism for the next generation. We take great pleasure in welcoming everyone with a warm smile, while sharing inspiration through prayer, study, and friendship. Rabbi Whitman shares his thoughts and inspirations through online lectures and shiurim, which are available on: YouTube:    / @rabbimichaelwhitman   Instagram:   / adathmichael   Podcast - Mining the Riches of the Parsha: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast... Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3hWYhCG... Please contact Rabbi Whitman ([email protected]) with any questions or feedback, or to receive a daily email, "Study with Rabbi Whitman Today," with current and past insights for that day, video, and audio, all in one short email sent directly to your inbox.