March 17, 2025|י"ז אדר ה' אלפים תשפ"ה Defining Moments: The Power of Preparation and Split-Second Decisions By Rabbi Jonathan Muskat

There are moments in life when we don’t have the luxury of time to think things through. A split second is all we have to make a decision, and that decision can mark the difference between ultimate success and crushing defeat. My son, Netanel, is a rebbe at DRS, and this year was extraordinary for their yeshiva league sports teams—they won the championship in both varsity and junior varsity hockey. Many of us in this community were captivated by the DRS-HANC varsity hockey championship game last Sunday, but the junior varsity championship game against TABC was even more thrilling. With the score tied 2-2 and just one second left, the puck landed off a faceoff win with a DRS player. In that split second, he made the call, took the shot, and scored. That single moment of brilliance will be remembered in yeshiva league history forever. Indeed, a split-second decision can make all the difference.

But it’s not just in sports that split-second decisions shape outcomes. Soldiers in battle, like our IDF soldiers confronting their enemies, face life-altering choices in mere instants. I was recently reflecting on Agam Berger, the heroic hostage in Gaza who refused to cook food on Shabbat for her terrorist captors. Imagine the courage it took for her to make that split-second decision to risk her life the first time she was ordered to violate Shabbat. And we, too, experience these moments in our daily lives—how we respond to delicate situations, what we say, post, or share. Maybe a split-second decision is whether we eat that extra piece of cake at kiddush or how we respond to a child who begs us to stay up late – do I say no and risk a tantrum or do I say yes and lose my sanity tomorrow. Too often, we act without thought and later regret our words or actions. If I were to ask you whether you’d prefer to make a split-second decision or a carefully considered one, you’d likely choose the latter. After all, thoughtful decisions seem more deliberate and reliable.

This contrast between instinctive and deliberate decisions has intrigued great thinkers. Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman, in his groundbreaking book Thinking, Fast and Slow (2011), introduces the concept of two systems in the brain. System 1 is fast, intuitive, and ready for split-second decisions, while System 2 is slower and analytical, used for more deliberate choices. Kahneman warns of the pitfalls when we rely on System 1 for decisions that demand the deliberation of System 2. This perspective earned his book the nickname “The Anti-Gladwell,” as it counters what Malcolm Gladwell had earlier written in Blink about the power of instinctive decisions. So, what exactly did Gladwell say, and who is right?

The Torah offers a profound example of a split-second decision in this week’s parsha. Moshe Rabbeinu, upon descending Har Sinai with the luchot—crafted by God’s own hand—witnesses the people worshiping the golden calf. In that pivotal moment, he shatters the luchot. Chazal debate whether this act was intentional. According to the Midrash (Shemot Rabbah 43), Moshe made a conscious choice. He reasoned:

אָמַר מוּטָב שֶׁתִּדּוֹן כִּפְנוּיָה וְלֹא כְּאֵשֶׁת אִישׁ.

 “It was better for the nation to be judged as unmarried, unbound by the covenant, than as a married woman violating her commitment.”

Moshe saw the nation’s betrayal and understood that shattering the luchot could mitigate the severity of their sin. Additionally, the Midrash states:

אָמַר משֶׁה מוּטָב נִדּוֹנִין כְּשׁוֹגְגִין וְאַל יְהוּ מְזִידִין.

Moshe’s act reframed their sin as unintentional rather than deliberate defiance if their code, the luchot, was destroyed.

Yet not all midrashim agree that Moshe acted entirely on his own. Some, like Devarim Rabbah (3), suggest that Moshe acted out of anger, and God rebuked him. Others propose that God commanded Moshe to break the luchot (Avot de-Rabbi Natan 2:3). Despite these debates, many midrashim praise Moshe for his decision, and the Gemara (Yevamot 62a) declares this act one of three times Moshe acted independently, with God endorsing his actions. Reish Lakish even teaches that God said, “Yasher kochacha she-shibarta”—“Well done for breaking the luchot.” Clearly, God was Ashkenazi because if He were Sephardi, He would have said, “Chazak u’baruch!”

Why, then, does the Torah spotlight this split-second decision as Moshe’s defining act? At the very end of the Torah, the final pasuk praises Moshe not for his unwavering service to God throughout his life, but with these words:

וּלְכֹל הַיָּד הַחֲזָקָה וּלְכֹל הַמּוֹרָא הַגָּדוֹל אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה מֹשֶׁה לְעֵינֵי כָּל יִשְׂרָאֵל.

 “For all the great might and awesome power that Moshe displayed before all Israel.”

Rashi explains: Yad Chazaka refers to receiving the Torah, Mora Gadol to the miracles in the desert, and l’einei kol Yisrael—Moshe breaking the luchot. But why is the breaking of the luchot the final memory the Torah leaves us with? And according to Kahneman, was this a System 1 decision—a split-second call—or a System 2 decision Moshe had pondered beforehand?

Let’s study a Malcolm Gladwell and a Sfat Emet. Malcolm Gladwell, in Blink (2005), argues that our split-second decisions are only as good as the preparation behind them. If we’ve trained for the moment, our instincts will guide us well. Moshe Rabbeinu’s life had been one of preparation—his commitment to God and his people shaped every fiber of his being. So, when confronted with the golden calf, he instinctively knew that breaking the luchot was the right move to save the people. His decision was immediate but informed by a lifetime of devotion and preparation. Even Daniel Kahneman might agree that in this instance, because of Moshe’s lifelong preparation, this was a System 1 decision.

The Sfat Emet offers a profound insight about preparation in the context of Sukkot:

יתר כח והצלה יש בהכנת המצוה מגוף קיום המצוה

The power of preparing for a mitzvah surpasses the act of the mitzvah itself. Why?

כי עשית המצוה היא רק לשעה והכנה היא לעולם

The performance of the mitzvah lasts a moment, but the preparation endures forever.

Our lives are spent preparing for moments of greatness. While we may think we cannot always make the correct split-second decisions, we can shape them through our preparation. These moments don’t just happen; they reflect the sum of our values, character, and life’s work.

Like Moshe, our greatest moments may come not from careful deliberation but from a lifetime of preparation that makes instinctive choices extraordinary. In our religious lives, we may focus on counting mitzvot or avoiding sins, but perhaps the true measure lies in the moments that define us like Moshe Rabbenu’s defining moment of his entire life. Or consider Agam Berger, whose faith and preparation gave her the strength to risk her life and refuse to cook for her captors on Shabbat while held hostage in Gaza. Every day, whether or not we perform a mitzvah at a particular moment, we are preparing for split-second decisions, many of those which will become our defining moments. May we rise to them with the strength and wisdom we’ve cultivated along the way. Let us be remembered not only for what we do but for the extraordinary choices we make—choices rooted in a lifetime of preparation.