Does the expression “Don’t cry over spilled milk” sound familiar? This is among the most common refrains in parenting. But at times I wonder, what if the “milk” would have been of great value…would this adage still apply?

An interesting incident is recorded in this week’s Torah portion, Bahaloscha. Two years after the Jews had left Egypt, at the time the Jews were bringing the lamb offering for the Passover holiday, a group of Jews approached Moshe and Aaron with a complaint. Apparently, these Jews were spiritually impure as a result of having been involved in the burying of the dead. According to Torah law, this impurity rendered them unable to participate in bringing any offerings, as one can only bring offerings in a state of spiritual purity. Their complaint was, “We were impure through a human corpse, why should we be left out by not offering G-d’s offering in its appointed time among the Children of Israel?” (Numbers 9:7) Moshe then conferred with G-d as to what should be done. G-d replied, “Give them a second chance!” Indeed, the Torah records that G-d instituted a new law: Anyone impure or too far away and therefore unable to bring the Paschal Lamb at its proper time on the fourteenth of Nissan, should do so a month later on the fourteenth day of Iyar.

One must wonder why these people did not simply say to themselves, “Don’t cry over spilled milk” when they missed out on the opportunity to bring the lamb sacrifice in the first place. Whatever happened, happened. It wasn’t their fault, so why couldn’t they just move on? Even more so, Moshe’s reaction wasn’t simply resignation to the status quo. Rather, quite the contrary, he went to confer with G-d! Furthermore, G-d didn’t respond with the “spilled milk theory,” either; instead, he responded to their complaint with a second chance to bring the lamb sacrifice! How are we to understand this?

Apparently these Jews realized that missing out on doing a mitzvah, G-d’s commandment, is not merely “spilled milk.” They recognized with unsurpassed clarity that each mitzvah represents a chance to gain a connection with G-d and to acquire eternity, and missing out on such an opportunity represents an irreplaceable loss.

To understand this mindset, let us try to envision the following scenarios: You plan a vacation that you’re really looking forward to. The day before your departure an unexpected event comes up, causing you to cancel your long-awaited plans. Or, maybe you’ve been invited to meet with an important dignitary and an emergency arises, forcing you to miss this possibly once-in-a-lifetime appointment. Wouldn’t you want to reschedule, if possible? One thing is for sure: You wouldn’t be content to say, “Don’t cry over spilled milk,” when faced with losing out on such a valuable opportunity.

This is the way these Jews viewed missing out on being able to fulfill the mitzvah of bringing the Paschal Lamb. They, as well as Moshe, understood that every mitzvah is a priceless opportunity, not to be missed if they could help it.

Another famous saying is, “Opportunities are like sunrise. If you wait too long, you’ll miss it.” Similarly, mitzvos are like sunrise; if you wait too long or hesitate, you might miss out on a unique chance for spiritual growth and enrichment.