Good and Evil: Not so Clear Cut

We often think about good and evil as opposites, but in the Torah, the power of a mitzvah, or positive deed far outweighs that of a negative one. In Parshat Re'eh we see an example par excellence: a city, whose inhabitants need to be spared due to idol worship, which needs to be scorched to the ground, is spared if but one of its inhabitants possessed a mezuza. The sages teach that all of the possessions of the city must be burnt to the ground in the town square, and seeing that it is forbidden to burn a mezuza it has the potential to save the entire population. 

What is the underlying thought, or overarching message? Certainly, you wouldn't spare an entire city because of a parchment left on one's doorpost. 

Interestingly, there is a similar strain of thought when it comes to the wayward child, or ben sorer u'moreh. Were a wayward child to have been warned to not act gluttonously after a series of incidents of theft in which he plunders his parents' possessions to buy wine and meet to then, after having been admonished by beit din to fail to heed their warning, were he to eat in a place of revelry and impurity, were there to be but one God-fearing Jew there, that notwithstanding would be enough to spare the life of the child who otherwise would have been destined to death. The mere presence of one God-fearing Jew, teaches Rashi in the tractate of Sanhedrin, would be enough to turn the tide and help the wayward child better his motives and actions, changing his life around. 

Thus, it would seem that when it comes to evil, the power of good is ever so more powerful. One light, the smallest flame can light up the darkest room, and no darkness can vanquish the smallest ember. 

I cannot recall the source at presence, but I once heard Rabbi Eliyahu Meir Faivelzon share that were a Jew to perform the smallest mitzvah, and ALL of the sins in the Torah, it goes without saying that that smallest of positive deeds is far more significant than the worst, and most dreaded evil. And, as such, what we're talking about here is not a spectrum but a situation where perhaps good and evil are on a pendulum, and the most minor, positive deed, as insignificant as it may seem, can tip the balance in the entirety - which means, we need to find the good points in ourselves and others and build on them to creative more positive, life-affirming deeds using the power of good vested in each and every one of us.