Rabbi Eleazar, the son of Rabbi Shimon taught: Both the world and the individual are judged by the majority of their actions. Happy is the one who does a single good deed because it can tip the balance of judgment for the individual as well as for the entire world! (Kiddushin 40b)
While I’m not sure that I believe that we are judged in this way, I do think that it is an incredibly helpful way to frame our behavior. Every action has the possibility of tipping the scales both for ourselves and for others. We do the right thing both because it benefits ourselves as moral creatures as well as the broader community and even the world. During these days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur especially, we focus on that metaphor of the balance. All of our good deeds (our love, our compassion, our honesty, our integrity) are one side. All of our transgressions (our pettiness, our arrogance, our selfishness, our prejudice) are on the other side. With each choice we make, with every action, we can tip the balance. We know which side we want to be on—now is the time to act!
— Rabbi Yoshi Zweiback