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On Rosh Hashana the blasts of the shofar
stir our emotions. Introspection gives birth to teshuvah and new
commitment. By the time Yom Kippur arrives, personal resolutions are
at yearly highs. I would like to suggest a new resolution for the year
5765. The only thing you'll need is a calendar. It makes no difference
whether the calendar is manual or electronic. What does matters is
that you take an honest appraisal of your attitude toward mitzvah
observance. If you're like most of us, you probably organized the
commandments by importance to form your own personal hierarchy of
mitzvos. Those at the top are most imperative. The less critical fall
sadly to the bottom. Then, there are those, seemingly minor mitzvos,
you choose to leave off of your agenda completely. This is a serious
error in thinking and I'd like to explain why.
The Torah, in Parshas Aikev, opens with the words "if you will listen to My ordinances, then there will be great reward." The word aikev is translated as 'if ' or 'when'. Rashi points out that Aikev is normally translated as 'heel'. The odd use of the word aikev therefore comes to teach us that if we are careful to observe the mitzvos that are "trampled" upon, i.e. those we consider to be minor, we will receive a great reward. The Torah is telling us that immeasurable reward awaits those who sincerely make every effort to observe the 'minor' commandments. In Tehillim 49:6, Dovid Hamelech asks "Why should I fear the days of evil? (Is it not because of) the sins of my heel (aikev) that surround me?." The Da'as Zakaynim M'Ba'alei Tosfos understood from this passuk that Dovid Hamelech feared that, on the Day of Reckoning, he would be taken to task for the 'minor' mitzvos that perhaps, he neglected to fulfill. Those mitzvos that were seemingly not essential. The mitzvos that didn't make it on to his agenda, so to speak. The Mishna in Perkei Avos 2:1 teaches that we must be as scrupulous in our observance of a minor commandment as one that is major, for no one knows the reward each mitzvah brings. The Da'as Zakaynim brings an example to illustrate this idea. There was a king who hired workers to do various types of planting but intentionally failed to reveal the amount of payment each type would receive. Why? Because if the king told the workers which jobs paid most, then the workers would want to choose the higher paying jobs and the lower paying jobs would never get done. Similarly with mitzvos, Hashem generally does not tell us what the reward for each will be for then we would pick and choose those that are most valuable. Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai notes an exception. The Torah does, in fact, reveal the reward for performing two particular mitzvos. The first is the mitzvah of Sheluach HaKan, sending away the mother bird.. The second, Kibud Av V'aim, Honoring your father and mother. The first is fairly simple and the latter, quite difficult. The reward for both, however, is the same... arichas yomim, long life. Here we see that a relatively simple mitzvah can bring with it immeasurable reward. We see clearly then, that attempting to value the worth of any mitzvah is pointless. Now we can understand why, when we say the Viduy on Yom Kippur, we beat our chest rather than our head. We stand before our Father in Heaven and beg His forgiveness. We plead our case and acknowledge that we intellectually subscribe to all 613 mitzvos. We honestly believe that each mitzvah has inherent value the benefits of which cannot be measured. We stumbled not because we made a cheshbon to ignore a commandment which appeared less significant, but rather, because we strayed after our hearts. What got us into trouble were our lusts and desires, not our intellect. Therefore, it is fitting that we beat upon our heart. I want to suggest that we resolve to make 5765 the year to look honestly at those mitzvos which, in the past, we considered less significant. Let's take these mitzvos and make them part of our personal agenda.. Let's put them on the calendar: Shacharis, @ 6:45, with minyan, in Shul; Friday, Kabbalas Shabbos in Shul; Tuesday @ 8:00pm Mussar shiur, Thursday, @ 4:30, Bikur Cholim; Daily, Bircas HaMazon from Bentcher, and the list goes on and on. Now, when we stand before Hashem and plead for mercy, our calendars and palm pilots will come to testify on our behalf. In the merit of placing our 'minor' mitzvos on the calandar, let us all be zoche to a meaningful year of shalom, good health and the coming of Moshiach speedily in our days. NCYI's Weekly Divrei Torah Bulletin is
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Today is Thursday, May 24, 2012
