פרשת כי תבא
This week’s Parsha contains within it the blessings that will befall the Jewish people if they keep the Torah properly, and the frightening curses that will result in the Jews becoming lax in their Mitzvah observance. When one looks at the severity of the curses in this week’s Parsha, one can’t help but feel a certain note of terror when considering what will happen to our nation if we stray from the path of the Torah. However, there is a strange verse at the end of the list of curses which seems to attempt to explain the rationale behind why the curses are so harsh. The Torah says, “All this will come upon you because you did not serve Hashem your God out of happiness of spirit.” One can’t help but wonder at this seemingly non-commensurate relationship between the crime and the punishment. Although the Jews may perform all the Mitzvos in the Torah, if they don’t do them out of happiness, they deserve all the horrific curses delineated in this week’s Parsha?!
The truth of the matter is, when one contemplates the factor of joy in Mitzvah observance, one realizes that it is not merely an external accoutrement which enhances our Mitzvah observance, but rather an integral component of the Mitzvah process itself. The Rambam in his explanation on the Mishnayos (Makos Chapter 3) writes that each and every Jew who performs even one Mitzvah, will be guaranteed a portion in the world to come, but that is provided that his one Mitzvah is done in a complete fashion. But the Rambam adds that this is also provided that he performs it out of a deep love for his creator. Without this essential component, the Rambam asserts that he will not receive reward for that Mitzvah. The Rambam in the laws of Teshuva (9:1) adds that all the wonderful things that will ensue in response to Mitzvah observance, such as having God hold our hands during our journey through life, and remove all the stumbling blocks, will only occur if we perform the Mitzvos with great joy and enthusiasm. If we do not have this factor, however, we will not merit this treatment.
R’ Chaim Kanievsky writes in his volume “Orchos Yosher” a very frightening thing indeed. He writes that many people rush through their Mitzvah performance, as if their only thought is how to make it go away as quickly as possible. R’ Chaim explains that this is not the correct attitude. He writes that a person should perform a Mitzvah as if that performance will award him riches beyond his wildest imagination. He should relish in his Mitzvah observance. He then goes on to say that the first person will actually receive no reward because he is lacking in the fundamental conditions of the Mitzvah. Based on all that we have said, we can begin to understand why the Torah takes Mitzvah observance out of joy so seriously.
I would like to perhaps explain another facet of the importance of performing the commandments with delight and not merely by rote. The Mishnah in Avos (4:11) says that repentance and good deeds can protect a person from harm that was supposed to befall him in recompense for his evil deeds. What kind of good deeds are we referring to? Obviously the kind that are performed with perfection, with great pleasure and elation, not ones that are done begrudgingly. We see from this Mishnah that proper Mitzvah observance can even save us from physical harm! Similarly, the Gemorah in Rosh Hashana (16) says, “Why do we blow the Shofar sitting and standing? In order to confuse the Satan.” Rashi comments that by sounding extra blasts, we demonstrate our enthusiasm for the Mitzvah of Shofar, and this eagerness silences the Satan from prosecuting us. Based on the Mishnah and Gemorah that we have brought, we can now answer the question we originally posed. It is not that the curses come upon a person because he did not serve God out of happiness per se, but rather he was not saved from those terrible ills because of his lack of happiness in Torah observance. Had he only performed his service wholeheartedly, he would have been spared from the bodily harm that his sins brought upon him. But because he did not, he was susceptible to all the curses.
How does one reach the state that we are describing of performing his service of God enthusiastically? One easy way is for a person to take a few minutes to sincerely contemplate the reason why he is doing the Mitzvos. When he realizes that he is in the service of the most lofty entity on this earth, and that each and every Mitzvah which he does creates an inseparable bond between him and his creator, this thought will inevitably help him to increase his jubilation in his service.
Truthfully, a person must make great effort to increase his pleasure in the Mitzvos. The Mesilas Yesharim opens by saying that man was only created to take pleasure in his Creator, and later quotes King David as saying, “For me, only closeness to Hashem is goodness”. The Mesilas Yesharim also says that if this is difficult for a person, he should consider that he is standing in front of the Master of the World, and serving him, and he should consider the honor and privilege that comes along with such a position. They say about the famous Rosh Yeshiva of Be’er Yakov, R’ Shapira Zt”l, that he used to run to every Davening. When they would listen to him during these daily marathons, they could hear him murmuring to himself, “I am on my way to stand in front of a God that there is none like him anywhere!”
May we all merit to serve God constantly out of great joy and enthusiasm!