Routine — Benefits and Dangers

By Rabbi Moshe Krieger, Yeshivas Bircas HaTorah (www.bircas.org)

In Parshas Behaaloscha, Aharon is commanded to prepare and light the menorah in the Mishkan. Afterwards, it states that Aharon fulfilled the command “as Hashem commanded Moshe.”

Rashi (8:3) asks why such a statement was necessary. Of course Aharon lit the menorah as per Moshe’s command. How else could he have done it?

Rashi answers that this additional sentence comes to praise Aharon for not changing any detail of Hashem’s command.

The question remains, however: Why is Aharon’s obeying Hashem’s instruction deemed praiseworthy? Would it have occurred to him to do anything else?

Rav David Soloveitchik answers that the praise Aharon is receiving is not only for that first time that he lit the menorah. The praise covers the fact that for the following 40 years in the desert, every day Aharon followed the same pattern, fulfilling this mitzvah with all of its halachic details, never deviating from them. Over the course of forty years, there were certainly difficult periods for Aharon. He endured rebellions, he toiled to bring peace between his fellow Jews, and he had to deal with the loss of his two eldest sons. Nevertheless, every single day he lit the menorah, never allowing his own interests to interfere.

In our society, such praise would be rare indeed. How many of us allow mood swings to interfere with our daily schedule? When difficulties arise, do we let them take us away from avodas Hashem?

An adam gadol is different. He does not let his own situation interfere with his service of Hashem. No matter what hardship he is going through, or how he feels, he is capable of subjugating his personal feelings in order to do Hashem’s will with zeal, says Rav Soloveitchik.

The Chasam Sofer adds that while Aharon was commanded to light the menorah, it was only a hiddur (an added advantage) for him to do this himself. He could have passed this mitzvah on to another kohen. This makes the above praise even greater. In times of particular difficulty, Aharon could have opted to “take a break.” Even in hard times Aharon did not want to forego a mitzvah.

In Avos (2), the sages instruct us: “Make His will your will.” The Meiri comments that it is natural for a person to have his own will, and at times it may be in opposition to Hashem’s will. Accustom yourself to thinking about Hashem’s will and not yours, advises the Meiri. Try as hard as you can to focus on what Hashem wants, keeping your own interests out of the picture. If one does that, the will of Hashem will become his own.

The Sfas Emes offers a different explanation of the verse, “as Hashem commanded Moshe.” Every time Aharon lit the menorah, he did so as if it were the first time. Meaning, he lit it with all of the enthusiasm that he felt that very first time.

This is far from simple. Human nature is that a person gets used to things, until even the most awe-inspiring sight or sound can become humdrum if repeated often enough. A Jew must fight against this, as we say twice daily in keriyas shema, “These words shall be today on your heart” (Devarim 6:7).  As Rashi explains — “Today, meaning every day the mitzvos should be in your eyes as if they were received just now.”

Of course, there is a benefit to being accustomed to mitzvah observance. Dovid Hamelech (Vayikra Rabba 35:1) notes that because his feet were accustomed to bringing him to the beis midrash, they would bring him there even though there were other important matters to be dealt with. Of course, Dovid was a responsible leader, but this never came at the expense of his learning, thanks to his routine of going to the beis midrash. If a Jew does not have a fixed learning seder, even if he tries to learn every day, his feet might not carry him to the beis midrash if he suddenly remembers something important as he is on his way.

Still, even though a fixed routine has its benefits, it has a risk, too. It may take away the excitement one feels in doing mitzvos.

How can we maintain this excitement? How can we make mitzvah observance something that is “always new and fresh in our eyes?”

Rav Aharon Kotler would suggest that one learn about the mitzvos and find ways to perfect his observance of them. He would note that the sages define a proper prayer as one in which some new request is added each time (Brachos 29b). If every day a Jew asks Hashem for the same things in the same exact way, his tefilla is lacking. By adding something new to whatever mitzvah we are doing, the entire mitzvah becomes infused with life and vigor.

Another suggestion is to seek out the company of people who are enthusiastic about mitzvos. Just being in their presence has an impact. Even in a slight way, their enthusiasm will get passed on to you.

In his sefer, Nitzotzos, Rav Yitzchak Herschkowitz relates how an avreich once realized that it was Elul, a time associated with a spiritual arousal in advance of the upcoming Day of Judgment, and yet his prayer was cold, lacking any enthusiasm. Then he noticed an older man in his shul who was davening with intensity.

“How does he do it?” he asked himself. “He’s not a young guy, either. Where does he get such youthful enthusiasm? I have to find out.”

He approached the man and asked him.

“I know how you feel,” replied the man. “I also went through periods where my davening was cold and without emotion. What happened was that I decided to pause beforehand to think about davening.”

This avreich decided to do the same. Just before the Shemoneh Esrei, he would ask himself: “Who am I standing before? I’m about to ask for life, health, wisdom, etc. From whom am I asking all this?” From that day on, his prayer had more life to it.

May we serve Hashem with enthusiasm at all times!

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