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Motivation for doing mitzvos (spin off from challa thread)



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shalhevet




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Apr 26 2009, 2:33 am
I wanted to reply to this on the challa thread, but since that has already gone off on several tangents, I felt it deserved a thread of its own.

Imaonwheels wrote:
Like all of those people who do it for their olam haba? Like those who count lavin when doing an avera instead of being pained enough by being over on ratzon haShem? Yes, the lowest form of service for sure...

<snip>

I believe the whole do it for your cornert lot in olam haba to be almost tachton she'ein tachton mimenu in avoda. Right above avoiding the fires of hell.


I find this post pretty disturbing. While I don't think doing a mitzva for olam haba is the highest form of avodas Hashem - clearly doing a mitzva out of ahava (love of Hashem) is on a higher level, and out of yiras harommemus (awe of His greatness) is still higher, I can still think of plenty of motivations that are far lower.

Such as mitzvas anashim melumada (doing mitzvos out of rote) or worse still, doing mitzvos to get honour, or being afraid what other people will say etc etc. And those mitzvos still have value.

I don't have a scale, and I don't know whether doing mitzvos out of yiras haonesh (fear of punishment) is fairly low, medium or high on it, but it is certainly a certain madreiga (level) in serving Hashem. We daven for ourselves and our children that they should have yiras Shamayim.

Believe me, after reading some of the threads here, how people weren't scared enough of the consequences after 120 years to stop themselves doing grave aveiras, and knowing ourselves that we are hardly tzaddikim who never sin, halevai we should all have enough yiras Shamayim never to sin because we are afraid of Gehinnom.

I also think it is not so neat and simple - I think most of us as frum Jews have different periods in our day/ week/ life when our motivation changes. Sometimes we do mitzvos because of what the neighbours will think and then we have other times of closeness to Hashem, when we just want to serve Him and do his ratzon (will). At least those who develop a fear of punishment will not sin even at times of spiritual 'low'. Even doing mitzvos anashim melumada can save us from sinning at such a time.
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ChossidMom




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Apr 26 2009, 3:40 am
I am probably not as learned as my "honored colleagues" who have posted here. All I can say is that ever mitzvah has value in Hashem's eyes and I don't think he cares which level we are on when we perform it, as long as we continue to perform mitzvos.

Don't we give small children candies for learning in school/cheder? Ostensibly, this is teaching them to learn "al menat lekabel pras" (in order to receive a reward). Yet, this is how it's done in Jewish tradition. Because it gets them used to learning/performing mitzvos.

We grownups are not all that different from children.

I agree with everything Shalhevet says. And a little more "yiras ha'onesh" (fear of punishment) would do us all (especially me) good.
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