Chazal (Chagigah 27a) state, כרימון מצוות מלאים ישראל פושעי, "The sinners of Yisrael are filled with mitzvos like a pomegranate." There is a renowned question: If they are full of mitzvos, why are they called ישראל פושעי, sinners?
The answer is that they are מצוות מלאים, filled with mitzvos. They are filled with mitzvos like a full bag, but the mitzvos didn't become a part of them.
Chiyus in Mitzvos
We quote the Shlah HaKadosh: "We can explain... that בָּהֶם וָחַי means he should perform mitzvos with chiyus and zrizus, and not laziness. When a person is lazy or sad, feelings that come from the chitzonim (tumah), and all of his limbs feel heavy – he doesn't have strength to get out of bed, to wake up for Torah and tefillah, or to perform other mitzvos – then it is like his limbs are dead. However, ָםהָאָד אֹתָם יַעֲשֶׂה ֶׁראֲש, He should be strong like a lion, and due to his connection with the living G-d, it will be בָּהֶם וָחַי."
We find a similar idea in Rashi (Brachos 51a), when he discusses the laws of ברכה של כוס (the cup filled with wine used for mitzvos). One of the halachos is that the wine should be חי. Rashi writes ז"בלע ו"פרישק (fresh) – healthy wine, whose taste wasn't ruined. It is all the same concept."
Zrizus
המדות מעלות writes, "Know my son, zrizus is a חשובה מדה, an important attribute. From the beginning of creation, man was created so he will be a zariz (swift to do good deeds) as it states (Bereishis 2:7) ח ַיָּה ׁלְנֶפֶש הָאָדָם וַיְהִי. The word ח ַיָּה [written regarding the creation of man] means that he should perform his deeds with zrizus..."
The Shlah Hakadosh (Shaar HaOsiyos זריזות) quotes this lesson from המדות מעלות, and teaches that there are other places that it states the word חי in the Torah, and the intention is the same. For example, it states (Vayikra 18:5) "וּשְׁמ ַרְתֶּם בָּהֶם וָחַי הָאָדָם אֹתָם יַעֲשֶׂה ֶׁראֲש מִשְׁפ ָּטַי וְאֶת חֻק ֹּתַי אֶת – You shall observe My mitzvos... and live by them." The Shlah HaKadosh explains that וָחַי בָּהֶם means that a person should perform mitzvos with zrizus and with joy.
The Gemara (Taanis 20b) tells that some students asked Reb Ada bar Ahavah which of his merits granted him a long life. Part of his answer was that he never slept in a beis medresh. We can explain that he was saying that he was never tired and sleepy in beis medresh. He always served Hashem with chiyus.
It is important to study Torah with chiyus, with joy. The Avnei Nezer zt'l (Abir HaRoim 113) said, "All poverty and tzaros that Yisrael have, all over the world, r'l, are all because they learn Gemara like a person who wants to sleep – שלופעדיג. If people listen to me and study Gemara with chiyus, I guarantee Yisrael won't lack parnassah."
The Baal Shem Tov HaKadosh zt'l zy'a was once near a river that froze over, and goyim were drawing a cross on the ice. The Baal Shem Tov said, "Nothing is purer than a river. It purifies all those who are tamei, and it can't ever become tamei (see Pesachim 16a). Yet, when it is frozen, goyim can engrave a cross on the ice, which is a great tumah." The lesson is how much we must be cautious from קרירות, being cold and unmotivated in avodas Hashem. We should serve Hashem with hislahavus, with chiyus, passion, and joy.
Rebbe Yechezkel of Kozmir zt'l said that a chasid is like the dough of matzah. As long as people are rolling out the dough, it is a yom tov. Leave it alone, and it becomes chametz. The lesson is that one should always be active in avodas Hashem.
Magen Avraham (131:4) writes in the name of the Shlah that when one says in tachanun נדע לא ואנחנו, he should say it while sitting, and when he says נעשה מה, he should stand up. We can explain that a person shouldn't sit lazily in his chair and ask נעשה מה, what can I do? First stand up, be ready to do something, and then ask נעשה מה, what can be done?
Roundabout Mashal
There is a mashal of a person who was pulled over for driving under the influence of alcohol. The police officer tested his blood alcohol level and issued him a summons. The officer warned him that it is illegal for him to drive in his state. A few minutes later, the same policeman gave him a ticket again. This happened a third time, too. The driver said, "Why do you keep following me to give me more tickets? Why can't you allow me to go home? What did I do to you? You should go after real criminals, not me!" The policeman explained that he didn't go after him at all. He stayed in one place, only it was the drunk driver who kept coming back to him. This is because he was located at a roundabout (as exists in many cities to control traffic), and due to the drunk driver's condition, he didn't realize that he was driving around in circles, around the same place. The officer said, "Stop going around the island, and I will leave you alone."
The nimshal is that sometimes a person feels that the yetzer hara keeps coming after him. Wherever he goes, the yetzer hara catches up to him and causes him trouble again, always tempting him with the same aveiros and bad middos. Actually, the person is guilty because he keeps returning to the same thoughts and the same challenges. Move away from there, and free yourself from the yetzer hara!
