The Chafetz Chaim and his son in law Rabbi Zvi Levinson arrived back in Radin from a trip. They took a ride on a horse and wagon back to their home. When they arrived the Chafetz Chaim put his hand into his pocket to take out some money and pay the driver.
“Don't worry,” said Reb Zvi to his father in law, “I have already paid him."
"You paid him,” asked the Chafetz Chaim? “When?"
“At the beginning of the ride."
The Chafetz Chaim turned pale. “Do you realize what you did? You lost a Mitzva of paying a worker the same day and one fulfills the Mitzva only by paying after the work is finished. By paying up front you lost the Mitzva.”
The Chafetz Chaim whatever he had to do he would think a moment if it was a Mitzva and which Mitzva he was about to do.
His nephew once asked him what he was thinking. Is it because Mitzvos Tzerichos Kavanna? (that one has to have in mind to fulfil the Mitzva one is about to do)
Before we bring the Chafetz Chaim's reply, let us explain the question and what does it mean ‘Mitzvos Tzrichos Kavanna.”
Hashem gave Klal Yisrael 613 Mitzvos. When a person fulfills the Mitzva does a person need to have Kavanna – to have in mind and concentrate to fulfill the Mitzva or is it good enough that a person did the Mitzva.
Let us take a few examples.
A person is teaching his child to read and he is practicing reading Shema. Then he realizes that he hasn't davened yet and the last time to say Krias Shema in the morning is coming close. When he read the Shema with the child he never had in mind to fulfill the Mitzva of saying Shema. Does he have to say Shema again or is the Shema he said before counted as reading the Shema.
A man or boy gets dressed in the morning and puts on Tzizis but wasn't paying attention to the fact that he is putting on Tzizis in order to fulfill the Mitzva of Tzizis. He was getting dressed but was thinking about something totally different.
A person walks out in the morning and sees their neighbor has problems starting the car. As a good neighbor the obvious is to give a hand. Is one fulfilling the Mitzva of Chessed without even having it mind? In other words trying to be a good person but without having in mind that being a good person is fulfilling the Mitzva of Chessed and being a good Jew is a Kiddush Hashem.
The Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 60) writes that some hold that Mitzvos don't need Kavanna and some hold that Mitzvos do need Kavanna and the Halacha is that Mitzvos do need Kavanna.
The Mishna Berura explains that by Mitzvos De'oraisa one must have in mind to fulfill the Mitzva but by Mitzvos Derabanan from Chazal one has fulfilled the Mitzva even without intention.
However although there are times that we may not be concentrating on what we are doing but our actions prove that we are trying to do a Mitzva. When a person goes to Shul to daven it is obvious the person wants to fulfill the Mitzva of Shema and Tefilla. When a person sits on Pesach night holding the Matza and makes a Beracha Al Achilas Matza the person is trying to fulfill the Mitzva of Matza. But the person practicing reading hasn't fulfilled the Mitzva of Shema.
But sadly that is trying to try and save our Mitzvos that we actually fulfilled them. But that's not what Hashem really wants from us. And sadly that's not really the way to do a Mitzva. As our Rabbis say that a Mitzva without concentration is like a body without a soul, lifeless.
The ultimate goal is to have the full concentration and the right intentions when doing a Mitzva and then when doing the Mitzva it is on a completely different league.
Furthermore, that is only when it comes to a Mitzva and not committing a sin. However, there are many gray areas in our life which aren't definite Mitzvos and aren't definite Aveiros but we decide where they belong.
A person has to eat and sleep. If a person eats and sleeps in order to be healthy to do their Avodas Hashem then the eating and sleeping is a Mitzva. But if not, a person lost the Mitzva.
So the Chafetz Chaim would think before anything he did to have in mind and to concentrate to fulfill the one or a few Mitzvos he was doing with that action. In that way every action became a Mitzva or a few Mitzvos. And if doing it anyway wouldn't it be such a loss to have done it and not fulfill a Mitzva at the same time?!
But the Chafetz Chaim added another point to his nephew. Thinking up front which Mitzva he is about to do isn't just a preparation for the Mitzva it is also a Mitzva in itself.
The Passuk in this week's Parsha (Re'eh 11-32) says "Ushemartem laasos es kol hachukim vehamishpatim” – and you should guard to do all the statutes and laws.
The word Ushemartem has another translation as we find by Yaakov Avinu after Yosef's dream it says that Yosef's father Yaakov ‘shamar es hadavar’ and Rashi explains he was waiting to see when it will happen.
So too here, explained the Chafetz Chaim there is a Mitzva to think which Mitzva can I merit to do and to wait and look forward to be able to do it.
With barely a month until Rosh Hashana we are all interested in finding more Mitzvos to add to our scales and tip the scales in our favor.
But the reality is there is so much we are already doing and by adding a little more thought and hopefully a lot more thought we will change the level of our Mitzvos and we will suddenly find that so many things we were doing anyways we could be fulfilling so many Mitzvos if we just put our minds to it.