In this week’s sedrah the Bnei Yisroel are commanded to fulfill one of the commandments of the Torah, one of the prohibitions that we find quite easy to fulfill. It’s the issur of לֹא תֹאכְלוּ – you should not eat the blood of an animal (Re’eh 12:24). The Torah is warning the Bnei Yisroel that when they shecht an animal for eating they should be careful not to consume any of its blood. Instead, וּנְכַּפְתָּה עַל הָאָרֶץ כַּמָּיִם – let it pour out of the animal onto the ground.
Now, with all of our yetzer horas – and we have quite a number of them – it never entered our mind to eat blood; we have no appetite for such aveiros. And so we’re surprised when we read in the next possuk that there’s going to be a great reward for keeping away from this sin: לֹא תֹאכְלֶנּוּ – Don’t eat it, לְמַעַן יִיטַב לְךָ – in order that Hashem should do good to you (ibid.). It means that if you don’t eat blood then you’ll be zocheh to good health and long life and good times - that’s all included in ‘He will do good for you.’ And not only you; לְבָנֶיךָ וְאַחֲרֶיךָ – your descendants too. Your children and grandchildren will benefit from your avodas Hashem. Which avodas Hashem? Not eating blood.
The Easy Reward
Now, that’s a puzzle to us because why should you get a reward for not eating blood? Some people can’t even look at blood; they faint when they see it. And even if you’re from the less faint-hearted, surely you wouldn’t think of putting it close to your mouth; if you would taste it, you might even vomit.
So let’s picture the scene. A man, let’s say, is in the doctor’s office and they have there a container of blood, a bag of fresh blood – for our purpose we’ll imagine it’s the blood of a beheimah – and he passes it by on his way into the waiting room. It’s nauseating to him and he turns his head away; he gags. Are we going to say that he’ll be rewarded? And not only him – his descendants too?! It doesn’t make any sense. Why does he deserve any reward at all?
For Heaven’s Sake!
And so we have to look at a Gemara in Mesichta Makkos and pay careful attention to the words there. It’s talking about our possuk and it says there like this: דָּם שֶׁאָדָם מָאוּס לוֹ וּפָרַשׁ מִמֶּנּוּ לְשֵׁם שָׁמַיִם – blood, which a person abhors, if he separates from it leshem Shomayim, יוָנָב¿ל וֹלו בֹטו ם≈רֹו‚ – he’s going to get a reward for him and his children.
Those two words – leshem Shomayim - that’s the key to the answer. Why aren’t you quaffing down that blood? Because of the command of Hashem, that’s why. Oh! It’s leshem Shomayim?! Now we’re talking! That’s already a different story! You’re doing it for Hashem, because He commanded so! And if that’s the case then יוָנָב¿ל וֹלו בֹטו ם≈רֹו‚ – you’re going to deserve very big rewards.
But actually this answer is not acceptable to us at all. Because it’s not true! What kind of a leshem Shomayim can a person have if he separates from blood? Dam is absolutely nauseating and therefore Shomayim or no Shomayim, you’re not interested. And so the whole story is one big deception. Here this hypocrite is saying, “I am abstaining from blood because of Hashem’s command לֹא תֹאכְלוּ מִמֶּנּוּ נֶפֶשׁ לְכָל דָּם,” but actually it’s the furthest thing from his mind – he wouldn’t be eating the blood anyhow; he’s just saying words.
The Valuable Add-On
And the answer is, that’s the point. It’s what we call tziruf, an additional thought, an add-on. Certainly you wouldn’t eat blood. It’s disgusting. But if in addition to the disgust, you add a little bit of seichel and say, “Look, I’m not eating it anyhow, so I might as well add also leshem Shomayim too.” All you’re doing is adding a thin layer of idealism, a little bit of leshem Shomayim, but that little addition is worth everything in the Eyes of Hashem.
That’s the lesson the Torah is teaching you here. Hakadosh Baruch Hu wants your thoughts – however insignificant you think they are – because when it comes to thoughts nothing is insignificant.
In Shomayim, it’s the motives that are most important. The intent is the heart of the deed and therefore whatever you do is transformed tremendously by your mind – so much so that even to add a thought, to overlay your action with a small motivation of leshem Shomayim, that’s everything. And it’s deserving of such a big reward that it’s not enough for him; zocheh lo ulevanav – his descendants will be rewarded too!
The Holy Hypocrite
So we begin to see now that nobody should fear the accusation of hypocrisy when it comes to serving Hashem leshem Shomayim. You shouldn’t feel ‘it’s not real’, that you’re a ‘faker’, because we see here how much it means just to add on that thought.
And so here’s a man sitting down Shabbos at the seudah and he says as follows: “I’m sitting down now to eat leshem Shomayim, to celebrate that Hashem made the world in six days and then He rested on Shabbos.”
So people cringe at that. What leshem Shomayim?! You’re hungry and there are good things on the table. You can barely hold yourself back, and here you come along, you hypocrite, and you’re talking about leshem Shomayim. And so the people are looking at you and they’re thinking that this man is an example of falsehood, of pious hypocrisy. They take you for a fool.
What they don’t realize is that you’re the chochom. That little bit of thinking, that very thin layer of leshem Shomayim, makes you the wise one. There’s going to be a very big difference in the World to Come between the honest people who didn’t want to be hypocrites and ate only leshem mitzvas appetite, and those people who also ate with appetite but they added on an intention of leshem Shomayim! Even though it was only a small addition to their actual intention.
Layers of Holiness
Now, you have to know that what you’re hearing now, this principle of tziruf, opens up for us a panorama of opportunity. Our entire lives become a canvas, a white canvas, upon which we can add on the vibrant colors of leshem Shomayim and thereby transform our lives in this world and our place in the World to Come. Everything becomes different.
Not only your life becomes different - you become a different person. There’s a statement in the Medrash (Bereishis Rabah 44:1) that מִצְוֹת נִתְּנוּ לְצָרֵף בָּהֶן אֶת הַבְּרוּיוֹת – The commandments were given for the purpose of purifying people. It’s a tremendous statement that should have a resounding impact on our minds. The mitzvos were given only to purify us.
Now how does that work? In a number of ways. It says וַעֲשִׂיתֶם אֶת מִצְוֹתַי – and you should do My commandments, וִהְיִיתֶם קְדֹשִׁים לֵאלֹקֵיכֶם – and you will become holy (Bamidbar 15:40). Anyone who does a mitzvah has to know that the mitzvah is bestowing upon him a veneer, a covering, of kedushah. When he does another mitzvah, he makes it a thicker layer. The more a person lives and performs mitzvos, it becomes a more dense layer on him and finally it penetrates beneath the surface and he becomes kulo kadosh.
It’s like painting wood with a certain kind of lacquer. At first it’s only on the surface but after a while it penetrates more and more deeply. The paint is of such a quality that the oils and the pigments can penetrate; and the wood is like a sponge and it draws it in. And after a while it becomes one mass of pigment, of beautiful colors.
And so the kedushah on the soul of a Jew at first is a superficial layer. When he does more mitzvos, so וִהְיִיתֶם קְדֹשִׁים, it’s another layer and then another one. That’s why every time you do a mitzvah you say “אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָׁנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתָיו – He’s making us kadosh.” When you wash your hands to eat, you become more kadosh because you’re doing a mitzvah. When you keep Shabbos, it’s more kedushah. Any mitzvah has that effect upon you, and finally you become saturated with kedushah through and through.
The Other Holiness
However, we must know there is another area of kedushah which is even more important and it’s a most neglected area. Actually it’s easiest of all things to accomplish and that’s why it’s such a great loss; it’s a tza’ar gadol, nebach, nebach, a great pity on mankind that they do not know this secret. And that’s the secret of kavanah leshem Shomayim. You’re expending the efforts anyhow so you might as well do it with the attitude of leshem Shomayim! It doesn’t cost anything and it’s going to transform your act into something entirely different.
What kind of transformation? Listen to the words of the Mesillas Yesharim: He says (Hakdamah) that it’s מַעֲשִׂים בְּלִי כַּוָּנָה – when you do acts without intent leshem Shomayim. It’s repulsive and abominable! You hear that? מַעֲשִׂים בְּלִי כַּוָּנָה!
Now we have to realize that it doesn’t mean what you think – there’s still a reward even for מַעֲשִׂים בְּלִי כַּוָּנָה, absolutely. But compared to what it could have been, it’s repulsive. And that’s a tragedy. Alas for the multitude of good deeds that are not done with intention, with kavanas halev, because thereby a man loses the great reward of serving Hashem in the way that He’s looking for.
Let’s say you go to shul. Of course you come to shul. There’s no question. And you’ll put on a tallis – you can’t be without a tallis in shul. You put on tefillin too. You can’t be without tefillin. You can’t refuse to stand up by Shemoneh Esrei. You do everything! But you’re doing it automatically and it’s lacking in the inner achievement of leshem Shomayim.
Imagine if you would add the thought, “I’m walking to shul now in order to serve Hashem.” You’re going anyhow! So what do you lose? And you gain everything! Everyone else is walking, trudging along out of habit, but you’re walking on the clouds. You’re a head taller than everyone else because intent is one of the most important ingredients in the nobility of your achievements.
The Holy Miser
How many times do you hand a quarter to a poor man and you do it because you can’t refuse; you’re embarrassed. You see him coming, so you try to walk around the corner fast. But another one comes from the other side. You’re trapped. It’s a holdup! You have to give both of them now.
Now imagine what would be if you’d put a little thought into it. You’re trapped anyhow so while you’re fumbling around in your pocket for two quarters you think, “I’m giving him this coin because Hakadosh Baruch Hu loves the poor and I am His emissary to help this man.” It’s not true – that’s not the primary reason; but that little tziruf of your mind changes everything. It’s an entirely new mitzvah now. You’re transforming that deed into something great.
People give tremendous amounts of money for charity, but in very many cases it’s done only to please somebody else, not because they are motivated by a desire to serve Hashem. They just can’t refuse. You know how much money goes down the drain because of that? Now I say ‘down the drain.’ Nothing goes down the drain, chas v’shalom. הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא אֵינוֹ מְקַפֵּחַ שָׂכָר כָּל בְּרִיָּה – Hashem doesn’t take away reward from anyone. He’ll pay that man too. But it’s nothing compared to the greatness of taking your money and doing what your own conscience tells you; that’s what Hakadosh Baruch Hu wants.
Exploiting the Mines
Now if we start looking at our lives, we see it’s a gold mine. Many gold mines of achievement, of wealth! There’s no end of opportunities! And therefore it’s a pity that life goes by with many such gold mines unutilized and unexploited.
What would you lose if you had done these things with a little bit of leshem Shomayim too? Nothing is added in effort and it won’t cost you anymore either. And the more you practice it, the more it seeps down into your neshamah. It starts off as superficial thoughts, superficial words, but just like the kedushah of the maaseh mitzvah itself, the kavanah leshem Shomayim penetrates through and through.
