A certain man ascended to Heaven after one hundred and twenty years. He had been a simple man who all his life toiled hard for his livelihood as a porter, and he barely had any time to study Torah. Behold, he arrived before the Heavenly Court, and bundles upon bundles of mitzvos and good deeds were brought. There were bundles of wood, and various other crates and merchandise that he used to carry on his back. There was also food. And all of it was placed on the scale. Naturally, the scale leaned to the side of merits, and his judgment was decided for Gan Eden. He was, of course, very happy, but he asked the Heavenly Court: I wish to understand, for here it is the "World of Truth"—there are no lies here—so how is it possible that all of these things were placed on the scale? What do they have to do at all with mitzvos and good deeds?
We all know the Mishnah (Makkos 3:16): "Rabbi Chanania ben Akashya says: HaKadosh Baruch Hu wished to grant merit to Israel; therefore, He increased for them Torah and mitzvos." And we must understand: why did the Tanna say, "He increased for them Torah and mitzvos"? After all, there are 613 mitzvos, and it would have been fitting to say, "therefore He gave them 613 mitzvos." The Tanna did not change his words for no reason. Rather, in truth, all of our conduct can be mitzvos, because when a Jew intends in all his ways that they be for the sake of Heaven, then they are all mitzvos. And this is hinted at in the parashah of Shema, written in our parashah (6:7): 'ודברת בם בשבתך בביתך ובלכתך בדרך ובשכבך ובקומך' - "And you shall speak of them while you sit in your house, and while you walk on the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise." As Chazal taught: one who goes to sleep in order to have strength for the service of the Creator and eats in order to have strength to learn Torah—and even if he works in physical labor, but his intention is for the sake of mitzvah—then all his actions are mitzvos.
This is the answer to that simple Jew in Gan Eden who all day worked hard and carried heavy loads in order to bring sustenance to his household, and at the end of the day sat down to study a little with self-sacrifice. Then all that he carried was so that he could learn, and all of it is considered mitzvos. And this is what is written (Mishlei 3:6): בכל דרכיך דעהו - "In all your ways know Him"—even when we are engaged in eating and drinking, in business dealings, and even in sleep, when one intends to fulfill the will of the Creator, they are all considered mitzvos and good deeds, even when we are outside of the Beis Midrash. And this is: "Therefore He increased for them Torah and mitzvos."
-Tiv HaTorah – Va’eschanan
