Just imagine...
You offer to give a ride to a yeshivah bachur. Just then the police block off the road and give you a lengthy detour to reach your destination. How do you feel about that?
Or, say you decide to learn with your son, and just then a migraine sets in. How do you view it?
Many of us would feel frustrated, perhaps even rejected, and understandably so. But let’s consider the following, and perhaps we can upgrade our thoughts to embrace challenges in our avodas Hashem.
The pasuk says 28:17 that Yaakov Avinu is travelling towards Lavan’s house and he then realizes that he passed Yerushalayim. Rashi says that Yaakov said “Is it possible that I passed by the place where my fathers davened and I didn’t daven there?” He set his mind to return to Har Hamoriyah and went back as far as Beis El, when he had kefitzas haderech. The ground miraculously contracted for him and Har Hamoriyah moved and met him in Beis El.
Asks the Brisker Rav, if Yaakov Avinu had kefitzas haderech when he went back to Har Hamoriyah, why didn’t he have kefitzas haderech when he was on his way to Lavan’s house? The Brisker Rav answers that when Yaakov was going to Lavan’s house, he was going to find a wife as his parents commanded him. By going to Lavan’s house he was fulfilling a mitzvah - kibud av v’aim. There is a rule of “lefum tzaara agra”- according to the amount of pain one has in his effort to do a mitzvah, he gets more reward. If Hashem would give Yaakov kefitzas haderech on his way to Lavan, that would diminish his effort and lessen his reward. However, by returning to daven at Har Hamoriyah, he wasn’t fulfilling kibud av v’aim and therefore he could have kefitzas haderech – he wouldn’t lose out s’char as a result.
We see from here how valuable effort is in regard to doing a mitzvah. The more pain, the more reward. And so, the more effort and distress you experience in trying to fulfill a mitzvah, the more you earn as a result. Obstacles are indeed blessings in disguise.
Rav Yisroel Reisman said over that when Rav Zalman Sorotzkin heard this yesod of the Brisker Rav, he said that this answers a question he always had. In Parshas Chayei Sara when Eliezer is looking at Rivka by the well, the pasuk says (24:16) “Vatered ha’ayna vatimale kada” - she goes to the well and fills her pitcher. Rashi says that the water came up towards her; it doesn’t say she bent down to draw the water, rather, the water rose towards her and it was easy for her to fill up her pitcher. That’s how Eliezer knew that she was something special.
Asks Rav Zalman, later when Rivka drew water for Eliezer and his camels, the pasuk says that she actually worked and drew the water. Why didn’t the water rise for her as it did earlier when she was getting water for herself? Answers Rav Zalman Sorotzkin, according to the yesod of the Brisker Rav, it is beautifully clear. When Rivka was drawing water for herself, then Hashem performed a miracle on her behalf. But when she was doing a mitzvah by drawing water for Eliezer and his camels, then she had to work hard and experience difficulties in drawing the water. Because when it comes to a mitzva, the more difficulty, the more reward.
We see again how difficulties and struggles in doing mitzvos elevate the mitzvos and increase your reward. When you are trying to succeed in doing a mitzvah and experience opposition, realize that it’s a precious opportunity for you – Hashem is increasing your schar! Difficulties and challenges in avodas Hashem are priceless gifts; embrace them, flex your muscles and fight for success. They are opportunities that Hashem is giving us with great love to increase our reward.
The following story is printed in Artscroll’s Pirkei Avos Generation To Generation (Page 402): Rav Sholom Schwadron would relate the following humorous yet touching confession of R’ Moshe Vitenberg, a generous man who gave lots of money so that housing complexes could be built for underprivileged families in Yerushalayim. “My friend, Mr. Broyde, and I both gave the same amount of money for the project. Yet, I know I will receive more s’char than he will in Olam Haba. You see, when the gabbai Tzedakah approached him for money, he was happy right away to give for the project. But I? the moment I saw the gabbai tzedakah approaching my house, my heart started beating faster. I started to shake just from the thought of what I was about to commit to. True, Broyde and I gave the same amount, but you know how much more difficult it was for me to give the money than it was for him. Surely, I will be getting more reward for my tzedakah as I will be rewarded as well for my pounding heart and shaking hands”.
Only Hashem calculates the s’char we will receive, yet the point is valid – we are rewarded for every bit of difficulty we experience in doing mitzvos. The harder it is, the more we will be rewarded. So, the next time you struggle to find a parking spot to daven or learn, instead of getting frustrated, realize that it’s a present from Hashem to increase your s’char. That child’s temper tantrum, that talmid’s misbehavior, the heavy traffic and the power outage – they are all blessings, gifts in disguise. Embrace them, overcome them, and your s’char will keep on growing!
