What About The Mitzvot I Don't Like?

0:15Question is if somebody is doing a mitzvah, let's say he's donating, but he doesn't really want to donate. Does he really still get the mitzvah? Better yet, we'll add to this question: if somebody, let's say, comes to a shiur Torah to learn Torah but he doesn't really want to go. He doesn't really want to go. Does he still get a mitzvah? Should he still go? The Gemara says in a couple of places, "Mimakom shelo lishma ba lishma."

1:28But the books are very different than a lecture. Why? Because in a lecture, everything is given to you on a silver platter. I tell you where the source is, who said it, and we connect all the different subjects and books. However, if you go take one of these gemarot and start learning it on your own, you will see that it is a world apart from the gemara and the shiur. This is because the gemara will focus on one particular subject for ten hours. All the different walks of life about this particular subject and every possible question that you can think of and can't think of. They're going to ask, and they're going to answer, and they're going to tell you debates about it. But in so many words, it's focusing and narrowing on one particular thing. It's not giving you anything on a silver platter. In fact, you have to toil in order to even understand what is being said there. So it's a world apart. So many times when people start learning the sefarim, they say, "Oh, this is not, where's the sweetness? Where's the sweetness the rabbi keeps talking about?" Yeah, he's talking. He has all the information already. So yeah, for him it's sweet, but I'm just learning this thing. It's not sweet at all. It's bitter. It's hard. It takes me six hours to finish one daf. Who wants to do this? So the Gemara says,

2:44Exactly that. Initially, you don't want to do it. Initially, it's bitter, but keep going. Why? The more you keep going, the closer you're going to get to that sweetness where eventually you're going to start seeing how things add up, and now that you've arrived at the right conclusion on your own, you feel like this has now become yours. You've become part of the Torah. Not just a reader of Torah. Just like if you read math or learn science, you become knowledgeable about certain things. But when you learn Torah the right way, the Torah becomes part of you. And that is the sweetest thing that could ever exist in the world. So everyone needs a little bit of shiurim, a little bit of the actual sefarim. Obviously, there are different levels of learning, different levels of shiurim, and different levels of sefarim. But the point is that even if a person does not want to do a mitzvah, whether it be learning Torah or giving tzedakah or whatever it is, he should go, and she should go and do it. Why? Number one, Hashem said so.

3:59That's already enough of a reason. Number two: it's good for you. Yeah, but I don't like it. It's good for you. Do it. Antibiotics—you don't like them, right? They taste disgusting. With all these technological investments, they still haven't figured out how to make antibiotics taste like anything edible. But guess what? If you have an infection, you have to take it. Why? It's good for you. Why? Because if you don't take it, you're going to die from the infection. So, sometimes we have to take something because HaKadosh Baruch Hu said it, and that's enough of a reason. But sometimes we are stubborn people, and we need something extra. We ask, "Okay, it's good for you. When is it going to be good for me?" Trust me, it's good for you. It's just that you're not going to see the benefits of the cure right away. It may take a little time. It may take a day. It may take a week. It may take a month. But the point is, eventually, you're going to see it. Eventually, you're going to get it. And when a person does the will of Hashem, simply because Hashem said it, they'll eventually taste the sweetness of Torah. Now, as we learned the other day,

5:01from the Chazon Ish, is that one of the most difficult things for a person to overcome in his acquiring of the sweetness of the Torah is the fact that he himself is holding himself back. Because he or she has terrible character traits. She wants to learn a shiur Torah but still walks around with immodest clothing. You know, she wants to learn Torah and be holy and read Tehillim, but she doesn't want to cover her head. He wants to learn Torah, but he also wants to watch basketball. He also wants to curse like a truck driver. He also wants to, you know, do all types of things that Hashem says are forbidden. And he has bad character traits. And the Chazon Ish, thank you. And the Chazon Ish says these flawed character traits are what's holding you back from the sweetness of the Torah. So yes, you can still get some sweetness, some sweetness, without perfecting your character traits. But to get the ultimate level of sweetness, you have to perfect your character traits. Why? Because you have to make your physical body a vessel for this pure spirituality that HaKadosh Baruch Hu wants to gift you. To achieve this, it is essential to work on refining your middot (character traits). The closer you align with the will of Hashem, the more you prepare yourself to receive His divine light.

6:19So the way to do it is by doing things that Hashem said, even if you don't want to. You must strive to fulfill His mitzvot and follow the halacha to the best of your ability. where you'll have newer features that allow you to use the app while simultaneously using other applications on your phone. You'll be able to share the shiurim directly from the app. You'll have the ability to donate online and support our outreach and the Torah work we're doing. And the most exciting feature is that you'll be able to actually ask questions directly on the app and get answers from the rabbis directly from the app. This is something unprecedented, and Baruch Hashem, we will be able to offer it. Thank you again for all of your support. Check it out. Make sure you have the Kosher Torah that will re-energize your neshama each and every single day. Kol tuv b'hatzlacha.