Choose Your Special Mitzvah

Art Letvent

If you don't already have a ''special mitzvah'' that you have made your own, now would be a good time to think about it.

"The Holy One Blessed Be He wished to reward the Jewish people. Therefore He heaped upon them Torah and mitzvos" [Makkos 3:16].

Maimonides, in his Commentary to the Mishnah on Makkos 3:16, offers a unique and fascinating interpretation when he writes that it is a fundamental tenet of the Torah to believe that when a person properly fulfills just one of the 613 commandments with no ulterior motives but entirely for the sake of Heaven and out of love for G-d, he will merit entry into Olam HaBa.

All that each of us has to do is to choose just one mitzvah in the Torah, and make it our own. Choose the mitzvah that resonates with you..... It could be the mitzvah of Tzedaka [charity], avoiding Lashon Hara [evil speech], Tzniut [modest dressing], lighting Shabbat candles, bikkur cholim [visiting the sick]..... basically any mitzvah that you choose.... but you have to make a commitment and do it consistently solely for the sake of Heaven.

[That doesn't mean you can ignore all the other mitzvot.... it means that you choose one, and do that one to the utmost degree]

Learn as much as you can about your chosen mitzvah and make sure you stick to your goals, making it a priority.

A portion of this blog post came from Torch Torah Weekly