[Avodah] difficult to perform Mitzvos

[Micha Berger via Avodah]

On Fri, Dec 18, 2015 at 08:24:14AM +1100, Rabbi Meir G. Rabi via Avodah wrote:
: is there any conflict between  - according to the pain/trouble is the
: reward on the one hand
: and on the other hand
: Gd concealed the value of Mitzvos so that they would all be performed with
: equal enthusiasm

>From http://judaism.stackexchange.com/a/66346/1570 (a self-quote):

    R. Chaim Vilozhiner (Derech Hachaim 1:21) writes that each sin causes
    a flaw in your soul. The punishment that is the consequence of this
    flaw heals it. The Derekh Hashem similarly (1:4:5) "sin detracts from
    one's perfection". The Michtav Me'Eliyahu explains the expression
    "Aveira goreres aveira" by saying that after repeatedly doing a given
    sin, it becomes part of one's nature, so that no conscious decision
    is required next time the situation arises.

    Yishmael was repaid in terms of "ba'asher hu sham -- as he was there".
    The way your soul stands at that moment is the direct cause of reward
    or punishment. Notice that this implies a major statement. We are not
    judged for what we did, we pay the consequences for who we are. As
    the midrash states, one of the first three questions the A-lmighty
    will ask as part of the final judgment is, "Why did you not fulfill
    your potential?" Man is judged based upon the gap between reality
    and potential. Mitzvos were given as vehicles for closing this gap.

    The reward of a mitzvah therefore cannot be measured by the type of
    mitzvah, its outcome in this world -- such as whether the recipient
    received $1 or matching funds brought it up to $2, or pretty much any
    other criterion human beings can get a handle on. Or as the mishnah
    puts it, "be [as] aware of a "light" mitzvah as with a weighty one,
    for you don't know the reward for [each of the] mitzvos." (Avos 2:1)

--> Which forces us to conclude that even "according to the pain so is
    the reward" (Avos 5:25) is a derivative idea. (Or else we would know
    which mitzvah is greater, constradicting the other mitzvah; but also
    the verse about Yismael forces this conclusion.) The greater the
    effort and sacrifice, the bigger the change in "ba'asher hu sham --
    as you are there", when being judged.

    Human justice operates very differently, though. We cannot know
    the content of a mind or a soul, even our own, well enough to judge
    it. A court instead does judge the deed.

--> For the same reason, we "don't know the reward for [each of the]
    mitzvos". Your question is unanswerable.

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger             When one truly looks at everyone's good side,
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