We don’t say shechianu, a bracha of celebration, at a bris mila because the
baby is in pain and therefore you can’t celebrate fully. So that’s the idea that
sometimes a mitzvah hurts. With other mitzvahs, sometimes the performance of
them will be uncomfortable and sometimes not. An example is the mitzvah of
tzedaka, of giving charity. For some people giving tzedaka is very comfortable
and for others, it’s very uncomfortable and difficult for them to do.
One of the mitzvahs that can go either way is honoring parents. It can be the
most natural, the most comfortable, the most pleasant – after all, these are
your parents whom you love, whom you can’t live without. On the other hand,
there are times when this mitzvah is very difficult, when in order to honor them
properly, you have to really hurt. Now if in fact, there is a circumstance where
honoring parents is painful, how are we supposed to react to this, how are we
supposed to handle this – very simply – sometimes a mitzvah hurts! And the fact
that it hurts, doesn’t mean I shouldn’t be doing it, that I’m not doing it
right, or that it’s not worth it. This is the nature of the mitzvah.
How do you elevate, how do you fix a physical condition? Sometimes you need to
pry it loose, sometimes you need to push it beyond its comfort level. That’s how
you elevate – if it were always easy, then maybe we would have to suspect that
we are not changing anything. If everything is always staying at its comfort
level, then nothing is ever really changing. Therefore there is no progress, no
growth.
Running Time 57:09
MP3 format - $5.00
Also available on CD as part of the complete CD set:
"Family - Getting to Like The People You Love"
