Learning Torah is Worth the Effort

In this week’s Parsha Bo, Moshe instructs the Jewish people about the mitzvah of korban pesach – the sacrificial Passover lamb. Hashem tells Moshe on the first day of the month of Nisan to teach the Jewish people what to do with the sheep for the korban pesach. Each family is to take a sheep on the tenth day of Nisan and inspect it for four days. On the fourteenth day of Nisan, they are to slaughter it, roast it, and eat it in a festive family setting. After hearing the instructions the pasuk says:

וַיֵלְכו וַיַעֲשֹו בְנֵי יִשְֹרָאֵל כַאֲשֶר צִוָה ה’ אֶת מֹשֶה וְאַהֲרֹן כֵן עָשֹו” – “And the children of Israel went and they did as Hashem commanded Moshe and Aharon, so they did.”

Rashi (the famous 11th-century commentator) asks “How can the pasuk say that the Jewish people did as Hashem commanded – Did the Jewish people already do the mitzvah of korban pesach? Wasn’t it told to them on the first day of Nisan which was ten days before they were supposed to start doing the mitzvah of korban pesach? The Pasuk should say that they listened to Moshe not that they did what they were commanded?!

Rashi answers with an incredible insight that the Torah is giving us. Once the Jewish people accepted it upon themselves to perform the mitzvah, Hashem considered it as if they had already performed the mitzvah.

The Mishna states “Rachmanah liba bai” – the Merciful One wants our heart. Hashem wants our love and commitment to Him. 

Lesson: When we are serious about doing a mitzvah or learning Torah and we commit ourselves to doing the mitzvot or to learning the Torah then Hashem gives us the credit as if we already did! 

Let us redouble our efforts to learn about our Torah our heritage and beautiful mitzvot and minhagim.