One More Mitzvah | Rabbi Yoir Adler

If we would appreciate the value of even the tiniest Mitzvah, then the Yetzer Hara would have a very hard time to convince us to do something that's against Hashem's will. R' Aharon Leib Shteinman, the Ba’al Ayeles HaShachar, used to try to inspire his Talmidim to appreciate even a small Mitzvah with the following story. The great and legendary Yismach Moshe once had a son that was unwell, and he sent a Shaliach, a messenger, to the Kever of the great Tzaddik, R' Elimelech of Lizhensk. And he told this Shaliach, When you go to the Kever, I'm not sure that R’ Elimelech will be at the Kever at that given time, so you should do the following. Take out a פרוטה, a penny, from your pocket and say, I am giving this פרוטה L’iluy Nishmas, for the sake of the Neshama, that will be the first one that will rush to R' Elimelech of Lizhensk and tell him that there's a Shaliach from the Yismach Moshe at your Kever. Said the Yismach Moshe: When you will do that, thousands and tens of thousands of Neshamos, that passed away hundreds and hundreds of years ago will go into a race, who can be the first one to tell R’ Elimelech that the Yismach Moshe’s Shaliach is there, because they are desperate for another Mitzvah, they are desperate to get another zchus, and that will bring R’ Elimelech to the Kever. Said R' Aharon Leib Shteinman, We don't value what it means to give a penny to Tzedaka. What it means, so-called simple Mitzvah, but those Neshamos that are in the Olam HaEmes, they appreciate what it means giving one penny to Tzedaka. They'll do anything to get the zchus of one more Mitzvah. The day will come when every single one of us will be desperate for one extra Mitzvah. If we think to ourselves, What does it take to give a penny to Tzedaka? Not much. There isn't a challenge. There's not a great Nisayon. Nevertheless, thousands of Neshamos were desperate for one penny. Chazal tell us, When you do a Mitzvah when it's difficult, that’s like 100 times a Mitzvah when it's not difficult. When we are faced with a challenge and it's not easy, and we find that strength, and we say no, we resist, we can't begin to fathom, we can't begin to imagine the greatness of the zchus of that given time. Alike, we are always desperate to do something L’iluy Nishmas. When somebody loses a loved one, we say: יתגדל ויתקדש שמיה רבא, we learn Mishnayos, we give Tzedaka. Can you imagine? A person will think to himself, Not only am I going to say יתגדל ויתקדש שמיה רבא but I'm going to do something to bring the Aibishter’s Kedushah in this world, by resisting a temptation. And he'll think to himself, I'm doing this L’iluy Nishmas a loved one, a father, a mother, a grandfather, a grandmother. Can you imagine the Iluy Neshama that Neshama will get, when we are able to find that strength within us and resist the temptation and the challenge.