The importance of people understanding what they are doing and being committed to the underlying rationale of their cause is relevant in all spheres of life. The Alshich points this out in a very incisive observation in this week’s parsha. With regard to Maaser Sheini the Torah states (14:24): “If the path shall become too long for you, so that you will not be able to bear the burden, for the place Hashem your G-d will choose to place His name there will be far from you, for G-d has blessed you.” The Torah acknowledges that under certain circumstances it might be too difficult to transport all of the produce designated as maaser to Yerushalayim. In that case a person is allowed to redeem the produce for money, and bring the money to Yerushalayim, and eat the food purchased with this money.
The Alshich, as quoted in the Ma’ayna Shel Torah, employs this verse as a portal into the human psyche. The Torah’s description of the situation is not simply quantitative; rather, it is a description of the owner’s mindset. When a person values and enjoys what he is doing, then even tremendous effort is not viewed as burdensome. However, when a person does not value what he is doing, then even the slightest effort becomes burdensome and resented. In this case the Alshich explains that the reason the person perceives that he has too much produce to bring to Yerushalayim is because deep inside he views the entire enterprise as unnecessary.
This reality is seen in the wording of the pasuk. When in fact does, “the path become too long for you, so that you will not be able to bear the burden”? When the person perceives the path to Yerushalayim as too far. When a person doesn’t understand why he has to go somewhere, even a fifteen-minute car ride seems too long. However, if it is somewhere he wants to go, then even a twelve-hour flight is bearable. Although the Torah provides an option for such a person, the underlying issue is that the person doesn’t understand the importance of the mitzvah. Thus, to encourage this person to come happily to Yerushalayim, we must enlighten him as to the importance and meaningfulness of the endeavor.
A group of people once approached the Chofetz Chaim asking him to convince one of their neighbors to close his factory on Shabbat. They began to instruct the Chofetz Chaim in the inner workings of the person’s business so that when the factory owner claimed he couldn’t close his factory for certain business and production reasons the Chofetz Chaim would be able to counter his arguments. The Chofetz Chaim explained that he would certainly implore the man to close his business on Shabbat, but would take a different approach. The man, he explained, knows his business. There’s nothing the Chofetz Chaim could say in this regard that could really convince him to close. But the real issue is not the business, it’s that he does not understand the importance and value of Shabbat. Therefore, the Chofetz Chaim said he would focus on inspiring the person as to the value of Shabbat. If the person is convinced of that, then all the business issues will resolve themselves.
All too often when people complain about their workload it’s an indication that they don’t fully understand the importance of what they are doing. While leaders should always try to lessen their followers’ burden, the real focus should be on ensuring that understanding. History has taught us this lesson well. Although more people died in World War II than in World War I, that price, however terribly painful, has been better understood by history. In World War II, the soldiers understood that the Nazi monster had to be destroyed.