{"id":13027,"date":"2025-12-22T13:34:58","date_gmt":"2025-12-22T13:34:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/staging.kabbalah.info\/?post_type=book&p=13027"},"modified":"2025-12-22T13:34:58","modified_gmt":"2025-12-22T13:34:58","slug":"a-minor-mitzva","status":"publish","type":"book","link":"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/a-minor-mitzva\/","title":{"rendered":"621. A Minor\u00a0Mitzva\u00a0[Commandment]"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It is written in Midrash Tanchuma<\/em>: \u201c\u2018And it came to pass,\u2019 as the writing said, \u2018Why should I fear in days of adversity, when the iniquity of my foes surrounds me\u2019 (Hulin<\/em> 49), blessed be the name of the Creator, who gave Torah to Israel, in which there are 613 Mitzvot<\/em> [commandments], and there are minor ones and there are major ones among them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because there are minor Mitzvot<\/em> among them, which people do not notice and throw under their heels, meaning that they are of little importance, David feared the judgment day and said, \u201cMaster of the world, I do not fear the major Mitzvot<\/em> in the Torah, for they are major. What I fear are the minor Mitzvot<\/em>, lest I transgressed with one of them, if I did or did not do because it was minor. And You said, \u2018Be vigil with a minor Mitzva<\/em> as with a major Mitzva<\/em>.\u2019 For this reason, he said, \u2018Why should I fear in days of adversity, when the iniquity of my foes surrounds me?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We should ask what is the minor Mitzva<\/em> that he says people throw under their heels. Our sages said (Avodah Zarah<\/em> 2b), \u201cIn the future, the nations of the world will come and say, \u2018If You had forced the mountain on us like a cask as You did to Israel, would we not have received it?\u2019 etc. Promptly, the Creator tells them, \u2018The first ones will hear, as was said, \u2018And the first ones will hear.\u2019 The seven Mitzvot<\/em> that you received, where did you observe them?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is mentioned above that they did not observe them, as Rabbi Yosef teaches, \u201cHe stood and surveyed the earth; He looked and startled the nations.\u201d What did he see? He saw the seven Mitzvot<\/em> [commandments] that the sons of Noah took upon themselves and did not observe. Since they did not observe them, He permitted it for them. They said to Him, \u201cMaster of the world, give us in advance and we will do them.\u201d The Creator said to them, \u201cFools, he who toiled on the eve of Shabbat [Sabbath] will eat on Shabbat. He who did not toil on the eve of Shabbat, from where will he eat on Shabbat?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYet, I do have one minor Mitzva<\/em>, whose name is Sukkah<\/em>; go and do it. And Rabbi Yehosha Ben Levi said, \u2018Why is it written, \u2018I command you this day, today to do them and not tomorrow to do them\u2019? Today, to do them and not to take reward. However, the Creator does not complain against His creations.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why did He tell him, \u201ca minor Mitzva<\/em>\u201d? It is because lack of money in it, and lack of money means precisely for the sake of the Creator. This means that in the action there is no difference between working for the sake of the Creator or for one\u2019s own sake. The matter of Sukkah<\/em> refers to the thatch, which is a shade. The shade must be more than the sun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMajor\u201d means action. In this regard, he was certain that he observed all 613 Mitzvot<\/em>. But about \u201cfor the sake of the Creator,\u201d he had to scrutinize.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It is written in Midrash Tanchuma: \u201c\u2018And it came to pass,\u2019 as the writing said, \u2018Why should I fear in days […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"parent":6246,"menu_order":0,"template":"","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}}},"topic":[26],"class_list":["post-13027","book","type-book","status-publish","hentry","topic-rabash"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nKabbalah | 621. 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