The Benefit of Mitzvot

Living Emunah By Rabbi David Ashear

https://www.artscroll.com/ Books/lemynh.html Living Emunah on Yamim Noraim Gaining faith from the Days of Awe There are many rituals that we do, often without thinking too much of their significance. When a person moves into a new home, he is supposed to make a Chanukat Habayit , which consists of a meal and a reading, including portions of Mishnah , Gemara , Zohar and Rambam. The idea is to thank Hashem for the home, and also to inaugurate its use with words of Torah. The rabbis tell us as well that the tikkun that is read and the Torah that is learned drive away all the harmful forces that may be in the home. A man told me that he moved into a new home and was planning on making a Chanukat Habayit a couple of weeks later when things were more settled. When his neighbor, who's a rabbi, heard of that plan, he told him he is supposed to do it the day he moves in and not to delay. It was very difficult, but the man listened. That night, in the middle of the night, their carbon monoxide alarm went off and the fire department came. They checked the home with a detector and found no traces of carbon monoxide. While they were there, they made some other inspections and found a burning hot wire in the wall, which, baruch Hashem, they were able to take care of and avoid a potential catastrophe. Everything we do in Torah and mitzvot has so much significance. The Me'am Loez writes in Parashat Ekev, anyone who's careful to do the mitzvah of mezuzah properly will get extra protection from Hashem, both when he is home and when he goes on the road. Like it says, ה' ישמור צאתך ובואך . We don't do the mitzvah because it provides protection, we do it because it's the will of Hashem. But this mitzvah, like all other mitzvot, provides side benefits and for this particular one, the side benefit is protection. A woman related that she moved into a new home a couple of months ago. Since the move, two of her daughters broke different bones and recently she broke her elbow. She went for an immediate x-ray, which showed a break, and the doctor said she would need surgery to repair it. In the meantime, someone suggested that she get the mezuzot checked. The writing was found to be of poor quality. Two of the mezuzot were completely disqualified and some of them were put upside down. After the sofer made all the necessary repairs, she went for a preliminary visit to a surgeon. When he checked the elbow, he said it was not broken and it would heal on its own. One of her daughters, who broke her foot right when they moved in two months ago, was never able to fully get healed. After the mezuzot were fixed, her foot went back to normal. Another man told me last year he shattered his kneecap and had to have a major surgery to fix it. He checked his mezuzot afterward and saw that in one of the mezuzot , one of the letters was broken into two. Another man told me, this past summer his children and their families stayed by his home. In the beginning of the summer, none of the grandchildren were able to sleep at night. Every single night there was another reason causing them to be up. After two weeks, they decided to get their mezuzot checked. It was found that in one of the mezuzot , the word ובקומך , which means to get up from sleeping, had an error. The word was divided into two, with a big space, rather than being one continuous word. All of our mitzvot benefit us one way or another. Our purpose in doing them is always just for the sake of Hashem, but it's good to know how much the mitzvot do for us. Besides for all the rewards they provide in the next world, they help us in this world as well.