621. A Minor Mitzva [Commandment]

It is written in Midrash Tanchuma: “‘And it came to pass,’ as the writing said, ‘Why should I fear in days of adversity, when the iniquity of my foes surrounds me’ (Hulin 49), blessed be the name of the Creator, who gave Torah to Israel, in which there are 613 Mitzvot [commandments], and there are minor ones and there are major ones among them.”

Because there are minor Mitzvot 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, “Master of the world, I do not fear the major Mitzvot in the Torah, for they are major. What I fear are the minor Mitzvot, lest I transgressed with one of them, if I did or did not do because it was minor. And You said, ‘Be vigil with a minor Mitzva as with a major Mitzva.’ For this reason, he said, ‘Why should I fear in days of adversity, when the iniquity of my foes surrounds me?’”

We should ask what is the minor Mitzva that he says people throw under their heels. Our sages said (Avodah Zarah 2b), “In the future, the nations of the world will come and say, ‘If You had forced the mountain on us like a cask as You did to Israel, would we not have received it?’ etc. Promptly, the Creator tells them, ‘The first ones will hear, as was said, ‘And the first ones will hear.’ The seven Mitzvot that you received, where did you observe them?’”

It is mentioned above that they did not observe them, as Rabbi Yosef teaches, “He stood and surveyed the earth; He looked and startled the nations.” What did he see? He saw the seven Mitzvot [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, “Master of the world, give us in advance and we will do them.” The Creator said to them, “Fools, 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?”

“Yet, I do have one minor Mitzva, whose name is Sukkah; go and do it. And Rabbi Yehosha Ben Levi said, ‘Why is it written, ‘I command you this day, today to do them and not tomorrow to do them’? Today, to do them and not to take reward. However, the Creator does not complain against His creations.’”

Why did He tell him, “a minor Mitzva”? 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’s own sake. The matter of Sukkah refers to the thatch, which is a shade. The shade must be more than the sun.

“Major” means action. In this regard, he was certain that he observed all 613 Mitzvot. But about “for the sake of the Creator,” he had to scrutinize.