Short on Cash, Rich in Lessons
I once asked a disciple to procure ten travel tickets, totaling close to five thousand dollars. I handed him the money, and he went to the travel agency to do my bidding. When he finished the deal, he put his hand into his pocket to pay for the tickets. To his dismay, he was short two dollars.
What is two dollars in comparison to five thousand? My disciple asked the company rep if he could overlook the two dollars. But the rep replied that he was not authorized to do this. None of the other employees agreed to forego the elusive two dollars and refused to give him the tickets until he paid in full.
My devoted disciple came back to me and related the entire incident. He apologized for coming back empty-handed, but he had no other choice. I was quite surprised by his tale. The travel agency accrues revenues in the thousands, yet insists on a measly two dollars, even though they might lose out on a five-thousand dollar deal.
Just as the travel agency does not dismiss an income of even two dollars, so must we approach mitzvot. Even if a mitzvah seems paltry, its value is tremendous. We must make every effort to fulfill it properly.
Everyone will eventually travel on his Final Journey via the Heavenly Travel Agency. Once at his destination, there will be no concessions. If a mitzvah is lacking proper intent, or was not done perfectly, one will give a full accounting for the lack.
For this reason, our Sages exhort us (Avot 2:1), “Be as scrupulous in performing a minor mitzvah as in a major one, for you do not know the reward given for respective mitzvot. Calculate the cost of a mitzvah against its reward, and the reward of a sin against its cost.”
