_(english).jpg "Oblivious to the Music")
_(english).jpg "15 Lessons from Shiva")
The deliberations of the industrious always lead to an advantage (Proverbs 21:5).
What are a person's moral obligations? How much is a person required to do, and when may one say, "I have done enough?"
Inertia is a powerful force, which operates to maintain things at rest until overcome by a greater force. For many people, the driving force that gets them up in the morning is the need to provide for themselves and/or the family. Once financial and social obligations have been met, many people retire to the easy chair or to any of many pastimes.
The Torah perspective is that a person is responsible to do whatever one can do rather than what one must do. While a person must certainly have the rest, relaxation, and entertainment that is conducive to optimum physical and emotional health, one is not free to become inactive just because one's immediate personal obligations have been satisfied. There are always people in need of help, and deserving causes that should be supported. There is an infinite store of Torah wisdom, and a mitzvah to learn more about how one can enhance one's relationship to God.
There are some mitzvos that can be fulfilled by meeting minimum standards, such as eating a small portion of matzah at the Seder. Other mitzvos, especially those involving extending a helping hand to people in need, have no upper limits. Whatever one can do is what one should do.
