שׁוֹמֵ֣ר מִצְוָ֔ה לֹ֥א יֵדַ֖ע דָּבָ֣ר רָ֑ע וְעֵ֣ת וּמִשְׁפָּ֔ט יֵדַ֖ע לֵ֥ב חָכָֽם׃
무릇 명령을 지키는 자는 화를 모르리라 지혜자의 마음은 시기와 판단을 분변하나니
Kedushat Levi
This is also how we can understand the Mishnah in Avot 2,1 where we are told to consider a commandment, which on the surface appears as easy to fulfill, involving neither much expense nor physical effort, as equal to a commandment which appears as much harder to fulfill. The essence of the value of fulfilling the commandment lies in the heart of the person performing it, not the intrinsic material value of the commandment itself. The author of that Mishnah reminds us that the donor does not know by what yardstick the recipient (G’d) will judge his gift (mitzvah performance), therefore he should not lightly dismiss performing a commandment, which in his eyes, seems trivial.
In this context it is worth recalling another statement in the Talmud Shabbat 63, where we are told: כל העושה מצוה אחת כמאמרה אין מבשרין לו בשורה רעה, “whoever performs one commandment in complete accordance with all its meaning will not become the recipient of bad tidings.” The author of that statement quotes as his source Kohelet 8,5 שומר מצוה לא ידע רע, “he who obeys the commandment will know no evil.” The word כמאמרה in the Talmud’s statement, is the same as לשמה, “in order to fulfill its intrinsic purpose,” i.e. to please the Creator Who decreed it. The word מצוה clearly refers to the commandment’s purpose, i.e. to conform to the will of the Creator Who legislates for us to perform His will in this manner. [At this point the author quotes a verse purportedly from Proverbs which I have been unable to find even elsewhere. Ed.] His point is that seeing that the Creator is concerned with His creatures performing His commandments because He desires it, not because the creature considers it worthwhile and an intelligent thing to do, it does not matter whether performance of that commandment involves much effort and expense or no effort and little expense, as by doing it for the right reason he has met the standards set by the lawgiver. In other words, once the donor’s intention for bringing the gift has been established beyond doubt, as long as the gift itself is not something demeaning for the recipient, the monetary value of the gift has become totally irrelevant. It follows that performance of a relatively easy to perform commandment, may bring in its wake the same reward as performance of a commandment involving far more effort and expense, as long as the intention of the person performing the commandment had been to provide his Creator with pleasure. This is why the author of the Mishnah in Avot exhorts us to treat performance of a מצוה קלה, “a commandment which appears trivial in our eyes,” with the same seriousness which we would automatically accord a מצוה חמורה, a commandment which is “difficult to perform.”
In this context it is worth recalling another statement in the Talmud Shabbat 63, where we are told: כל העושה מצוה אחת כמאמרה אין מבשרין לו בשורה רעה, “whoever performs one commandment in complete accordance with all its meaning will not become the recipient of bad tidings.” The author of that statement quotes as his source Kohelet 8,5 שומר מצוה לא ידע רע, “he who obeys the commandment will know no evil.” The word כמאמרה in the Talmud’s statement, is the same as לשמה, “in order to fulfill its intrinsic purpose,” i.e. to please the Creator Who decreed it. The word מצוה clearly refers to the commandment’s purpose, i.e. to conform to the will of the Creator Who legislates for us to perform His will in this manner. [At this point the author quotes a verse purportedly from Proverbs which I have been unable to find even elsewhere. Ed.] His point is that seeing that the Creator is concerned with His creatures performing His commandments because He desires it, not because the creature considers it worthwhile and an intelligent thing to do, it does not matter whether performance of that commandment involves much effort and expense or no effort and little expense, as by doing it for the right reason he has met the standards set by the lawgiver. In other words, once the donor’s intention for bringing the gift has been established beyond doubt, as long as the gift itself is not something demeaning for the recipient, the monetary value of the gift has become totally irrelevant. It follows that performance of a relatively easy to perform commandment, may bring in its wake the same reward as performance of a commandment involving far more effort and expense, as long as the intention of the person performing the commandment had been to provide his Creator with pleasure. This is why the author of the Mishnah in Avot exhorts us to treat performance of a מצוה קלה, “a commandment which appears trivial in our eyes,” with the same seriousness which we would automatically accord a מצוה חמורה, a commandment which is “difficult to perform.”
Tzava'at HaRivash
The mnemonic by which to remember this, is the verse,31Ecclesiastes 8:5 “He who guards-Shomer-שומר the mitzvah will know no evil.” In other words, whoever accepts this matter upon himself, must stand guard at his post from morning to evening, awaiting the opportunity to fulfill any mitzvah that comes his way. That is, the term guard-Shomer-שומר is of the same root used in the verse,32Genesis 37:11 “His father waited in anticipation-Shamar-שמר of the matter.”33Rashi to Genesis 37:11 Through this, one merits that, “He will know no evil.” That is, he will not be subject to random happenstance (Keri-קרי)34Leviticus 26:21 & Rashi there; Also see Ginat Egoz of Rabbi Yosef Gikatilla, translated as HaShem Is One, Volume 2, pg. 353. which is called evil, God forbid.