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The Incomparable Joy of Mitzvot! \ Parashat Yitro
D'var Torah: "In every place where I allow My Name to be mentioned, I will come there and bless you"(Shemot 20:20). Imagine a person receives an audience with the king, and the king grants his request. The power of his joy knows no bounds. He cannot hold himself back from expressing his overwhelming joy to all his loved ones. If this is true with an earthly king, how much more so should we be overjoyed whenever we do a Mitzvah. Every Mitzvah that we do puts us in the presence of HaShem, the eternal King of the universe. For instance, when we make a blessing or learn Torah, or any other Mitzvah, HaShem carefully observes and takes note of our deed. Even more, HaShem blesses us with countless blessings in this world as well as the eternal World to Come, as the verse says, "In every place where I allow My Name to be mentioned, I will come there and bless you" Therefore every Mitzvah is an opportunity to experience powerful joy and exhilaration
Moral: HaShem, the King of the universe, comes close to us and grants us an audience in His holy presence with each Mitzvah that we perform. He records the Mitzvah for posterity, blesses us with countless blessings, and grants us goodly reward in the eternal Gan Eden. The more we are aware of the amazing opportunity that HaShem extends to us in each Mitzvah that we do, the more joy and excitement will fill our hearts in all of our Mitzvot. Application: Before you do a Mitzvah contemplate on the joy that you experience if you were granted an audience with the king. Consider the honor and awe of being in his presence, and the great happiness of the king granting your request. Now, reflect on the truth that whenever you do a Mitzvah you are in the Presence of HaShem! As you do the Mitzvah, HaShem comes close to you and records your deed forever. He blesses you with wonderful blessings in this world, and unfathomably great pleasure in the World to Come. Experience the great, incomparable joy and happiness of each Mitzvah that you do! (Based on Chidushie Chofetz Chaim on the Torah)
The Salant Foundation is currently looking for a Shul or community to partner with us in sharing the merit of the unique and important Salant Kollel. There are practical and easy ways (such as adoptakollel.org) to create a special mutual relationship between the Kollel and a Shul or community. If you think your shul or community or even workplace might want to participate in supporting the Salant Kollel, please contact Rabbi Zvi Miller at salantorg@gmail.com, and we'll discuss how to go about implementing your idea. Thank you. | 
