Yitro: The Super-Motivated

"And you shall be to Me a kingdom of Cohanim (priests)…" (Exodus 19:6).
 
What does Hashem intend when He tells us to be a nation of Cohanim, or priests? How can we all be Cohanim when the vast majority of us are not sons and daughters of Cohanim as Jewish Law requires?
 
Hashem doesn't mean that He wants us all to be members of the priestly tribe; but, He does want us to adopt and internalize a certain trait that characterizes the Cohanim, as follows:
 
Nachmanides (Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman, aka Ramban) writes in the introduction to his commentary on the Book of Deuteronomy, the fifth and final book of the Pentateuch, that although Deuteronomy reiterates all the laws that have already been stated in the previous four books of the Pentateuch, it mentions nothing about the ritual sacrifices and the tasks of the Cohanim, the priests in the Holy Temple. Why? Nachmanides explains that the Cohanim are swift and agile. They do what they're told right away, in the best possible manner at that. There is no need to repeat laws and commandments to them. But, as opposed to the Cohanim, the rest of the Jewish nation is sometimes sluggish and forgetful. They must be told more than once to do something, sometimes twice and even three times. Not only that, but the rest of the nation requires warnings and stern chastising to get them moving.
 
Nachmanides lauds the agility of the Cohanim in their service of Hashem. This, therefore, is the trait that Hashem wants all of us to adopt and internalize – agility. This is what it means to be a “kingdom of Cohanim” – a nation where everyone serves Hashem with agility.
 
What makes a person agile? What gives a person speed and spry? The stock answer would be, “Go work out in a gym” – do a thousand goblet squats and renegade lunges a day, then do wind sprints and plyometrics for an hour. That, of course, is neither an accurate nor a practical piece of advice. Many people set out to accomplish things in the gym: one woman wants to lose fifty pounds, another woman wants to fit into a size four, one man wants six-pack abs and another man dreams of Hulk Hogan biceps. Ninety-nine percent of them never succeed. Why? One can never be truly agile – mentally, physically and spiritually – unless he or she is super-motivated. What makes a person super-motivated? The answer is desire, genuine love, when you want something more than anything in the world.
 
Do you remember how you dressed for the date before you got engaged, when your rosiest dream was to marry the individual you were so infatuated by? No one had to get you out of bed in the morning. No one had to tell you to bathe, groom and look your best. You wanted that person so bad…
 
Talk to a champion athlete. He doesn't care about who's in power in China or about what a politician says on Facebook. He doesn't care about movies, bars and shopping malls. His entire focus is preparing for the upcoming championship game or tournament. He's the first one in the gym or on the practice field in the morning and he's the last one to leave in the evening. He does everything his coach and trainer tell him to do on the spot. He never breaks his training regimen. He looks at Cokes, pizza and French-fries as if they're the poison of a rattlesnake. He does what's best for top mental and physical health regardless of the difficulties, which are often tremendous. So, even if he loves cake and ice-cream, he won't go near them because they'll dull his championship-sharpness. He tells himself, “It's either first of forgotten”; losing the game or coming in second is not an option…
 
What makes the champion so agile? He is super-motivated – he does his job with all his heart.
 
Bechol levevchem– “with all your hearts”, the Shema prayer commands us. Hashem not only wants us to be a nation of priests, He wants us to be a nation of champions, to fulfill the Torah with super-motivation. Where do we get the love of Hashem that brings us to such a level of motivation? When we start thanking Hashem daily for all of our blessings, taking nothing for granted, our hearts soon overflow with love for Hashem. Then, we run to do His will.
 
Thank Hashem daily and start running to Him with love. It's the greatest feeling in the world, and you'll be a winner on all counts. Not only that, but you'll see all your wildest dreams come true – for sure!