Playing the Mitzvah Market

I've been thinking a lot lately about investments. Not financial investments (though if anyone knows of any interesting opportunities, I’m open)— spiritual ones. It always seemed to me like a type of magic- putting in a certain amount of money, or effort, and getting back outsized rewards. 

Good investors know an interesting principle: if everyone already recognizes something's value, you've often missed the opportunity. Smart investors look for what is undervalued. Ignored. Overlooked. They buy low.

It seems that mitzvos can sometimes work similarly. The Chofetz Chaim, among other gedolim, used this idea to explain why the mitzvos we do in our generation can be more valuable than in the past, even though individuals may have been on a much higher level. Scarcity changes markets. When something precious becomes rare, its value rises.

Certain mitzvos naturally receive a lot of communal attention- we hear about them often, people reinforce them socially. There is this momentum.

But then there are the quieter mitzvos. The details that people know matter — but somehow have become less emphasized. The places where standards slowly drift. The areas where someone can look around and think, "Maybe this is close enough, because everyone else apparently thinks this is fine”.

And that's exactly where opportunity lives:

If extra care in tznius details has quietly become less valued — jackpot. (My editors will not let me give very specific examples in this area, but if you know me at all you know how badly I want to).

If ordering specific items from starbucks or playa and the like become seemingly fine because I know other people who do without asking individual sha’ailos  — jackpot.

If being careful about lashon hara in subtle situations feels rare (think talking about family members to family members)— jackpot.

If there is a specific chessed that people have a really hard time doing (giving a second or third party a ride somewhere far away, visiting a difficult family member, volunteering to chaperone a school trip- that last one just gave me hives)-jackpot.

Not because other people aren't doing enough, but because when a mitzvah becomes harder to hold onto culturally, when fewer people are reinforcing it around us, the spiritual return on choosing it may become even greater.

Anyone can buy what everyone else is buying.

The deeper question is: where is Hashem offering me an opportunity that the market around me isn't fully noticing?

To be very clear: this is NOT about judging others. It's about noticing where the spiritual market is undervaluing something and recognizing an opportunity for personal growth.

Every generation has its spiritual "market distortions”. Certain mitzvos are buoyed by social reinforcement. Others quietly lose value in the surrounding culture. Mussar sefarim repeatedly teach that resistance itself creates opportunity. The places that are hardest to hold onto may sometimes become the places of greatest growth.

Can we step up our shmiras hamitzvos, davka in a place where other people aren’t? Look around: where do you see a specific mitzvah or Halacha getting a little less love? 

I’m all about those long term returns…

PS- sources! And if any of you have ‘adopted’ an unusual or lonely mitzvah, please do hit reply- I’d love to hear about it!

דברים ז׳:י״ב

וְהָיָ֣ה ׀ עֵ֣קֶב תִּשְׁמְע֗וּן אֵ֤ת הַמִּשְׁפָּטִים֙ הָאֵ֔לֶּה וּשְׁמַרְתֶּ֥ם וַעֲשִׂיתֶ֖ם אֹתָ֑ם וְשָׁמַר֩ יְהֹוָ֨ה אֱלֹהֶ֜יךָ לְךָ֗ אֶֽת־הַבְּרִית֙ וְאֶת־הַחֶ֔סֶד אֲשֶׁ֥ר נִשְׁבַּ֖ע לַאֲבֹתֶֽיךָ׃ 

רש"י

והיה עקב תשמעון. אִם הַמִּצְווֹת קַלּוֹת שֶׁאָדָם דָּשׁ בַּעֲקֵבָיו תשמעון

ספר חסידים רס״א

אהוב לך את המצוה הדומה למת מצוה שאין לה עוסקים כגון שתראה מצוה בזויה או תורה שאין לה עוסקים כגון שתראה שבני עירך לומדים מועד וסדר נשים תלמוד סדר קדשים ואם תראה שאין חוששים ללמוד מועד קטן ופרק מי שמתו אתה תלמד' ותקבל שכר גדול כנגד כולם.