At the beginning of Parshat Naso, the sons of Levi and their future generations are given tasks that they must do for the Mishkan. After giving the task and counting the number of Levites in each group, the verse tells us that each one of them had a task and a burden that was relayed to them by Moshe from God.
Why does the verse add in the word משא, which means burden? Why did the term task or job not suffice? I believe that the reason this task is called a burden in addition to a job is because when we do something difficult for us, it makes the mitzvah greater in value. Some mitzvot come easily to us and others, depending on who you are, may seem like a burden. For example, when a billionaire donates $1,000 they don’t feel it, but when a poor person struggling who saved up every day and didn’t eat three meals a day donates $1,000 to help someone in need out, that mitzvah is so much greater. Those opportunities that seem the most burdensome but you do them anyway, demonstrate your true faith and trust in God. You see God’s goodness in the world and that if He puts in your path a challenging opportunity for you to do a good deed, there’s a reason. The next time that you feel that a mitzvah is a burden, remember that it’s okay that you feel that way. The Torah itself expresses the burden-like feeling, but let us remember that the Levites did their job anyway because they knew God was with them, and He is with us too.
By Shira Sedek
