I was asked the other day which mitzvah I found the most difficult to do. Truth is, out of the 613 mitzvot that we have from the Torah, there are a lot that we cannot do these days due to not having the Bet haMikdash, the Temple, in Jerusalem. But there are still a fair amount for us to do. (ETA: We have a lot of mitzvot that came about after the Torah that we do too).
I have trouble remembering to say Brachot. KoD never ever drinks or eats without saying the blessing first and / or after. NEVER. It’s so much a part of him. Me? Sometimes I am halfway thru eating something before I remember. However I always remind the kids. I am working on it. I have a great role model.
I hate covering my hair sometimes. Especially when it’s freshly washed and looks oh-so-good. On the bad hair days – it’s the easiest thing in the world. (These days the silver highlights that haven’t been coloured recently make it even easier to cover). I know some would argue on the importance of this mitzvah, but it is important to me.
Davening. I need to pray more. The men, they daven three times a day, and us women are not under the same obligation. But we still should daven. It’s something that I need to make time for. I am not the type to open up a Sefer Tehillim (Book of Psalms) when I have an idle moment, but that’s no excuse not to talk to G-d. I do have a running one way dialogue with Him – but formalized prayer needs to be added into that.
Thankfully I have never been tempted to eat trayfe or break Shabbat – I enjoy kosher food (being FFB I have never eaten non-kosher) and I LOVE Shabbat with every fibre of my being. I know some people find observing a whole Shabbat to be difficult. Maybe it’s easier for me because I have done it all my life?
Can you narrow it down to just one mitzvah that you find tough? How do you enable yourself to do this mitzvah when it IS so hard for you to perform?
In the Pink 
You sure you never ate non-kosher? They say the average person swallows six spiders a year in their sleep!
INTENTIONALLY. (running away to vomit now….)
These are actually all of the things that are on my Jewish to-do list too. I always forget brachot, and some days I also hate covering.
It’s funny how it’s the little things, having grown up not frum, I have almost no problem keeping Shabbat or Kosher. Even travelling through Europe, I’m not tempted by the treyf. And except one Shabbat where Backstreet Boys and New Kids on the Block were playing a one-night only show in DC, I’ve never viewed it with anything other than giddy anticipation.
oiy, where should I start? shmiras haloshon, kibbud av v’em, inc. older sibs, concentrating on what I am thanking g-d for, and being happy with what I have,we might fall on the way , but as long as we are trying to better ourselves.
Personally, I find the laws of Taharas Hamishpacha/family purity & going to the Mikvah to be very difficult & inconvenient & those laws are new even for people who were always religious their whole lives b/c they don’t become part of one’s repertoire until close to the time that one gets married. I will add though, that even though Taharas Hamishpacha/Mikvah rules can be difficult & inconvenient, I have always observed them & plan to continue to do so.
I’m totally with you. Everything around structured praying on a daily basis is my struggle. Hair covering can be annoying b/c of the whole spoonie thing, and sometimes I struggle with tzniut, esp in the heat. But the prayers around food and general daily davening are by far my most difficult mitzvot.
On the flip side, I also know my “best” mitzvot. 😉
i CAN narrow it down to just one for me….going to a house of mourning.
This is definitely a good thought-provoking post. I’ve learned to fit dovening and daily T’hilim (being part of a group commitment) in my routine, but the simple bracha after food is sometimes forgotten. And I’m sure we all break laws of Lashon haraa unintentionally.
My favorites are Shabbat and hair-covering.
Great post! Appreciatin’ your honesty!
I think the mitzvah I connect least to is checking for bugs. I still do it, because I don’t want to eat the buggies, I want people to eat at my house, I want to follow halacha, but I grumble the *entire* time. I love fresh vegetables, and I just can’t really fathom why it should be harder to eat healthier. But I check those veggies, and fresh herbs and whatever.requires it.