If a man from among you brings an offering to Hashem, you shall bring it from a domesticated animal, cattle, or sheep. (Vayikra 1:2)

The commentators point out the animals mentioned as valid for an offering are all easily obtainable. A person does not need to travel to a foreign land to bring a giraffe. Nor does a person need to chase after a deer to try to catch this swift moving animal. We are commanded to bring sheep or cattle, which are easy to get. This reminds us of an important aspect of Judaism – we are never commanded to do something that is impossible to do. If we are given a commandment to follow, then it is within our ability to be able to perform it.

There is a famous story brought down in the Midrash regarding a fisherman meeting Eliahu HaNavi. The fisherman never spent any time learning Torah and Eliahu asked him why he never fulfilled this commandment. The fisherman had a great answer: G-d did not give him the knowledge to be able to learn properly. Eliahu asked a different question. He asked the fisherman about the work he did. The fisherman stated he how he would tie rope together to make a net and how he would tie it to a stick. He explained how he knew where the fish would congregate and the best times to go fishing for them. Eliahu rebuked the fisherman stating for fishing, G-d gave him knowledge, but for Torah, which is even more important to life than fishing (and also a commandment), G-d did not give him the knowledge to learn! The fisherman understood the rebuke and began crying. The fisherman understood that if G-d gave him the ability to perform his job, of course, G-d gave him the ability to be able to learn Torah and perform mitzvos, which are more crucial to living. G-d never gives us a mitzvah to perform that is impossible for us to do.

A great Sage who survived the Holocaust once remarked about two events that happened in his life. One time, someone asked him for help carrying packages. The Sage responded he was weak and could not help the individual. Later in his life, he was in a work camp during the Holocaust and was forced to carry loads which were five times as heavy as the packages he was asked to help carry earlier in his life. This time, he was able to life them. He was not physically stronger – it was that the situation changed. If he did not lift the packages, he would have ended up dead. He was always able to lift them though.

Everything we are commanded to perform, we have the ability to do it. It might not seem easy to us and we might feel like we are lacking, but we have the ability to do it. G-d does not force us to do anything we are unable to.

Good Shabbos!
-yes
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