Parashas Eikev - *FULL* Credit for half the job!

This week's Dvar Torah has been sponsored for:
Refua Shelema: Leah Ayala Bas Yehudis
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Have you ever started to do a mitzvah, but quit (purposely) in the middle before completion? For example: Telling someone you will learn for their deceased family member, learning the first two perakim and then putting it aside, uncompleted? Or only paying your employees half the money you owe them (on time) and paying the rest later?

Some people think to themselves, "Well, at least I got some merit for doing it (half the job, half the merit, right?)" However, it doesn't seem like that in this week's parasha. We see a lesson which is important for us to incorporate into our daily lives.

The posuk says, "The entire mitzvah that I am commanding you today, you are to guard so as to fulfill; in order that you live and multiply and arrive to inherit the land that Hashem swore to your forefathers." Rashi says that if you begin to fulfill a mitzvah, make sure to complete it, because a mitzvah is only credited to the one who completes it.

An example Rashi brought in was that Moshe said he would take the bones of Yosef to bury in Eretz Yisroel. Moshe, however, died before entering Eretz Yisroel, where Bnei Yisroel completed the burial of Yosef's bones. The mitzvah was credited to Bnei Yisroel, not Moshe (even though, he too was involved).

The Gur Aryeh says, "Starting to do a mitzvah when someone else finishes it for you isn't considered your mitzvah. It's no different than building a house and stopping in the middle." It's not yet called a house until it's complete! If you didn't finish building the roof of that house, you didn't build the house. You can't say you did.

Don't take this the wrong way. I am sure there is schar (merit) one gets for helping out in doing a mitzvah. We just don't know how big or small of a schar Hashem chooses to give us. It seems that Rashi is just pointing out that the credit goes to the completer.

Have no fear because sometimes a person starts to do a mitzvah, but against his will isn't able to complete it. If that is that the case, then one still gets tremendous schar for it. I apologize but I don't remember the source (I think it's either Masechta Brachos, or Pirkei Avos) but I did confirm with the Rav of my neighborhood. He said a person gets a lot of schar at the very least, if not all of it - as if he actually did that mitzvah.

May we all complete the mitzvos we start; whether starting a new masechta or agreeing to pay a debt on time.

Have a wonderful Shabbos,
Nissim