“And if the road will be too long for you, so that you cannot carry it, because the place that Hashem, Your G-d will choose to place His name there, is far from you, for Hashem, your G-d will have blessed you.” (Devarim 14:24)

The Torah tells us that one is permitted to exchange his Maaser Sheini for cash, bring the cash up to Jerusalem, purchase food with the cash, and finally eat the food in Jerusalem. However, it is also clear that exchanging the food to money and back is not the preferred choice, and it would be better to bring the actual food to Jerusalem. I believe this needs explanation.

Aside from that, the Torah seems to repeat itself. The Torah tells us that road is too long, and therefore there is a need to transfer it into cash, and then the Torah mentions that the place is far from you. Obviously if the destination is far away the trip will be a long one.

In order to answer these questions, we must first explore why does the Torah want us to eat the original foods in Jerusalem? The Gemora in Bava Metzia (38a) tells us that a person would rather have one measure of his own food rather than 9 measures of his friend’s (i.e. purchased food). It seems that the understanding of that is that because of the effort put into growing the produce, he feels a connection to it. In addition, when he eats it, he is more likely to be excited and invigorated than when eating “store-bought” food.  Therefore, the Torah wants the person to become spiritually nourished with his own produce in the spiritual atmosphere of Jerusalem. Only if that is not possible, may one then convert it into cash for the journey.

Imagine the following scenario. A couple from Beit Shemesh are going out to dinner at their friend’s home in Jerusalem. The Beit Shemesh wife baked a cake for dessert. Just as they turn onto highway 3855, the lady remembers, “I forgot the cake! Let’s go back home and pick it up!”. The husband responds, “We can always pick up a cake in Jerusalem”. The wife says, “I made that cake specifically for our hosts, and that is what I would like to bring.” The husband acquiesces and they return to get the cake.

But what if they didn’t remember until they reached the entrance to Jerusalem? Even she would now realize that they will have to go to a bakery and buy a cake. But what would happen if she remembered at the Eshtaol junction? Shoeva? Or even Telz-Stone? It would depend upon how much the wife feels that her special cake will enhance the dinner, compared to how much of effort it will be to travel back to get it.

When bringing Maaser Sheini up to Jerusalem, when do we say that the distance is too great? The more we appreciate the item, the less we see the distance as a sacrifice. Those who understood the value of eating one’s own food in Jerusalem in order to enrich their spirituality, will say, “It is worth the trouble!” Others, who don’t have this appreciation, will say “It is too far away” and will insist on converting their produce to cash first. Therefore, the verse above is not redundant. The length of the trip and how one feels about that length depends on each person’s values. We can learn this lesson from the story of Rav Idi, who traveled 3 months to learn in the Beis Medrash of Rav for one day, then turned around and traveled home for another 3 months. He was greatly praised for showing the value of even one day of learning Torah (Chagiga 5b).

This idea, of taking advantage of our opportunities in ruchnios, can be referred to as the concept in business of “Price for Value”. For example, there are people who live in Jerusalem who have the luxury of easily being able to go to the Kosel. Yet they refrain from doing so because they are afraid that without the anticipation and effort, their prayers there won’t be quite as meaningful. The message that we must take from this parsha is to ensure that instead of complaining, “The trip is too long”, we should sit back and enjoy the ride, thus creating a greater inner desire to serve Hashem.