25 Sep BUYING MITZVOT

The correct way to
prepare for Yom
Kippur is to do
Teshuva, perform
more Mitzvot, and
get closer to Hashem.
However, in a
generation where one can buy and sell
almost anything, one might wonder if it is
possible to buy Mitzvot that others have
fulfilled for a proper payment. Is such a
practice permitted, and if so, would such a
sale be valid?
This idea is intriguing and original. Let us
examine what the Torah says about it. Rabbi
Hai Gaon (quoted in the Maharam Alshakar,
קא סימן (addressed this very question. Rabbi
Hai Gaon was asked whether a person who
fasts every Monday and Thursday may sell
the merit of his Mitzvah to another. Rabbi
Hai Gaon replied that when one sells a
Mitzvah to another, the recipient does not
gain, but the giver loses his reward (because
it is considered as if he renounced it and
despised it). It is impossible to sell the merit
of any Mitzvah to another. He proves this
from a Pasuk (Yechezkel 18:20): “The
righteousness of the righteous shall be upon

him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall
be upon him.” From here we see that just as
no person is held accountable for the actions
of another, so too may no one receive the
merit of another.
It is also logical that one cannot acquire the
merit of another, as merit is not like an
object that a person carries and can sell at
will. Moreover, if one truly understood the
precious rewards for good deeds, one would
not forsake them for any amount of money.
Thus, such a sale is considered an invalid
sale agreed upon under mistaken
assumptions.
The Natziv, Rav Naftali Zvi Yehudah Berlin
this discussed also ,)משיב דבר ח״ג סי‘ יד)
issue when asked about a great rabbi who
sold half of his merits to another. After the
sale, the buyer was informed via a dream
that the sale was invalid and that his status
remained unchanged. The buyer requested
his money back, as it was clear the sale did
not go through, but the seller insisted on
keeping the money. They brought the case
before the Natziv to determine if the sale
was valid.
The Natziv first rebuked the seller at length

for attempting to give away his
Mitzvot for money, comparing it
to Esav selling his firstborn
right—בכורה—for money. The
Pasuk considers this sale a
disgrace to the בכורה. In our case,
where the seller gave up his
rights to the Mitzvah, it is
comparable to someone who
was honored by the king with a
badge of honor and then turns
around and sells it to another.
This act is a total disgrace to the king and
thus deserves punishment.
Regarding the Halachic aspects of the
question, the Natziv replied that the sale is
invalid for several reasons. First, the reward
for Mitzvot is given by the King of the
world, and the Creator desires to honor
those who fulfilled His Mitzvot, not those
who did not perform the Mitzvah, even if
they pay for it. Furthermore, the reward has
yet to come into the world and is only
granted in the world to come, which brings
us to the Halachic concept of not being able
to acquire things that have yet to come into
the world. Another concept is that one may
not acquire things that are not tangible, as is
the case here, where the reward is not
.(ב״ב קמז, א) spiritual but tangible
was) דרך שיחה עמוד רו) Kanievsky Rabbi

challenged on this concept with a well-
known story of a severely ill woman who

came before the Chafetz Chaim for help.
The Chafetz Chaim asked a rabbi who was
with him to grant the woman the merit of
his Shabbat observance, and indeed, after
doing so, the woman was healed. Rabbi
Kanievsky explained that the rabbi did not
actually give her the merit of the Mitzvah;
rather, the Chafetz Chaim told the rabbi
that in the merit of his Shabbat observance,
his prayer for her should be answered.
Another story involves the Vilna Gaon,
who one year could not find any Hadasim
for Sukkot. After much searching and
inquiry, one of his students found some
Hadasim in the garden of a gentile woman.
When the woman heard that the Hadasim
were intended for the Vilna Gaon, she
agreed to sell them on the condition that
the reward for the Mitzvah would be
credited to her. When her request was
brought before the Gr”a, he immediately
agreed, saying that he did not desire the
reward of the Mitzvah, but rather he desired
to fulfill Hashem’s commandments. Rabbi
Kanievsky dismissed this story, saying he
did not believe it was true, as a gentile
woman would not have such a desire for
Mitzvot.
Imagine a student who studies diligently

and masters a complex skill, like playing a
musical instrument or learning a difficult
language. The knowledge and skill are now
part of the student—they have grown,
refined their mind, and gained a unique
ability. Could the student “sell” that mastery
to someone else so that the other person
instantly gains the same level of
understanding and ability? Of course not—
the effort, focus, and personal growth
invested cannot be transferred. The buyer
might pay money, but the skill and internal
development remain with the original
student.
Similarly, performing a Mitzvah shapes the
soul, strengthens character, and deepens
one’s connection to Hashem. That inner
transformation cannot be handed over or
sold to another, no matter the payment. The
reward of a Mitzvah is personal,
experiential, and inseparable from the
individual who performed it.
Moreover, the spiritual growth and
refinement that results from performing a
Mitzvah is unique to each individual. Every
Mitzvah has a personal dimension—how
one intends it, the effort invested, and the
level of mindfulness—these factors all
influence the spiritual impact. Even if one
could theoretically transfer the “credit” of
the action, the internal transformation
cannot be moved, since it is inherently
bound to the soul and consciousness of the
person performing it.
This insight reinforces the Torah’s principle
that every person is responsible for their
own actions and their own spiritual
progress. The merit one earns is part of a
personal journey, intimately tied to character
development and connection with Hashem.
Therefore, no system of buying or selling
Mitzvot can replace actual fulfillment,
intention, and devotion.
In conclusion, while one may perform a
Mitzvah and wish that others benefit from
it, any “sale” of Mitzvot is fundamentally
invalid. True merit is experiential, spiritual,
and transformative—it resides within the
doer, shaping their soul and their relationship
with Hashem, and cannot be transferred to
another for monetary gain or otherwise.