A Project Genesis website

JewishAnswers.org

Ask the Rabbi: answers from Project Genesis rabbis

Jewish Law and Relativity

Question

Does fulfilling the same mitzvah vary depending on the person’s talents?

Answer

Everyone is judged according to his circumstances. It is easier for some to perform certain commandments than it is for others. E.g., someone raised in an observant home will find it easier to abstain from eating pork than someone who grew up eating it and now wants to give it up. By the same token, the righteous who sin are punished more severely than those who were not exposed to a religious lifestyle in their youth.