Is the Goal Just to be Yotzi a Mitzvah?
Regarding the meaning of the words וּלְחֹשְׁבֵי שְׁמוֹ (and for those who thought about His name) from Malachi 3:16, Rav Ashi taught (Berachot 6a): חָשַׁב אָדָם לַעֲשׂוֹת מִצְוָה וְנֶאֱנַס וְלֹא עֲשָׂאָהּ מַעֲלֶה עָלָיו הַכָּתוּב כְּאִילּוּ עֲשָׂאָהּ (If a person thought to do a mitzvah but was prevented against his will, and he didn’t do it, the pasuk considers it for him as if he had done it). Now, even though Chazal taught this, a person must not try to find excuses to make himself patur from doing mitzvot.
It is written in Likutei Eitzot (Miniot 3): כִּי כָּל זֶה נֶאֱמַר רַק לְמִי שֶׁרוֹצֶה לָצֵאת בָּזֶה אֲזַי יוֹצֵא בָּזֶה כִּי מַה לוֹ לַעֲשׂוֹת כִּי הֲלֹא יֵשׁ לוֹ אֹנֶס. אֲבָל מִי שֶׁאֵינוֹ רוֹצֶה לָצֵאת רַק שֶׁהוּא רוֹצֶה הַמִּצְוָה אוֹ הַדָּבָר שֶׁבִּקְדֻשָּׁה בְּעַצְמוֹ אִם כֵּן מַה מּוֹעִיל לוֹ מַה שֶּׁמְּקִלִּין לוֹ שֶׁנֶּחֱשָׁב כְּאִלּוּ עֲשָׂאָהּ כִּי אֵינוֹ מְקָרֵר דַּעְתּוֹ כְּלָל עִם הַכְּאִלּוּ כִּי הוּא חָפֵץ וְתָאֵב וּמִתְגַּעְגֵּעַ מְאֹד לַעֲשׂוֹת הַמִּצְוָה בְּעַצְמָהּ וְלֹא לָצֵאת עִם הַכְּאִלּוּ (For this was only said to someone who [just] wants to be yotzi, for then he can be yotzi. After all, what could he do? Wasn’t he unavoidably prevented? But someone who doesn’t [just] want to be yotzi, but rather wants the mitzvah or the thing of kedushah itself, how does it help him that they’re lenient with him so it’s considered “as if” he had done it? This “as if” is not going to cool off his da’at at all because he really wants and desires and yearns to do the mitzvah itself and not just to be yotzi through the notion of “as if”).
The true purpose of a Jew is to actually do the mitzvah not just to be satisfied with a legal technicality “as if” he had done it. Therefore, if we really want to do a particular mitzvah or thing of kedushah, we won’t be satisfied with this “as if” notion. Rather, we will be working at increasing our desire so that the obstacles that seem to be preventing us from achieving our goal will simply disappear. Remember, the whole purpose of obstacles is to help us increase our desire to be worthy of the goals that we strive to achieve (Likutei Moharan 66:4): כִּי הֵם לֹא בָּאוּ רַק בִּשְׁבִיל הַחֵשֶׁק וּכְשֶׁיֵּשׁ לוֹ הַחֵשֶׁק הָרָאוּי לְאוֹתוֹ הַמְּנִיעָה כְּפִי גֹּדֶל מַעֲלַת הַנֶּחֱשָׁק אֲזַי מִמֵּילָא נִתְבַּטֵּל הָאֹנֶס וְהַמְּנִיעָה כַּנַּ”ל (For [obstacles] only come for the sake of desire, and when a person has the desire commensurate with a particular obstacle, according to the lofty greatness of the desired thing, then automatically the unavoidable prevention or obstacle is nullified). Therefore, our goal should be actually do the mitzvah, not just to be yotzi.