The morning that Abraham was to embark to Mt. Moriah to sacrifice his son, the Torah states, "And Abraham woke up early in the morning and he saddled his donkey." (Genesis 22:3).

Abraham thought that he was about to kill his son, the progenitor of the Jewish nation. Instead of reluctantly getting ready for this difficult mission, Abraham "woke up early," eager to fulfill the will of Hashem. In addition, "he saddled his donkey." Abraham had many servants who would normally involve themselves with preparations for a trip. However, Abraham was so anxious to fulfill Hashem's command, he himself went and saddled his own donkey.

There are always two ways to fulfill a mitzvah. We can do them with mediocrity and a blase attitude, or we can go beyond the letter o f the law and enthusiastically perform the mitzvah. Abraham wanted to fulfill Hashem's command in the best form possible. Like those that daven in the Neitz Minyan (daven Shacharit from Day break). They daven (amidah) at the exact second of sunrise, we have the opportunity to perform mitzvot either with mediocrity or with zeal. Daily, we are faced with mitzvot which we can perform better. Are we honoring our parents to the fullest extent? Are we giving charity with full enthusiasm? Can we improve on our commitment and intentions during prayer? Not too long ago, we completed the High Holidays with a clean slate, listing a whole host of new mitzvot that we would try to keep this year. Perhaps, we should first strive to better perform our current arsenal of mitzvot before moving on to new ones.

It is with that kind of zeal and enthusiasm that we will be able to perform G-d's commandments in their most ideal form. Good Shabbos