Matot 74 -The Secret of Effective Motivation

The Parasha of Mattot deals with the request of tribes Gad and Reu'vein not to cross the Jordan and inherit a portion in the land of Israel  – the land of milk and honey but on the east bank of the Jordan .   R' Issac Sher explains that they saw their vast herds of cattle as a gift from God and a sign that  cattle breeding was the  occupation that God intended for them. This how they would serve the nation and make a contribution to the economy. They now saw the East bank, suited to cattle breeding , as rightfully theirs. In fact, there is no argument on this point. Moses only criticizes them for their immoral choice not to cross over the Jordan and join their ' brothers ' in the mitzvah of conquering the Land of Israel. . The tribes of Gad and Re'uvein explained that they would build pens for their sheep and cattle, and cities for their children and then arm themselves in order to take the front positions in the battle before the children of Israel. Moses corrects them  – children are one's first priority- not money , build cities for the children and then pens for the sheep etc . .If the motives of Gad and Re'uvein to inherit the East bank were internal and part of their service of God, what went wrong that the tribes were unsuccessful and  the first to be exiled?

The answer can be found in a  Research Project  of American military cadets from the West Point military academy. Being in the military has both internal –intrinsic (lishma) and instrumental – extrinsic- (lo lishma) consequences. Examples of internal consequences – becoming a leader and making a contribution, or  enjoying the military way of life are inherently related to the job etc whereas status, making money and  good job  conditions are instrumental- extrinsic consequences. The question asked – how did the motives of the cadets impact on their careers in the army. Cadets who were internally motivated did much better than those cadets who joined the military because instrumental –extrinsic motives like status and job conditions. But what about mixes of motives, surely 2 motives - high internal and instrumental are better than one= high internal . 

Remarkably, cadets with strong internal and strong instrumental motives for attending West Point performed worse on every measure than did those with strong internal motives but weak instrumental ones. They were less likely to graduate, less outstanding as military officers and less committed to staying in the military.

Strong instrumental and materialistic motives undermine intrinsic Mastery orientated learning and shifts the learners' attention and goals from competence development to   competence demonstration or performance goals. Their focus is on ' achievement' rather than on the process. They 'have' knowledge so that they can pass an exam, get good grades or a degree …..But the content does not become part of their own individual system of thought, enriching it and widening it…This leads to superficial learning, lower Mastery goals and higher performance avoidance goals when the tasks are challenging so as not to appear unsuccessful.

There is a story of a student who asked his Zen Master, how long will it take for him to find Zen. The Master replied – at least 10 years. I f I really apply myself and work very hard, how long will it take me? The Master replied 15 years. And if I tripled my efforts, how long will it take me? The Master replied 20 years. The disappointed student then said to the Master, I don't understand – when I work even harder to achieve my goal it takes longer! The Master answered – when you have one eye on the goal, you only have one eye left on the path.

The Talmud talks negatively about those who learn with their left hands –their motives are instrumental ,they focus on achievement , checking to see how many pages are left to finish the masechta=tractate , rather than   learning with the right hand and having internal motives. Here the focus is on the process, being on the page and understanding it deeply.

When businessmen are driven by internal motives – enjoying what they do and having a mission of serving the public, they are financially successful. However the tribes of Gad and Re'uvein, despite these internal motives failed to see how setting up business on the East bank would not be serving the nation but would    undermine the morale and confidence of Israel. They were also making a value statement of choosing to live far from the spiritual centers and in a less holy location. Financial gain made their decision hurried and impulsive and blinded them in not be able to see that sometimes financial opportunities may God's way of testing them, rather than a validation of their business policies and vision. The problem with their decision to ask to settle on the East Bank was the timing of their request.

As parents, teachers and employers we should help  people focus on internal motives rather than making financial or other instrumental  consequences their motives. This guarantees not only intrinsic reward but also better quality of work and learning and success in its widest meaning.

Vayakhel 74 - Perfecting the self or the object - Achievement or Process

The actual physical donations were important but more important was the intention and motivation behind the giving. God was looking for intrinsic motivation, the inspired and motivated heart , and people  being moved by their   spirit. It was a national outpouring of emotion and fervor  in order to become closer to God and perfect themselves as individuals .

The princes were motivated in a different way. They looked at the building of the tabernacle- mishkan as a project. In a noble gesture, they said they were willing to 'underwrite and make good  any  materials that would be lacking. They asked – what does the building need, how can we build the ' perfect ' tabernacle. The focus of the princes was on ' perfecting the object , on ' achievement' and driven by the extrinsic motivation – the need to build a tabernacle-mishkan. The asked - what does the miskan need and not what do I need to do ?

The people were inspired and intrinsically motivated by a spirit of generosity , in order to make a contribution to the mishkan. This was  as an expression of  fervor and a deep connection with God , and a process of perfecting the self.  Moses  had to put a stop to the ' process' as the people had brought more than enough.

The word נשאם- = princes is written without the ' yuds ' . It should  be . נשיאים The defective spelling, leaving out 2 letters , the 2 yuds which symbolize spirituality, is an implied rebuke of the leaders  for not bringing their gifts until everything else had been contributed. The national response was so generous that there was almost nothing left for the leaders to give except the precious stones needed for the Ephod and Breastplate. Because they were ' lazy' in not coming immediately , the Torah spells their title defectively.

The problem with our approach to behavior and academics of our kids  is that we use rewards or consequences, grades , honor rolls and other measures of ' achievement to drive the motivation of kids. There is no reason to engage in learning because it is interesting and relevant to my life and has inherent value but they do so only for the grade or so I can get a good job or please my parents. The only reason that I behave in certain ways is what will be done to me if I don't and this is a good way to impress my teachers and parents. It has nothing to do with whom I am and that  the way I act is an expression of who I am and my values and beliefs. 

Instead we should help kids focus on the process – enjoying learning and being the people we want to be. In order to do this , we should according to Jerome Bruner help kids experience success and failure not as reward and punishment but as information. This will help kids focus on what they are doing and not how they are doing.

 There are many kids who are not ' lazy' , and they seem  to work hard and be internally motivated. But if we look deeper , it is as if they are being ' compelled' from the inside to work hard and perform because of the expectations of their parents and competition. We can help kids become more intrinsically motivated, focused on the process, perfecting the self rather than on achievement – perfecting the object by supporting their autonomy – let them generate choices and have a say in the curriculum,  support competence and relatedness -  building community of learners who collaborate and cooperate with each other.