Bechukosai: The Reward G-d Grants to Man

In Toras Kohanim, our Sages comment on the phrase,1 “The earth will give forth its produce and the trees of the field will give forth their fruit,” as follows:

[The earth will not give forth produce] as it does now, but rather as it did in the time of Adam, the first man.

Where are we taught that, in the Ultimate Future, the earth will be sown and yield crops that same day? It is written,2 “He made a memorial for His wonders,” and also the verse states,3 “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants….” This teaches that on the very day [the earth] was sown, crops were produced. “The trees of the field will give forth their fruit.” [The trees will] not [produce fruit] as they do now. Rather, as they did in the time of Adam, the first man … [Then] on the very day, [a tree] was planted, it produced fruit.…4

Where [are we taught that] in the Ultimate Future a tree itself will be edible? The verse states,3 “a fruit tree.” Was the intent [merely to say] that the tree produced fruit? [That would be evident from] the phrase,3 “producing fruit.” Why then does the verse say, “a fruit tree”? To teach that just as the fruit was edible, the tree itself was edible.

Where [are we taught that] in the Ultimate Future even shade trees will produce [edible] fruit? The verse states,1 “The trees of the field will produce their fruit.”

The emphasis on this concept – that in the Ultimate Future, there will be wondrous miracles manifest in the material aspects of the world – is found in many teachings of our Sages.5 For example, Tractate Kesubos states,6 “In the Ultimate Future, Eretz Yisrael will produce pastries and fine wool garments…. In the Ultimate Future, [a stalk of] wheat will rise up like a palm tree and ascend to the top of the mountains…. In the Ultimate Future, [a kernel of] wheat will be [as large] as two kidneys of a large ox.” Many other statements of our Sages highlight similar concepts.

Clarification is necessary: When describing the Ultimate Future, Rambam writes:7

The occupation of the entire world will be solely to know G‑d. The Jews will, therefore, be great sages and know the hidden matters, attaining an understanding of their Creator to [the full extent of] human potential, as it is written,8 “For the world will be filled with the knowledge of G‑d as the waters cover the ocean bed.”

It is self-evident that when the Jews attain such knowledge, they will not attach any importance to these material miracles and wonders that will affect the earth’s produce – for, to borrow Rambam’s wording,9 “All the delights will be as freely available [and thus as insignificant] as dust.”

True, this profusion of plenty will be beneficial. Because when “good things will flow in abundance,”7 it will be possible for the Jewish people “to be free to occupy themselves with Torah and its wisdom, without anyone to oppress or disturb them.”10 Nevertheless, they will be viewed “as dust.” Therefore, it is difficult to understand: Why did our Sages elaborate regarding the material delights that will be manifest in the Ultimate Future to such a great degree, as if they – in and of themselves – constitute a matter of lofty importance?

The commentators on the Torah11 raise a similar issue regarding the reward for the observance of the mitzvos mentioned in Parshas Bechukosai. That Torah reading begins,12 “If you occupy yourselves with My statutes and observe My commandments and fulfill them, I will give your rains in their time…,” and then proceeds to describe at length the reward for observing the mitzvos, enumerating Divine blessings that are, by and large, material in nature.

Now, clearly, the primary dimension of the reward for their observance is the spiritual benefit it leads to. This is its true benefit and value. So why then does the Torah focus on material benefits?

Basing themselves on Rambam’s13 words, the commentators14 answer this question, explaining that:

All of these promises are not the primary reward. All the hardships15 and benefits mentioned in this Torah reading only concern the removal of impediments. [It is as if G‑d] is saying, “If you observe My mitzvos, I will remove all obstacles – [e.g.,] war, sickness, famine, anguish – from you, so that you will be able to serve G‑d without any hindrance.” Nevertheless, the fundamental reward [for the observance of the mitzvos] – the World to Come – is not mentioned here, so that a person will serve his Creator for His sake16 and not for the sake of reward nor out of fear of punishment.17

Nevertheless, there are many commentators who understand the Torah as speaking in a straightforward manner and promising material rewards for the observance of the Torah and its mitzvos.

It is possible to explain that the reason the Torah explicitly promises primarily material benefits as a reward for observance of the mitzvos by first answering a more general question: Why does the Torah describe the reward for the study of the Torah and the observance of the mitzvos at such great length? In particular, the question applies because the ultimate goal of Divine service is to serve G‑d for His sake alone, without any ulterior motive, as our Sages taught,18 “Do not be like servants who serve their master for the sake of receiving a reward. Instead, be like servants who serve their master without the intent of receiving a reward.”

Nevertheless, such service is of a very lofty nature, beyond the natural impulse of most people, as Rambam writes,19 “This is a very elevated level which is not merited by every wise man.” Accordingly, the first stages of a person’s Divine service should be motivated by his own intent, as our Sages taught,20 “A person should always occupy himself with the Torah and [its] mitzvos even when it is not for [G‑d’s] sake.” And, “For this reason, when one teaches children, women, and the common people as a whole, one should teach them to serve out of fear21 and in order to receive a reward, until their knowledge grows and their wisdom increases.”22

Since the Torah speaks in terms applying to the majority of people,23 and the majority of Jews do not study Torah or observe mitzvos without intending to receive a reward, the Torah describes in such detail the reward for such observance.

The same concepts that apply regarding the reward as a whole also apply regarding the nature of the reward. Since most of the Jewish people who are on this level do not generally desire spiritual benefits and rewards, the Torah24 primarily promises material benefits and rewards. These are matters grasped and appreciated by all and the promise of them will encourage everyone to study the Torah and observe its mitzvos.

Similar logic can be used to explain why our Sages emphasize the description of the miracles and wonders that will be manifest in material existence in the Ultimate Future.25 Even in the Ultimate Future, not everyone will immediately reach the lofty level necessary to appreciate a spiritual reward. Certainly, they will not immediately be motivated to serve G‑d for His sake, serving Him solely out of love for Him, with no thought of self at all. Instead, even in that era, man will ascend level after level in spiritual motivation; he will not be born with consummate perfection in the knowledge and comprehension of G‑dliness and the service motivated solely by love. Therefore, miracles and wonders in material matters will, even then, be necessary to encourage people to observe the Torah and its mitzvos.

Nevertheless, this explanation still appears slightly forced.26 After all, Parshas Bechukosai – and, similarly, all the passages in the Torah that describe the reward for the observance of the mitzvos – were addressed to every Jew, including even those on lofty levels of Divine service. According to the above explanation, it appears that these passages are not relevant to those who have an appreciation of what spiritual reward means and, obviously, not to those whose Divine service is not carried out for the sake of receiving a reward. These promises relate just to those who appreciate merely material benefits and were conveyed because only this would motivate such people to observe the Torah and its mitzvos.

True, the Torah generally speaks in terms that apply to the majority of people. Nevertheless, it is logical that these passages should be explained in a manner that is relevant to everyone. Furthermore, they certainly should be able to be interpreted in a manner that contains a message for the minority that functions on loftier levels of knowledge.

Moreover, when explaining the verse, “If you occupy yourselves with My statutes and observe My commandments and fulfill them,” our Sages27 and Rashi understand it as a charge to “labor in Torah [study].” Furthermore, they interpret it as referring to laboring in Torah study with the intent of observing and carrying out the Torah’s teachings. With that understanding, it appears that, primarily, the verse is referring to studying the Torah and observing its mitzvos in a manner that exceeds the norm, i.e., a loftier level of studying the Torah that involves labor, the person extending himself beyond what he would ordinarily do. Similarly, such a person’s observance of the mitzvos involves exerting himself, investing additional energy and attention, beyond the norm.

In particular, the above accords with the explanations in Chassidus28 that, via allusion, the word Bechukosai can be interpreted as referring to chakikah, “engraving,” i.e., not only does one’s study of the Torah and observance of its mitzvos involve labor and exertion, his Torah study and observance of its mitzvos are engraved within his heart and his entire being.

As explained in the sources mentioned above, engraved letters possess an advantage over written letters. Not only are engraved letters more thoroughly united with the stone onto which they are engraved than are written letters with the parchment upon which they are written, but unlike the written letters, engraved letters are not distinct entities, separate from the stone. Instead, they are part of the stone, i.e., there is nothing but the stone into which they are engraved.

In the analog, this refers to studying Torah in a unique manner. Not only can the person and the Torah he studies be likened to two entities bonded with each other, but even more so, it is as if he no longer exists; his entire being is the Torah that he studies. It is self-understood that when a person studies Torah in such a manner, he fulfills the mitzvos in the same way. The mitzvos he fulfills permeate his entire being.

From the above, it is evident that the above-cited passage is referring to a person who studies the Torah and observes its mitzvos in a lofty manner. If so, clearly, he will not regard anything other than the Torah and its mitzvos as important. Certainly, he will not attach weight to promises of material rewards and benefits. Why then is a person on such a level of Divine service told that – because he will “occupy [himself] with My statutes and observe My commandments and fulfill them” – he will receive, as a reward, “rains in their season” and other material benefits? Is this what he will appreciate and deem meaningful?

To offer a possible explanation: The Torah is described29 as “your life and the length of your days.” The meaning is not merely that the Torah brings life to a person in this world and the next, but that the Torah is the very life of every individual Jew. It is not an additional element added to a Jew’s being, nor merely one of the different aspects of his life. Instead, it is who he is; it is his actual life.30

To clarify: A person’s body is composed of diverse elements:31 in general terms, his head, his trunk, and his legs. In his head are lodged his loftier powers – his potential for thought, and his senses of sight and hearing and the like. His body serves as a medium and resting place for his emotions and the like, while his legs possess merely the power of movement, the lowest of man’s potentials, one in which his uniqueness as a human is not evident.

All of this, however, relates only to the specific potentials a person possesses, not the essential vitality of his soul. His essence transcends all these specific powers and is present equally in every dimension of his body, from his head to his feet.32

The rationale is that the vitality of the soul represents who the person is, his “I.” Therefore, it is present equally in every element of the body.

This is illustrated by a story from the Talmud:33 When Vespasian received news that he was appointed Emperor of Rome, even his heels swelled with joy, as indicated by the verse,34 “Good tidings will cause bones to expand.” This was a natural reaction – since pleasure relates to the essence of the soul, it is found within and affects every element of a person’s being, even his heels.

What demonstrates that a particular matter is rooted in the vitality that represents a person’s essence? When it is expressed not only in his higher powers such as thought or speech, but even in his lower powers, and even in his heels.

To cite a situation that illustrates this concept: When a person contemplates a matter that leads to joy, the proof that the joy permeates his entire being and that he is truly happy is when the joy is expressed not only in his thought and speech, but also in his actions; even his feet dance with joy. The same is true regarding other emotions – love, fear, or, by contrast, anguish and the like.

The above also relates to the concept that the Torah is “our life,” representing who a person is, i.e., his fundamental vitality and identity. This is revealed and expressed when the Torah affects and influences not only the person’s spiritual dimensions, the lofty aspects of his soul, but also his body and all the material aspects related to him.

Accordingly, were the reward for studying the Torah for G‑d’s sake to be confined to meriting spiritual qualities and lofty matters,35 that would not fully express that the Torah is the person’s entire being. In such an instance, the reward would be a natural consequence of the person’s involvement in Torah study. It would be a spiritual reward given for spiritual service. However, when a person is granted material benefits as a reward for his spiritual service in observing the Torah and its mitzvos – as the Torah promises, “I will give your rains in their time and the trees of the field will produce their fruit…” – it is evident that the Torah and its mitzvos are not merely things that the person did, i.e., study and actions he performed in addition to his fundamental being, nor are they merely another aspect of his being. Instead, the Torah represents who the person really is; it is the totality of his life. Therefore, involvement in it brings goodness and benefit to every aspect of his life, including his material concerns in this world.

The reason why Torah constitutes a person’s life, who he truly is, is because “the Torah and the Holy One, blessed be He, are entirely one.”36 Therefore, just as G‑d is the True Being and “from the truth of His Being all entities came into existence”37 – i.e., all the positive qualities and types of virtues in the entire creation came into being from G‑d – the same is true regarding the Torah. It brings goodness and benefit into all aspects of existence.38 The benefits it brings are all-inclusive, encompassing both the spiritual and physical.

Thus, it is specifically the granting of reward in material things that emphasizes how the Torah affects a person in the manner alluded to by the word bechukosai, i.e., it is engraved in his being to the extent that it becomes who he is.

The above also clarifies the concept of promises of material blessings in the verses of the Torah and the statements of our Sages regarding the Ultimate Future, e.g., “On the very day, a tree was planted, it produced fruit,” and “In the Ultimate Future, Eretz Yisrael will produce pastries and fine wool garments,” and the like. It is specifically rewards of this nature that reflect the consummate perfection that will characterize the Jews’ Torah study and observance of its mitzvos.

The reason why in the present era a person must labor and exert himself to earn his livelihood and, even more fundamentally, that it takes significant time before crops – both herbs and fruit – are produced is not merely a consequence of the sin of the Tree of Knowledge39 and the descent it brought about throughout all existence, as reflected in G‑d’s curse,40 “May the ground be cursed because of you. With toil shall you eat from it…. By the sweat of your brow will you eat bread.” Fundamentally, man’s labor is necessary because the entities of this material world are not appropriate mediums for G‑d’s beneficence.

Even if a person studies Torah and observes its mitzvos in a desirable manner and thus all forms of good – even his material needs – are brought forth for him, he will not receive this beneficence immediately. Since material existence is not at one with its spiritual source, the beneficence G‑d grants, a process – and thus a span of time – is necessary for this beneficence to wend its way through the Spiritual Cosmos until it becomes enclothed in this world.41

This is the new development that will characterize the Ultimate Future, the Era of Mashiach, when there will be no interruption between the generation of spiritual blessing and the growth manifest in the material world.42 In that future time, physical entities will be at one with their spiritual source – G‑d’s word.

As explained previously, engraved letters serve as an analogy to illustrate how a person’s identity becomes entirely one with the Torah, and as a result, his spiritual service and his material existence are unified. In the Ultimate Future, the unity between the spiritual and the material will be of a much loftier and more encompassing nature. The difference between the unity – as represented by the analogy of engraving – that prevails in the present era and the new expression of unity that will emerge in the Ultimate Future can be illustrated by comparing two different analogies used in Chassidus:43 letters engraved on a precious stone and letters hewn from one side of a stone to the other.

The difference between the two is explained as follows: When letters are engraved on a precious stone, even though the letters are integrally one with the stone, nevertheless, since the stone serves as the base of the letters, these letters somewhat resemble and correlate to letters written upon parchment or paper.44 Since they are distinct from the stone, they also obscure it somewhat by dimming the brightness of the precious stone. In contrast, letters that are hewn from one side of a stone to another – like the letters on the Tablets of the Ten Commandments45 – are not part of the substance of the stone at all and are entirely different from written letters.

Similar concepts apply regarding the analog:46 The Torah may be engraved within a person in a manner similar to letters engraved upon a precious stone, i.e., the matter permeates his inner being – unlike letters that are written upon parchment and are distinct from it. Nevertheless, it does not penetrate his very essence. In such an instance, just as the Torah has not become one with the person’s essence, the result will be that it will not pervade all aspects of his life, including those that are external.

By contrast, when the Torah and its mitzvos are engraved within a person through and through, “from one side to the other,” they constitute his entire essence. Consequently, they permeate and affect all his powers and concerns from one side to the other. Indeed, not only do they affect the person himself, they also affect everything in the world. Consequently, the effect becomes apparent and revealed even in the material dimensions of the world, so that there is no interval between a person’s actions and the fruit that grows as a result. G‑d’s beneficence is drawn down immediately without any interruption at all.

This phenomenon will be revealed in the Ultimate Future when the engraved letters of the Tablets will again be manifest. On the phrase,47 “engraved upon the Tablets,” our Sages48 commented, “Do not read חָרוּת (“engraved”); read חֵירוּת , “freedom.” This will include “freedom from the Angel of Death.”49 This freedom will be manifest in the Ultimate Future, during the true and complete Redemption, led by Mashiach. May this occur speedily, in our days.

Adapted from sichos delivered in the month of Shvat, 5739 [1979]
Likkutei Sichos, Volume 37, P. 79ff.