PARASHA BEJUKOTAI RABI DAVID HANNANIA PINTO SHILITA

 

Hashem’s Blessing to Israel – Measure for Measure

The expression, “I will command My blessing to you in the sixth year” (Leviticus 25:21) raises some questions. It is difficult to understanding the meaning of this verse, for a person normally does not express himself in such a way when giving a blessing. One would normally say, ‘I will bless you” or “I will give you my blessing.” However the expression “I will command” seems to have no meaning whatsoever.

This can best be explained in the following way: The Holy One, blessed be He, definitely does not want a person to live a life of suffering in this world. As a result, it is certain that before bringing him into the world, He has already prepared “provisions,” which are bundles of blessings that are ready to be sent to a person if he shows himself worthy of them. When a person arrives in this world, he therefore has a choice. If he does G-d’s will and prays as he should, the Holy One, blessed be He, will command His blessings to apply to him as he asks for them each day.

However if a person does not follow the right path, if he does not study and pray, and if he does not perform the mitzvot as he should, then even if he is overwhelmed with pain and suffering, he is solely to blame for not having received the blessings that were prepared for him. In fact he alone is the one who prevented such blessings from coming into effect.

In reflecting upon this, we see that this concept is found in Parsha Bechukotai, as the verse states: “If you walk in My statutes and you will keep My commandments…then I will give your rains in their time” (Leviticus 26:3-4). This means that if we walk in Hashem’s ways, if we put an effort into studying Torah and practicing mitzvot, then we will receive what we deserve – namely our “rains.” Rain will fall as a blessing to give us the strength that has been reserved for us. In other words, it is through our deeds that we bring blessings upon ourselves, for if we conduct ourselves properly, they will come upon us in the best possible way. In the opposite case, things will unfortunately happen in reverse, meaning not for the best. Hence this is the meaning of the expression, “I will command My blessing.” When we observe Hashem’s mitzvot, He too will command His blessings, which have been kept in reserve, to come upon us according to our needs. People therefore have no reason to complain to G-d, such as complaining that they lack a livelihood, or asking why someone was struck with misfortune. In fact the Holy One, blessed be He, does not prevent blessings from descending upon anyone. Instead it is the person himself who, by his actions, prevent blessings from coming to him. We must understand this clearly. Some people might ask, “There are some tzaddikim and bnei Torah who are poor, who suffer from hunger and want. How can we say that the Holy One, blessed be He, has commanded that they receive the blessings reserved for them?”

This question has a simple answer, namely that everything stems from the fact that these tzaddikim desire nothing from the material realm. All they desire is to have what they need in order to serve Hashem; all they want is not to be forced to neglect their Torah study. All their happiness consists of being able to remain studying Torah and performing its mitzvot in poverty, as the Sages have said: “Eat bread with salt, drink water in small measure, sleep on the ground, live a life of deprivation, and toil in the Torah” (Perkei Avoth 6:4). Their sole yearning consists of finding new Torah insights and understanding its secrets. As a result, they have no deep connection to the material realm; it does not interest them. Such people find Hashem’s blessings, which He prepared for them, in their Torah learning, which is the greatest of all blessings. In fact when the Holy One, blessed be He, sees that someone has no desire for materiality, and instead tends toward “his right hand, a fiery law” (Deuteronomy 33:2) – one who inclines to the Torah – He also commands that person’s blessings to come from the spiritual side. Hashem sends blessings for that person’s eyes to become even more open to Torah and a knowledge of His Name.

With regards to Moses it is said, “Moses descended from the mountain to the people” (Exodus 19:14). Rashi explains this according to the view of the Sages (Mechilta D’Rabbi Yishmael, D’Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai): “This teaches that Moshe did not turn his attention to his private affairs, but [that he went directly] ‘from the mountain to the people.’ ” In other words, Moses did not tend to his material concerns, nor did he have any need for material blessings. Instead he went directly to the people in order to teach them Torah, for all Moses wanted was spiritual blessings. This is why the Torah truly carries Moses’ name, as it is written: “Remember the Torah of Moses My servant” (Malachi 3:22). When a person truly becomes aware of his responsibility in this world and infuses this realization into his being, he will no longer have any material desires among his personal concerns. Instead he will desire to remain studying Torah and to become meritorious and make others meritorious, as our teacher Moses did, and it is there that he will find Hashem’s blessings. At the same time, however, a person should be a fitting vessel to contain these blessings. In order for Hashem’s blessings to be fulfilled in him, he must prepare himself to receive them. How should he do this? The Sages show us another way by which blessings come to man: By the poles of the Ark. Of them it is said, “The poles shall remain in the rings of the Ark. They may not be removed from it” (Exodus 25:15). What do these poles signify?

The Ark, in which the Torah was placed, was transported by means of these poles, and they allude to man himself. Everyone should become like these poles; they should carry the Torah and support it. This means that we must be the hands of the Torah; we must attach ourselves to it. We must also be careful that the poles never leave the rings, meaning that we should never separate ourselves from the Torah. If we do separate ourselves, then Heaven’s blessings and influence will no longer have an effect in our lives. To receive the blessings that have been reserved for us, we must always be attached to the Torah, without yielding to our natural tendencies to part from it and thereby prevent blessings and Heavenly abundance from descending upon us. In this way, we will always be vessels that contain blessings.

Learning as a Preparation for the Performance of Mitzvot

On the verse, “If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments” (Leviticus 26:3), Rashi explains in the name of the Sages that “If you walk in My statutes” refers to Torah study (Torat Kohanim ibid.). In connection with this, we may say that Rashi is trying to explain the apparent redundancy in the verse, since chukim (“statutes”) are also mitzvot (“commandments”). That being the case, why does the Torah state the same thing twice? Evidently it is because two different subjects are being dealt with: (1) Torah study and (2) mitzvah observance, for in order to perfectly observe mitzvot, one must begin by investing himself completely in Torah study. Only afterwards does one come to the desired goal, namely the wholehearted observance of mitzvot in all their detail.

There remain certain points, however, that need to be clarified. With regards to statutes, why does the text speak of walking, whereas with commandments the text speaks of keeping? How does the concept of walking apply to statutes (which allude to Torah study) and that of keeping apply to commandments?

To better explain this, let us examine what the prophet Isaiah said: “Everyone who is thirsty, go to the water” (Isaiah 55:1). It is difficult to see what message he meant to convey by this, since it is clear that one who is thirsty should go and drink water! I believe that it alludes to a profound truth, namely that there are people in this world whose entire life consists of quenching their desires and earning money, and the more they have, the more they want. This is because “The lover of money will never be satisfied with money” (Ecclesiastes 5:9) and “One who has 100 desires 200” (Kohelet Rabba 1:34). This is so pronounced for some people that they even neglect their own family life for money, all while realizing that everyone must die and leave their money behind, as it is written: “For upon his death he will not take anything” (Psalms 49:18). With respect to this, the Sages have said: “At a time of a man’s passing from this world, neither silver, nor gold, nor precious stones, nor pearls accompany him, but only Torah [study] and good deeds” (Perkei Avoth 6:9). Yet despite this, these people put tremendous, mindless effort into a fleeting life by turning completely to the pursuit of money.

It is in connection to this that the prophet tells us, “Everyone who is thirsty, go to the water.” It is a message addressed to those who thirst after money and the pleasures of this fleeting life: You – go to the water! One who is thirsty is capable of drinking briny seawater, but afterwards thirst will gnaw at him and he will desire pure water even more. Similarly, one who works solely for money will thirst after it even more, yet he will never be satisfied. This is why one must put all his efforts into earning eternal life, into Torah, and if at that point he works for money within the framework of the Torah (Bava Kama 17a), he will profit both in this world and in the World to Come, for by the merit of the Torah he will arise at the resurrection of the dead. This is what constitutes “go to the water” – to the Torah – and invest the bulk of your energy and your thirst into it, for it is essential to a person’s life in this world and in the World to Come. Compare the word telechu (“you walk” – Leviticus 26:3) with lechu (“go” [literally “walk”] – Isaiah 55:1).

Nevertheless, a person should realize that when he takes it upon himself to study Torah, he must gather all his strength against the evil inclination, which begins to fight within him by saying, “You already observe many mitzvot and are an honest man, so why start studying Torah?” To this a person must reply, “Torah study is like a statute [an incomprehensible law], and even if we don’t see the reason for it, we must still study.” This effort in study will lead to the performance of mitzvot, whereas if we fail to study, our mitzvot will not be carried out to perfection and our situation will not stop deteriorating until we end up completely falling into the evil inclination’s grasp. This is why the Torah warns us that it is not enough to study Torah without putting an effort into it. Rather, we must work hard in order to elevate ourselves, and in this way we will successfully create a positive change in our lives. This is similar to telling a person, “If you work hard during a certain period, both day and night, you will become immensely rich,” for he will completely change in such a case. He will neither eat nor sleep as much, and the vast majority of his time will be spent working, for he will go well beyond his normal capabilities. That which seemed strange to him yesterday will seem normal to him today, and even more so tomorrow, as if he were following an immutable law. It is the same thing with respect to toiling in Torah study, for each day we feel different than the day before, and we elevate ourselves more and more. We walk counter to our nature and bad habits, which is what constitutes, “If you walk in My statutes,” and which consists of progressing, elevating ourselves, and investing everything into Torah. We will then receive the bliss that awaits man in the World to Come, as it is written: “How abundant is Your goodness that You have stored away for those who fear You” (Psalms 31:20). Now there is nothing “good” other than the Torah (Perkei Avoth 6:3), and thus we will merit the reward described by the Sages: “In the World to Come, the righteous will be seated with crowns on their heads, rejoicing in the brilliance of the Shechinah” (Berachot 17a). If we have practiced mitzvot with the utmost love, we will also merit the light of understanding them.

From this we see that the second part of the verse, “and keep My commandments” (which signifies the daily observance of mitzvot), only occurs once we have performed the first part, “If you walk in My statutes.” This refers to the effort we put into Torah study, for this learning is a preparation for the performance of mitzvot.

Torah study and the performance of mitzvot require great preparation, and a person must therefore be ready to fight against the evil inclination. Before the giving of the Torah, the Children of Israel prepared themselves for 46 days in order to receive it, and they elevated themselves from the 49 gates of impurity towards purity (Zohar Yitro 39a). Yet if that were the case, why did they need three extra days of preparation, in accordance with G-d’s directives: “You shall set boundaries for the people roundabout” (Exodus 19:12) and “Be ready after a three-day period” (v.15)? Had they not, at that point, already been prepared for a long time? The answer is that the evil inclination is very powerful when it comes to receiving the Torah. Thus for a person to actually receive it, he must prepare as much as possible and as best he can. This is especially true when the time or hour draws near for Torah study, since the evil inclination is even more insistent at that point, whispering doubts into a person’s ears and placing hardships before him. One must therefore constantly prepare himself.

This is why the verse states, “If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments,” for we must always be prepared, walking against our inclinations, to elevate ourselves and continue on. In what way must we do this? By diminishing our pleasures in this world, an idea alluded to by the word im (“if”). This word has a numerical value of 41, which means that we must add a little to the 40 days of the giving of the Torah (Menachot 29b) and to the Children of Israel’s preparation in the desert. This is what walking means – ceaselessly progressing “from strength to strength” (Psalms 84:8) – thus enabling us to “keep My commandments,” for we must keep, not abandon, the mitzvot.

Thus we fully understand the difference between walking and keeping, for rigorous learning is a preparation for the performance of mitzvot, bringing with it a great elevation.

By the Merit of Torah, the Jewish People are Above Nature

It is written, “Five of you will pursue a hundred, and a hundred of you will pursue ten thousand; and your enemies will fall before you by the sword” (Leviticus 26:8). We learn from this passage that when the Children of Israel are connected to Torah and mitzvot, they are conferred supernatural power, to the point that five of them can pursue a hundred, and a hundred of them ten thousand. However when they are far from Torah and mitzvot, a single non-Jew can pursue a hundred Jews. Because of our many sins, we saw this occur in Nazi Germany and Poland, when a single German guarded a hundred Jews without any fear, and when only two Germans guarded an entire camp of Jews, who were paralyzed and had no strength to even raise their heads.

When Jews follow G-d’s ways, the nations of the world view them with appropriate respect and esteem, which brings about a sanctification of G-d’s Name. The nations of the world recognize that it is by the merit of Israel that the world survives and receives abundance (Yerushalmi Gittin, end of ch.5). Yet when Jews leave the straight path, the nations suddenly get the impression that they are numerous. As a result, when Jews attach themselves to G-d and His mitzvot, they are above nature and no one can harm them. One Jew can then pursue a thousand non-Jews, and a hundred of them ten thousand.

If our understanding of this is correct, we may add that when the Jewish people pursue the straight path, G-d introduces a supernatural element into nature and raises Jews above it. In fact it is written, “For even a thousand years in Your eyes are but a bygone yesterday” (Psalms 90:4), a verse that the Sages interpret as meaning that one of G-d’s days is equal to a thousand years (Sanhedrin 97a). This should surprise us for two reasons: (1) How do things change if G-d’s day is equal to one thousand years or more, be it for Him or for us? (2) If such indeed is the case, why does G-d’s day have to be so long? And if it does have to be so long, why is it limited to a thousand years?

This is what we can say on the subject: The Holy One, blessed be He, divided Creation into six days, and each day He manifested Himself as ruler of the world (Otiyot d’Rabbi Akiva 1). G-d revealed himself to all of Creation to show that He is One and that there is no other. He demanded that every creature recognize Him as the ruler and sovereign of the world, and each day He derived great satisfaction and pleasure from His work. However G-d foresaw that Adam would sin before Shabbat, which in fact was the case (Sanhedrin 38b), and that he would incur the penalty of death. How then was G-d going to destroy the world that He had created, and to which He had given the Torah, the goal of all Creation (Pesachim 68b)? What would become of the world and the Torah? Who was going to study it?

Under such circumstances, Hashem thought it good to lengthen His day to one thousand years. In reality, time has no meaning for G-d. Hence when we speak of one of His days, this means that the immense pleasure He had from Creation was equal to what a man would experience if he could live a thousand years with all his days being filled with pleasure. It is in that sense that G-d’s day is like a thousand years to man, for the expression conveys the magnitude of the pleasure that G-d received from Creation (and particularly from the Torah it contained). Even if a person sins, repentance will earn him pleasure equal to a thousand years.

The Gemara evokes this very same idea concerning the verse, “I am the L-RD your G-d” (Exodus 20:2): Every word that came from the mouth of the Holy One, blessed be He, split into 70 languages, an unattainable feat for a mere mortal and only possible with G-d (Shabbat 68b). It goes the same for the day of the Holy One, blessed be He, which although unique, is comparable to a thousand years of a person’s life spent in happiness brought about by Torah study and the performance of mitzvot.

To explain this in a more detailed way, we know that there are two mitzvot in the Torah (honoring one’s parents and sending a mother bird off before taking her young) about which it is said, “So that it will be good for you and will prolong your days” (Deuteronomy 22:7). On this verse the Sages have stated, “So that you be happy in the world that is entirely good and that your days be prolonged in the world that is entirely long” (Kiddushin 39b). This is not the case with life in this world, which is short and filled with suffering, and in which neither days nor years are prolonged.

What does a prolonging of days in the World to Come mean? If a righteous person departs from this world and two days later Mashiach arrives, his time in the World to Come will have lasted just two days. Is that what is meant by “prolonging”? Where is the reward, therefore, that G-d has promised a righteous person regarding prolonging his days in the World to Come?

According to the preceding, we understand that the day of the Holy One, blessed be He, is like a thousand years of experiencing infinite pleasure, like a day that will be extremely long, without limit. Consequently, when a person is in the World to Come for two days, even if Mashiach comes almost immediately afterwards, he will have enjoyed pleasure in the World to Come tantamount to having spent two thousand years enjoying infinite pleasure, analogous to: “No eye has seen it, G-d, if not You.” And even if he spends only a few hours in the World of Truth, that will also be satisfying to him and a source of pleasure equal to many years, for in that world the sense of the Holy One’s majesty and holiness is so enduring and substantial that a person has the impression he is experiencing a pleasure that is absolutely infinite.

In addition, a person’s reward in the World to Come is proportional to his work in this world multiplied a hundred fold and more, so that it be as great as possible. For example, when someone lives 60 or 70 years in this world while studying Torah and performing mitzvot, it is as if he studied 60 or 70 thousand years, of which the Holy One, blessed be He, rewards him for every instant. Concerning such a reward, it is said, “Mah rav tuvecha [How abundant is Your goodness] that You have stored away for those who fear You” (Psalms 31:20).

We may explain that man is of the aspect of mah (the word adam [“man”] has the same numerical value as mah [“what”], and the Tetragrammaton also has that same numerical value when written with alephs – Zohar Ruth 102b). The Holy One, blessed be He, has reserved a reward for man that can be designated by mah, a reward that he can neither imagine nor describe. If he studies Torah, G-d greatly multiplies his reward, and since the day is divided into hours, minutes, and seconds, how many millions and indeed billions of seconds of infinite pleasure will a man thus receive in the World to Come! The Sages have clearly said, “There is no reward for a mitzvah in this world” (Kiddushin 39b), for the Holy One, blessed be He, multiplies the reward for performing a mitzvah in the World to Come.

Reward is therefore above nature and logic, for the Children of Israel are also above nature when they occupy themselves with Torah and mitzvot and walk in the straight path. They are then stronger than the nations of the world, and abundance also comes into the world by their merit.

The Greatness of Mitzvot and Steadfastness in Times of Trial

On the verse that states, “If you walk in My decrees and observe My commandments” (Leviticus 26:3), Rashi explains in the name of the Sages that this refers to Torah study, for the observance of mitzvot is mentioned elsewhere. Further on in the parsha it is written, “But if you will not listen to Me” (v.14), and there as well Rashi explains it to mean, “If you do not study Torah.” The text cited in v.14 cannot refer to the observance of mitzvot, for mitzvot are mentioned immediately afterwards: “and [if you] will not perform all hamitzvot.” Consequently, since mitzvot are specifically singled out, the text in question must refer to Torah study.

Now we know that someone who does not study cannot properly observe mitzvot, for they must be carried out with the intention of performing a mitzvah (Berachot 13a). As well, Rambam says that this intention consists of understanding the nature and essence of the mitzvah. Without this understanding, there cannot be any intention, and a mitzvah without intent has no great value.

Some of the questions that we may ask ourselves concerning this subject are as follows:

1. Why does the Torah express itself in the plural (“If you walk [plural] in My decrees”) rather than in the singular, since we often find the singular used in such a context?

2. Why is the study of Torah called a “decree” and not a “mitzvah”? Moreover, the exact nature of a mitzvah must be understood.

We will now attempt to answer these questions. Regarding the verse that states, “As for G-d, His way is perfect; the word of the L-RD is tried. He is a shield for all who take refuge in Him” (Psalms 18:31), Rav said, “The mitzvot were given only to perfect created beings, for what does it matter to the Holy One, blessed be He, if a beast is slaughtered on the neck of the nape?” (Bereshith Rabba 44:1). The mitzvot were thus given only to refine us, a concept that must be understood.

In addition, the performance of the mitzvot leads man to recognize G-d, which leads to the fear of Heaven. How does this happen? When someone meticulously observes the mitzvot, this is a sign that they are important to him. But if he treats them lightly – in the spirit of the interpretation given by the Midrash (Tanhuma, beginning of Eikev) on the verse, “And it shall come to pass, eikev [because] you will hearken” (Deuteronomy 7:12), namely that it refers to the mitzvot that man tramples underfoot (under his eikev, heel) – this is a sign that they hold no importance in his eyes, and that he even tries to find loopholes for not doing them. Needless to say, he is far from a fear of Heaven.

A man should realize that a mitzvah is like a decree, which does not require an explanation and cannot be modified. And not only is a mitzvah compared to a decree, the study of Torah is also compared to one, as it is written, “This is the decree of the Torah” (Numbers 19:2). This, as well as the following, refer to Torah study: “This is the torah [law]: A man that dies in a tent…” (v.14). The study of Torah is an immutable decree, a task for which one must die in this world, as the Sages explain: “The words of Torah endure only among those who die for them” (Berachot 63b). In addition, in performing mitzvot, a man demonstrates that he is G-d’s servant. We find a similar idea concerning Adam. At the moment he was created by the Holy One, blessed be He, the angels thought that he was divine (Bereshith Rabba 8:9), up until G-d gave him a single mitzvah to observe (which he transgressed). It was at that moment that the angels realized that he was but a servant of his Lord and not divine.

This teaches us that when we observe mitzvot, we must do so in accordance with our abilities and nearness to G-d, for the Holy One, blessed be He, does not make unfair demands of His creations (Avodah Zarah 3a). He also never loads them beyond their abilities (Shemot Rabba 34:1). He is cognizant of human abilities, for when He gave the Torah to Israel, if He had done so with respect to His own power, no one could have born it, as it is written, “If we continue to hear the voice of the L-RD our G-d any longer, we will die” (Deuteronomy 5:22). He spoke to the Children of Israel in relation to their own power, as testified to by the verse that states, “The voice of the L-RD [is] in power” (Psalms 29:4). It is not written, “In His power” but rather, “in power,” which means the power of each and every person. A certain power, or ability, is thus given to everyone to serve G-d and perform His mitzvot.

Yet in this performance of mitzvot, a person must understand which mitzvah he must give priority to, which one will help him in relation to the root of his soul. We find support for this concept with the Sages concerning Moses (Sotah 13a), since when all the Children of Israel were busy despoiling Egypt, he hurried about looking for Joseph’s casket, and concerning him it is written, “The wise of heart seizes good deeds” (Proverbs 10:8). Now despoiling Egypt was also a mitzvah, and “The one who is busy with one mitzvah is exempt from another mitzvah” (Sukkah 25a). Yet if so, why did Moses forsake the mitzvah of despoiling Egypt to go and perform another mitzvah?

We see from this that when two mitzvot present themselves at the same time, one must ask which of the two will be of greater benefit to one’s soul, and which will be of greater benefit to one’s body. And if it is impossible to perform both at the same time, one must choose the mitzvah that will be of greater benefit to the soul, and only then the second. It was in this way that Moses acted, for he began by occupying himself with Joseph’s casket, which was of benefit to his soul, since it was by means of Joseph’s casket that the sea split before the Children of Israel, as it is written, “The sea saw and fled” (Psalms 114:3). As well, the Sages have said, “What did it see? It saw Joseph’s casket” (Midrash Shochar Tov 114:9). Thus it was because of him that the Children of Israel left Egypt, and they finished by arriving at the giving of the Torah.

Yet at the same time we note the greatness of the mitzvot, for it is written that Esau respected his father Isaac more than Jacob did, which is why Isaac wanted to bless him (Zohar I:146b). A man should realize that the performance of mitzvot alone is not enough. Someone can be known for his generosity (as Esau, who was known for his way of honoring his father), but without Torah nothing prevents him from being completely wicked! Thus Balaam, who was a great prophet – to the extent that concerning him the Sages said that a prophet like Moses had arisen among the nations (Zohar II:21a), a man who knew the exact instant when the Holy One, blessed be He, becomes angry (Berachot 7a) – was despite everything a great scoundrel. He was so wicked that he advised Balak to make the Children of Israel fall into licentiousness (Sanhedrin 93a). Why did this happen? Because he had no Torah at all! And without Torah, one has nothing.

Despite everything, one must think clearly, for there exists another way to elevate oneself, independent of the Torah and mitzvot. This is the path of steadfastness in times of trial. When a man overcomes a trial, he elevates himself even more. We find this concept with Jacob, who “departed from Beersheba and went towards Haran” (Genesis 28:10). Why did he go there? He could have sent a messenger to take a wife for him, since it is possible to marry a woman through the intermediary of a third party (Kiddushin 41a). However, because of the imperfections that he sensed within himself, he desired to go to the place of wrath in order to be subjected to hardship. Why did he want to do this? It was because he knew that Esau wasn’t wicked enough to enable himself to grow, for Esau also studied and observed mitzvot, particularly the mitzvah of honoring one’s father. Laban was more wicked; he was the father of deceivers (Tanhuma Vayishlach 1). Jacob therefore decided to go to Haran to be tested and emerge victorious from his trial. But those who heard that he had gone to Haran believed that he too became wicked like Laban. Consequently, even Esau did not pursue Jacob to kill him, for Esau believed that he taken to a bad path and had become truly wicked. Now the wicked are called dead even during their lifetime (Berachot 18b), and he therefore considered Jacob as being dead, without any merit, and thought it useless to fight him.

However when Jacob returned from being with Laban, he sent messengers to his brother Esau (Genesis 32:4) and said, “I have sojourned [*;9#] with Laban, all while observing 613 [#*9;] mitzvot, and I have not learned from his behavior” (Midrash Aggadah on beginning of Vayishlach). Jacob desired to observe the mitzvah to be “guiltless towards the L-RD and towards Israel” (Numbers 32:22), and so he made it known to Esau that even though he didn’t perform the mitzvah of honoring his father during that time, he had nevertheless learned a great amount of Torah, as it is written, “The study of Torah is worth more than all other mitzvot” (Peah 1:10). This is an indication that he held steadfast during his trial.

We can draw a lesson and a rule for life from this. Whoever leaves his parent’s home and continues to serve G-d in his new dwelling demonstrates that the nature of his character has not changed. He shows that in every circumstance he will occupy himself with Torah, just as was the case with Jacob, who settled in the tents of Shem to study (Megillah 17a). Even when Jacob came to Beersheba after leaving Laban, it is written, “And Jacob settled” (Genesis 37:1), meaning that he continued to study.

We find an allusion to this idea in Parshiot Vayeitzei, Vayishlach, and Vayeishev, which all begin with the letters vav and yud. Now three times vav and yud is numerically equal to 48 (.(), which tells us that Jacob was not at all influenced by his wicked entourage, and that his heart always remained hot (.() in the service of his Creator. For only a man with a heart that is hot can study Torah and observe mitzvot in every circumstance. Little does this matter to the one whose heart is cold with regards to observing mitzvot or studying Torah. Even if he finds himself in a yeshiva or an observant home, the warm environment will have no influence on him, for inside his heart is cold. Thus the wicked Esau, even though he lived with two Tzaddikim, did not learn from their good deeds (Yoma 38b), and so he left the straight path. On the other hand, someone whose heart burns for Torah and mitzvot never changes, even if he lives among the wicked, for within him his heart is always hot for the service of the Creator, and it is Vayeitzei, Vayishlach, and Vayeishev. Even when we leave a place of Torah and are sent away from home, despite everything there remains Vayeishev, and we continue to be occupied with Torah.

How should one behave?

It is written, “My heart grew hot within me, in my contemplations a fire blazed” (Psalms 39:4), for only one who has a heart that is hot for the service of G-d can continue to observe mitzvot and study Torah in all circumstances and in every place, even outside of the yeshiva or the home. It is always for this that one should strive, for it is in this way that one can overcome all trials.

The Need for Effort in Torah Study

Why does the verse that states, “If you walk in My decrees and observe My commandments and perform them” (Leviticus 26:3) seem to be redundant? The decrees are themselves commandments that we are held to observe and practice! Consequently, why does the Torah state, “walk in My decrees and observe My commandments,” as if they consisted of two different things? To this question Rashi answers as follows: “‘If you walk in My decrees.’ This means, ‘If you put effort into studying My Torah.’”

What we have here, therefore, is a law. It is a commandment that differs from commandments that involve practice, for to arrive at practicing the mitzvot (that is, to observe them properly), one must first put in the effort to study Torah without cease or limit. We see here, therefore, two important yet distinct principles:

1. The obligation to put great effort into Torah study.

2. The obligation to observe the commandments, which brings a man to perfection.

Of course, the performance of the commandments can only be perfected if a man studies Torah and understands these commandments and their value.

For this reason, the verse begins by commanding a man to put effort into the study of Torah by telling him, “If you walk in My decrees.” Only afterwards does the verse state, “observe My commandments,” inviting a man to graduate to a second level (that is, the performance of the mitzvot) by saying, “and you will perform My commandments.”

In addition, we note that the verse uses the expression, “If you walk in My decrees.” The verse does not say, “If you observe My decrees,” as it says further on: “observe My commandments.”

Why does the verse use an expression that signifies walking, advancing?

I reflected upon the words of the prophet who states, “Everyone who is thirsty, go to the water” (Isaiah 55:1), and I found myself in somewhat of a bind concerning this verse. In effect, what does the prophet teach us that is new? Is it not obvious that the one who is in dire need of water should go and drink? Will he not run to a source of water? Will he put his life in danger by waiting to drink?

It seems to me that the prophet alludes to those people who occupy themselves solely with earning money and amassing wealth. Having enough for today, these people feel that they need twice as much for tomorrow. A man with this mindset will seek to increase his wealth to the point that he abandons family life, and even personal life, solely for material gain. And yet he does this knowing full well that, in the end, he will die and leave all his wealth here in this world.

This man demonstrates a great ability to toil for futility and momentary gain. Water, as we know, alludes to the Torah, and this is the reason why the prophet said, “go to the water”. The prophet is saying: “Woe to all those thirsting after money. Stop right now and put your efforts into the study of Torah, which is your life, your true future.”

We see here, therefore, something that is extremely important, namely that to study Torah, one must put great effort into doing so because the evil inclination is powerful. Hence when a man decides to go and study Torah, the evil inclination is always ready to tell him: “But you already observe the mitzvot! Why do you need to go and study?”

This is why one must answer him that the study of Torah is a Chuk Veloya’avor (a decree that one cannot transgress, and for which no reason has been given). One must devote oneself to the study of Torah with all one’s strength, for if a man doesn’t devote himself to the study of Torah as he devotes himself to work – to a material undertaking for which he will earn much – he will have much to lose by it.

What will he lose if he neglects the study of Torah?

He begins, first of all, by performing the Divine commandments in an erroneous manner, and from one error to the next he will he end up succumbing to the evil inclination.

This is why the Torah insists, and tells us, that study alone will not allow a man to escape the evil inclination, but rather that one must constantly improve one’s ways by daily progress. Concerning the study of Torah, this must be done with effort, not done simply so as to be clear of one’s obligation to study. Imagine that someone were to tell a man that in a few days he would become a millionaire if he worked day and night to perform a certain task. It is obvious that the prospect of earning so much money would give that man the ability to work without cease, removing fatigue and hunger from him both day and night, and thereby allowing him to accomplish an enormous amount of work.

Certainly, this man would find the strength to work beyond his normal abilities. The work that he is not used to doing in a week, he would do in a day, and he would be prepared to work even more for a few days. And all this for money! Yet it is like this that a man should study Torah. He should conduct his life as if it completely depended on the effort that he put into the study of Torah. We must fight against our own nature with all our might and apply ourselves to Torah study. It is not enough to observe the commandments. One must study Torah with great effort in order to merit understanding the mitzvot; we will thereby perform them with love and without reservation. From all that we have just said, we therefore see that the second level of obedience to G-d, (the level of mitzvot performance) is not possible except through the knowledge of Torah and the words of our Sages. This is because it is only after having graduated from the first level of obedience (that is, the fervent study of Torah) that one is prepared to accomplish the mitzvot in the proper way.

When Hashem was preparing to give the Torah to the Children of Israel, He gave them three extra days in order to prepare themselves to receive it. One must understand what this means. Here the Children of Israel found themselves ready to receive the Torah in front of Mount Sinai. This was an event for which they had come from Egypt, and for which they had prepared themselves, day by day, for the last 50 days, until finally they were ready to receive it. Did they therefore need to prepare themselves for three more days before the Torah could be given to them? Were all the preparations that they underwent not sufficient for them to receive the Torah? Did they need still further preparations?

Obviously, however, when it comes to Torah study, the evil inclination is so powerful that all the preparations that a man does in lieu of this study can always be defeated. These extra three days that G-d ordered at the foot of Mount Sinai allude to the fact that everything that one can add as preparation for the moment of Torah study and mitzvot performance is always counted as gain. Also, the blessing (the gain) is greater for the man who foresees all the ways necessary to resist the evil inclination. Between the moment that a man decides to accomplish a mitzvah, or to study Torah, and the moment when he puts this decision into practice, the evil inclination is particularly strong, as it does everything it can to make a man go back on his decision. This is why the Torah alludes to the fact that when one undertakes to study Torah, or to perform a mitzvah, one should not hesitate to perform all the necessary preparations. For example, one should reduce the amount of pleasures that one partakes of in this world and in its vanities, for otherwise it is certain that the study of Torah will be difficult – perhaps even painful – because it will bring a person to tear himself away form the material world in order to bring him closer to the spiritual one.

A Taste for Learning Torah

In the Midrash our Sages say, “If you walk in My statutes [Vayikra 26:3]. This bears on the text, ‘I considered my ways and I returned my feet to Your testimonies’ [Tehillim 119:59]. David said: ‘Sovereign of the universe, every day I used to plan and decide that I would go to a certain place or to a certain dwelling, but my feet always brought me to houses of prayer and houses of study.’ Hence it is written, ‘I returned my feet to Your testimonies’ ” (Vayikra Rabba 35:1).

I find it difficult to understand the connection between King David’s thoughts and the verse in this week’s parsha: “If you walk in My statutes.” Let us begin by citing the explanation of our Sages on the verse, “Man is born to toil” (Job 5:7). They begin by recalling the verse, “The toiling soul toils for him, for his mouth urges him on” (Mishlei 16:26), and note that as he works in one place, the Torah works for him in another. The Sages then cite Rabbi Elazar as teaching, “Every man is born for toil, as it is written: ‘Man is born for toil.’ I still do not know, however, if he was created for the toil of the mouth or for the toil of work. When the verse says, ‘his mouth urges him on,’ this tells me that he was created for the toil of the mouth. Yet I still do not know if he was created for the toil of Torah or for the toil of [mundane] speech. Yet when it is said, ‘This book of the Torah shall not depart from your mouth’ [Joshua 1:8], this tells me that he was created for the toil of Torah” (Sanhedrin 99b).

From here we learn that the more one studies Torah, the more pleasure he finds in it. Likewise the more one immerses himself in the frivolous pursuits of this world, the more pleasure he finds in that as well. Hence we find the fulfillment of all Torah mitzvot only with one who studies Torah, for that is the fruit of his work. The Sages teach that study leads to practice (Kiddushin 40b), and there is no practice that is not preceded by study. Commenting on the phrase, “and observe My commandments” (Vayikra 26:3), Rashi writes: “You shall toil in the study of Torah in order to observe and fulfill,” meaning that because we study Torah, this work will lead to the fulfillment of all mitzvot.

Regularity

We can now understand what the Midrash is saying. King David studied with tremendous intensity, to the point that he was one with Torah and mitzvot. In fact when he wanted to go elsewhere, to a place devoid of Torah, his feet automatically brought him to places of prayer and study because he had studied so much. This is not a reference to his raglav (“feet”), but to his regilut (“regularity”). The Midrash therefore begins with this verse in order to tell us that the study of Torah leads to the regular performance of mitzvot, for only one who studies regularly can perform them all.

Furthermore, the Holy One, blessed be He, rewards a person who studies Torah measure for measure, meaning a definite reward in the material realm. In this context, the Sages have said that “the Torah toils for him in another [place].” Since he has given up toiling in this fleeting world in order to devote himself to learning Torah, he succeeds in fulfilling all mitzvot, something that can only be achieved by a person with enough to live on.

The Effort to Invest in Torah

The Sages tell us that Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai and his son Rabbi Elazar lived in a cave for 12 years, and when they emerged they saw a man tilling and sowing. Upon seeing this, they exclaimed: “They forsake eternal life and engage in temporary life!” Whatever they cast their eyes upon was immediately burned. On the eve of Shabbat, before sunset, they saw an elderly man holding two bundles of myrtle. “What are these for?” they asked. “They are in honor of Shabbat,” he replied. “But shouldn’t one be enough?” they asked. “One is for Zachor and the other for Shamor,” he answered. Rabbi Shimon said to his son, “See how precious the mitzvot are to Israel!” At that point, their minds were put at ease (Shabbat 33b).

This presents a difficulty. Why was Rabbi Elazar’s mind not at ease prior to seeing this elderly man? He apparently was afraid of his father’s reaction, who once said: “If a man tills in the tilling season, sows in the sowing season, reaps in the reaping season, threshes in the threshing season, winnows in the season of wind, what will become of the Torah?” (Berachot 35b). Hence when they emerged from a cave and Rabbi Elazar saw people abandoning eternal life for temporary life, he felt resentment and burned them.

However Rabbi Shimon was not of the same opinion. He knew that it is impossible for everyone to study Torah all day long. Yet by sowing and reaping, grain is produced and it becomes possible to say a blessing over it. In fact we fulfill many mitzvot in the field, such as leket, shikcha, and pe'ah (obligatory gleanings), and the mitzvot of terumot and ma'aserot only result from toiling in the field. When the Children of Israel occupy themselves with the life of this world, they accomplish many mitzvot, and they do not forget what is essential.

Rabbi Elazar said, “Father! Before, you used to say: ‘If a man tills in the tilling season, sows in the sowing season, reaps in the reaping season, threshes in the threshing season, winnows in the season of wind, what will become of the Torah?’ Why have you changed your mind, such that you’re saying that all this not only concerns tilling and sowing, but is the cause that allows us to fulfill mitzvot?” When they met the elderly man carrying bundles of myrtle in honor of Shabbat, Rabbi Shimon said to his son Rabbi Elazar: “My son, if they happily breathe in the scent of myrtle without being commanded to, and if they take two bundles instead of one in honor of Shabbat, then how much more will they fulfill all the other mitzvot that they have been commanded to observe with joy, and not out of habit! You must admit that everything they do in this world is only done in order to fulfill mitzvot, and they will certainly not forget G-d!”

When Rabbi Elazar heard this, his mind was put at ease.

Through Torah, the Jewish People are Above Nature

It is written, “Five of you will pursue a hundred, and a hundred of you will pursue ten thousand; and your enemies will fall before you by the sword” (Vayikra 26:8).

From here we learn that when the Jewish people are connected to Torah and mitzvot, they are granted supernatural power, to the point that five of them can pursue a hundred, and a hundred of them can pursue ten thousand. Yet when they are far from Torah and mitzvot, a single non-Jew can pursue a hundred Jews. Because of our many sins, this occurred in Nazi Germany and Poland, when a single German guarded a hundred Jews without any fear, and when only two Germans guarded an entire camp of Jews, who were paralyzed and had no strength to even raise their arms or heads.

The same thing occurs today: When I walk along the streets of New York City, I see non-Jews looking at us with scorn in their eyes, which has not always been the case. It’s a sign that anti-Semitism is increasing from day to day, even with regards to Israelis. Non-Jews falsely claim that Jews are seizing all the wealth in the United States, and that they control all branches of the financial world.

Yet everyone knows that there are only a few million Jews in the world, whereas there are billions of non-Jews and Jews cannot control the financial world because they comprise an extremely small minority among the wealthy. Therefore why does the entire world accept the lie that Jews are all rich and possess the world’s key treasures? Why do they ignore the fact that most of them are really poor and would not have enough to eat if G-d did not have pity on them, that only a small percentage of them are rich, and that those who are rich give generously to tzeddakah? How can non-Jews lie like this, fabricating anti-Semitism by such statements?

When Jews follow G-d’s ways, the nations of the world view them with the proper degree of respect and consideration, which brings about a sanctification of G-d’s Name. The nations of the world recognize that it is by the merit of Israel that the world endures and receives abundance (Yerushalmi Gittin, end of ch. 5). Yet when Jews leave the right path, the nations suddenly get the impression that they are numerous. If a single Jew owns a store, they say that a hundred Jews own stores. If two Jews own stores, they claim that there are two hundred, and one hundred Jewish stores become ten thousand. Thus anti-Semitism is born, for Jews seem to number in the thousands in the eyes of non-Jews, who have the impression that they control the financial world. Jews are therefore punished through the intermediary of the nations.

As a result, when Jews cleave to G-d and His mitzvot, they are above nature. That is, no one can harm them, and a single Jew can pursue a thousand, while a hundred Jews can pursue ten thousand.

If our understanding of this is correct, we may add that when the Jewish people pursue the right path, G-d introduces a supernatural element into nature and raises Jews above it. In fact it is written, “For even a thousand years in Your eyes are but a bygone yesterday” (Tehillim 90:4), a verse that the Sages interpret as meaning that one of G-d’s days is equal to a thousand years (Sanhedrin 97a). This is surprising: (1) How do things change if G-d’s day is equal to one thousand years or more, be it for Him or for us? (2) If such indeed is the case, why does G-d’s day have to be so long? And if it does have to be so long, why is it limited to a thousand years?

This is what we may say on the subject: The Holy One, blessed be He, divided Creation into six days, and on each day He manifested Himself as the ruler of the world (Otiyot d’Rabbi Akiva 1). G-d revealed Himself to all of Creation to show that He is One and that there is no other. He demanded that every person recognize Him as the ruler and sovereign of the world, and each day He derived great satisfaction and pleasure from His work. However G-d foresaw that Adam would sin before Shabbat, which is what happened (Sanhedrin 38b), and that he would incur death. How could G-d destroy the world that He had created, and to which He had given the Torah, the goal of all Creation (Pesachim 68b, Nedarim 32a)? What would become of the world and the Torah? Who was going to study it?

Under such circumstances, Hashem saw that it was good to lengthen His day to one thousand years. In reality, time has no meaning to G-d. Therefore when we speak of one of His days, it means that the immense pleasure that he received from Creation was equal to what a man would experience if he could live a thousand years, with all his days being filled with pleasure. It is in that sense that G-d’s day is like a thousand years to man, for the expression conveys the magnitude of the pleasure that G-d received from Creation (and particularly from the Torah it contained). Even when a man sins, repentance will earn him pleasure equal to a thousand years.

The Gemara evokes this very same idea concerning the verse, “I am Hashem your G-d” (Shemot 20:2): Every word that came from the mouth of the Holy One, blessed be He, split into 70 languages, an unattainable feat for a mere mortal, and something only possible for G-d (Shabbat 68b). The same applies to a day of the Holy One, blessed be He, which although unique, is comparable to a thousand years of a person’s life spent in happiness caused by Torah study and mitzvot observance.

To explain this in more depth, we know that there are two mitzvot in the Torah (honoring one’s parents and sending a mother bird off before taking her young) about which it is said: “So that it will be good for you and that you may prolong your days” (Devarim 22:7). Here the Sages have said, “ ‘So that it will be good for you’ means on the day that is wholly good, and ‘that you may prolong your days’ [means] on the day that is wholly long” (Kiddushin 39b, Chullin 142a). Such is not the case for life in this world, which is short and filled with suffering, and where neither days nor years are prolonged.

What does a prolonging of days in the World to Come mean? If a righteous person departs from this world and two days later Mashiach arrives, his time in the World to Come will have lasted just two days. Is this the meaning of “prolonging”? Where is the reward, therefore, that G-d has promised a righteous person in terms of prolonging his days in the World to Come?

According to what we have said, we clearly see that a day of the Holy One, blessed be He, is like a thousand years of experiencing infinite pleasure, like a day that will be extremely long, without limit. Thus when a person is in the World to Come for two days, even if Mashiach were to arrive almost right afterwards, he will have experienced pleasure in the World to Come equivalent to having spent two thousand years enjoying infinite pleasure, along the lines of “no eye has seen it, G-d, if not You.” Even if he spends but a few hours in the World of Truth, it will also be satisfying to him and a source of pleasure for many years, for in such a world the feeling of the Holy One’s majesty and holiness is so lasting and real that a person has the impression that he is experiencing a pleasure that is absolutely infinite.

In addition, a person’s reward in the World to Come is proportional to his work in this world multiplied by more than a hundred, so that it becomes as great as possible. For example, when someone lives 60 or 70 years in this world while studying Torah and performing mitzvot, it is as if he studied 60 or 70 thousand years, of which the Holy One, blessed be He, rewards him for every instant. Concerning such a reward it is said: “Mah rav tuvecha [How abundant is Your goodness] that You have stored away for those who fear You” (Tehillim 31:20).

We may explain that man relates to mah (the word adam [man] has the same numerical value as mah [what], and the Tetragrammaton also has that same numerical value when written with additional alephs – Zohar Ruth 102b). The Holy One, blessed be He, has reserved a reward for man that can be designated by mah, a reward that he can neither imagine nor describe. If he studies Torah, G-d greatly multiplies his reward, and since the day is divided into hours, minutes, and seconds, how many millions and indeed billions of seconds of infinite pleasure will a man receive in the World to Come! The Sages have clearly said, “There is no reward for a mitzvah in this world” (Kiddushin 39b), for the Holy One, blessed be He, multiplies the reward for performing a mitzvah in the World to Come.

Reward is therefore above nature and logic, for the Jewish people are also above nature when they occupy themselves with Torah study, mitzvot observance, and walking in the right path. They are then stronger than the nations of the world, and furthermore abundance comes into the world through their merit.

The Goal of Prosperity is Mitzvot Observance

It is written, “If you walk in My statutes and observe My commandments and perform them, then I will provide your rains in their time, and the land will give its produce and the tree of the field will give its fruit” (Vayikra 26:3-4).

Scripture seems to be telling us that the Holy One, blessed be He, rewards man in this world when he observes mitzvot. Therefore how is the teaching in the Gemara fulfilled, namely: “There is no reward for mitzvot in this world” (Kiddushin 39b)?

We may explain this according to Rashi, who said: “If you walk in My statutes…. It means that you must toil in the study of Torah; and observe My commandments – you shall toil in the study of Torah in order to observe and fulfill.” From the fact that the Torah placed the study of Torah before the observance of mitzvot, we learn that it is impossible for a person to fulfill mitzvot unless he puts time into diligently studying the Torah. When one puts an effort into studying Torah, one ends up observing mitzvot. This is why some people observe certain mitzvot but not others, for they fail to put an effort into Torah study and instead they focus all their efforts into this fleeting life. Hence they take pleasure in this life, but not in observing Torah mitzvot. Yet one who puts an effort into learning Torah will find great pleasure in it, as well as in the mitzvot, and he will end up observing them in great detail, for that will be the fruit of his labors.

Going Further and Further in Torah Study

An indication that Torah study enables a person to fulfill all the mitzvot lies in the fact that the word amal (arduous study) is composed of the same letters as ma’al (using something sacred for a mundane purpose). In other words, one who studies Torah will not betray it, betrayal consisting of appropriating something that is holy for oneself, for example by appropriating Torah mitzvot by accomplishing some of them while rejecting others, as a person does with something that belongs to him. Yet when someone puts an effort into studying Torah, he fulfills “If you walk in My statutes” – like someone who walks with his face turned towards a specific place, and who goes from place to place in order to arrive at his goal without getting tired on his journey, for he knows that he will be able to rest when he reaches his destination. Thus one who studies Torah in this world will not grow tired from all his effort, for he goes further and further in the rungs of Torah. Our Sages have praised the talmidei chachamim by saying, “Talmidei chachamim have no rest either in this world or in the World to Come” (Berachot 64a). Here Rashi explains that “if you walk in My statutes” means going from yeshiva to yeshiva and from Beit HaMidrash to Beit HaMidrash. In fulfilling “If you walk in My statutes,” we merit to arrive at “observe My commandments,” meaning the fulfillment of all the mitzvot. As for one who concerns himself with this fleeting life, that habit will prevent him from fulfilling the mitzvot of the Torah, which constitute eternal life, for he puts no effort into them.

What our Sages meant by saying, “The reward for a mitzvah is a mitzvah” (Pirkei Avoth 4:2) is that when a person fulfills the mitzvah of Torah study, the Holy One, blessed be He, enables him to perform all the mitzvot, and in this way his reward in the World to Come will increase. Thus Rabbeinu Yona Zatzal explained in his commentary on Pirkei Avoth: “Not that this is the reward, for how could it represent a reward? This is not so, for the reward is in the World to Come. In this world, however, we benefit from the result of the mitzvah, insofar as it helps us to perform other mitzvot. Thus the capital grows in the World to Come.”

Hashem Gives Generously

How can a person arrive at observing all the mitzvot? It is by studying Torah with the goal of putting it into practice, as Rashi states. The Holy One, blessed be He, also gives abilities to a person in this ephemeral world, enabling him to perform all the mitzvot, easy or difficult. In fact many mitzvot depend upon physical things, mitzvot such as leket, shikcha, peah, masserot, and bikkurim. The Holy One, blessed be He, gives man the study of Torah in order for him to observe and accomplish, for otherwise how can he fulfill mitzvot without material goods?

Hashem gives him all this so he can fulfill them. One who studies Torah merits to fulfill all the mitzvot, and it is therefore fitting for him to receive the possessions of this world, not as a reward, but as a means of performing all the mitzvot. This is what constitutes, “I will provide your rains in their time” – “your rains” constituting of materiality. The Holy One, blessed be He, gives man material possessions in proportion to what he needs to fulfill mitzvot. Once He opens His storehouse, He gives in abundance, as it is written: “I will pour out upon you blessing without end” (Malachi 3:10). In other words, a person will receive even more than what he needs to perform mitzvot.

However a person who does not devote himself to Torah study is not given the possessions of this world, for he does not study and therefore cannot fulfill mitzvot. In fact only one who studies Torah has the ability to fulfill all the mitzvot. If a person says before the Celestial Court when he is being judged, “I was poor and did not have the ability to fulfill mitzvot because of my poverty,” the Court will tell him: “You did not have enough sustenance because you did not put enough effort into learning Torah. If you had studied, the Holy One, blessed be He, would have given you enough to perform the mitzvot, for He only gives material goods in order to perform them, and the Sages have said: ‘I have acted wickedly and destroyed my livelihood’ [Kiddushin 82a].”

Some may object by saying that there are many wealthy people who do not study Torah. We reply that the Ba’alei HaTosafot have already answered this by saying, “The Holy One, blessed be He, created three gifts in the world: Wisdom, strength, and riches. Whoever merits one merits them all. When does this occur? When they come through the power of the Torah’s wisdom and the fear of Heaven. Otherwise there is no strength or wealth that can help man in any way” (Da’at Zekenim 32:1). Jeremiah said, “Let the wise man not glorify himself with his wisdom, and let the strong man not glorify himself with his strength, and let the rich man not glorify himself with his wealth. For only in this may one glorify himself – contemplating and knowing Me” (Jeremiah 9:22).

These three abilities, when they do not come from the Holy One, blessed be He, will be to the detriment of the one who possesses them. Our Sages have taught that the verse, “Riches hoarded by their owner to his misfortune” (Kohelet 5:12) applies to Korach (Sanhedrin 110a). The Sages also say, “Two rich men arose in the world, one in Israel and one among the nations of the world – Korach in Israel and Haman among the nations of the world – and both of them were destroyed from the world. Why? Because their gifts were not from the Holy One, blessed be He, but they snatched it for themselves” (Bereshith Rabba 22:7).

All Depends on the Effort We Invest in Torah Study

On the verse, “If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments” (Leviticus 26:3), Rashi cites the Sages in explaining: “What is the meaning of, ‘If you walk in My statutes’? It means that you must toil in the study of Torah.” We must point out that for Rashi, the question here is why the Torah uses two similar terms (“walk” and “keep”), since laws known as chukim (“statues”) are also considered to be mitzvot (“commandments”) and are contained in them. Why does the Torah state this directive twice? It is apparently because two distinct issues are being addressed here: 1) The study of Torah; and 2) the observance of mitzvot. In order to truly observe mitzvot in their totality and in every detail, we must study Torah beforehand. Only then can we reach our desired goal, which is the wholehearted observance of mitzvot in every detail. We must also ask why, concerning statutes, the Torah uses the expression “walk,” whereas for commandments it uses the term “keep.” What does each term mean?

We shall attempt to explain this as best we can, according to the words of the prophet Isaiah: “Everyone who is thirsty, go to the water” (Isaiah 55:1). This is difficult to understand, for it is obvious that someone who is thirsty should drink. Therefore what does the prophet mean by this statement? I believe that he is alluding to a profound truth, which is that there are people whose entire lives revolve around quenching their desires and pursuing wealth. However the more they have, the more they want, for “the lover of money will never be satisfied with money” (Ecclesiastes 5:9), and “if he has a hundred, he wants to turn them into two hundred” (Kohelet Rabba 1:32). These people will even abandon their own families for money, despite knowing that they will eventually die and leave all their money behind, as it is written: “At a time of a man’s passing from this world, neither silver, nor gold, nor precious stones, nor pearls accompany him, but only Torah and good deeds” (Perkei Avoth 6:9). Nevertheless, such people put great effort into acquiring things in this fleeting world, completely bent on the pursuit of wealth.

It is in this regard that the prophet tells us, “Everyone who is thirsty, go to the water.” This refers to people who thirst after money and the pleasures of this world, in effect telling them: You – go to the water – just as a thirsty person drinks water. Yet if he drinks salty water, not only will his thirst not be quenched, he will be thirstier than ever! The same applies to work: If we work solely for money, we will hunger even more for it and never be satisfied. This is why we must invest our efforts into eternal life, not into this fleeting life. That is, we must invest our efforts in Torah. When we invest all our efforts in water – meaning in Torah – we will gain both this world and the World to Come, for by the merit of Torah we will arise at the resurrection of the dead. Thus “go to the water” means “go to the Torah.” This is what we must thirst after, and it is where we must place our efforts, for the Torah is man’s entire life, both in this world and in the World to Come. This is the sense of the expression, “If you walk in My statutes.” It is Hashem’s voice proclaiming: “Everyone who is thirsty, go to the water.” We must invest our efforts in the right place, in the study of Torah, not in the futile pursuits of this world, for a person’s life on earth is fleeting; the wind passes over it and it is gone (Psalms 103:15-16).

A person must realize, however, that when he takes it upon himself to study Torah, he must concentrate his forces on defeating the evil inclination, which constantly fights him and says: “You already perform numerous mitzvot and you’re an honest man! Why do you also have to study Torah?” To this a person must respond, “The study of Torah is like a law that cannot be understood [a chuk]. So even if I don’t understand it, I still must study.” By the study of Torah, a person will come to fulfilling mitzvot. Yet if he fails to study, the mitzvot he does will not be fulfilled as they should be, and he will constantly fall into the traps of the evil inclination. Hence the Torah warns us that it is not enough to study without putting an effort into it. We must elevate ourselves in Torah study, for only then will life take a turn for the good. It is like telling someone, “If you work hard for a few days, both day and night, you will become immensely rich.” In that case he will completely change. He will not eat, drink, or sleep as before, and all his time will be spent working. He will work well beyond his normal capabilities, and that which seemed strange to him yesterday will seem normal to him today, and even more so tomorrow, as if he were following an immutable law. The same applies to the effort we invest in the study of Torah. Each day we will feel different than the day before, elevating ourselves more and more. We will walk counter to our nature and destructive habits, which is what constitutes: “If you walk in My statutes.” It means elevating ourselves and investing everything into Torah. We will then receive the bliss that awaits us in the World to Come, as it is written: “How abundant is Your good that You have stored away for those who fear You” (Psalms 31:20). Now there is nothing “good” other than Torah (Perkei Avoth 6:3), and thus we will merit the reward described by the Sages: “In the future world…the righteous sit with their crowns on their heads feasting on the brightness of the Shechinah” (Berachot 17a). If we fulfill mitzvot with the greatest degree of love, we will merit the light of understanding them. From here we see that the second part of the verse, “and keep My commandments” (which means, according to the view of the Torah, the daily observance of mitzvot), only happens once we have performed the first part of the verse: “If you walk in My statutes,” a reference to the study of Torah. In fact studying Torah can be considered as a prerequisite for performing mitzvot.

As a result, the study of Torah and performance of mitzvot require great preparation against the evil inclination. Even before the giving of the Torah, we see that the Children of Israel prepared themselves for 46 days to receive it. In fact they elevated themselves from the 49 gates of impurity towards the 49 gates of purity. Yet in that case, why did they need three extra days of isolation, as Hashem said to Moses: “You shall set boundaries for the people roundabout” (Exodus 19:12), as well as: “Be ready after three days” (v.15)? After all, they had already been prepared for a long time at that point. The answer is that the evil inclination is very powerful when it comes to receiving the Torah, and so a person must prepare himself as much as possible. Thus preparation leads to the goal. This is especially true when the time comes for action, for then the evil inclination is even more powerful and whispers doubts into a person’s ears and inflicts terrible hardships upon him. Hence he must prepare himself even more. All this is contained in the words, “If you walk in My statues,” a reference to constantly preparing ourselves, walking against our nature, and progressively growing. How can we do this? By reducing to a minimum the pleasures that we seek in this world. This idea is alluded to in the word im (“if”), formed by the letters aleph and mem, and having a numerical value of 41. This means that we should add a little more to the 40 days in which the Torah was given, all while preparing ourselves as the Children of Israel did in the desert. This is what walking means – progressively growing – for then we will arrive at: “If you keep My commandments.” We must keep the mitzvot; we cannot neglect them. Therein lies the difference between “walking” and “keeping,” for the diligent study of Torah is a preparation for the performance of mitzvot, resulting in tremendous spiritual growth.