English translation — לך לך ב

1.

On the verse¹

"Do not fear, Abram, I am a shield for you, your reward is very great" Rashi explains²,

that Abraham was afraid: since "this miracle was performed for him that he killed the kings ...

perhaps I have received reward for all my righteousness",

the Almighty said to him: "Do not fear, Abram ...

(and)

what you are worried about receiving your reward,

your reward is very great".

It is seemingly not understood: the service of Abraham our father was indeed

(<b>not</b> for the sake of receiving reward,

but)

service <b>for its own sake</b>.

And in the language of the Rambam³,

when he speaks about the level of a "servant out of love" who is "engaged in Torah and commandments ...

not because of anything in the world ...

and not in order to inherit the good⁴

but does the truth because it is truth" — that "this is a very great level ...

and it is the level of <b>Abraham our father</b> ...

that he served only out of love" —

Today how is it relevant to say⁵,

that Abraham,

"who served only out of love",

had <b>fear</b> that he would not have any reward,

until the Almighty had to tell him "Fear not, your reward is very great"⁶?

B.

Seemingly one could answer:

Although Avraham's service was entirely for its own sake and he did not thereby think about reward for the service

(even not about the reward of the World to Come&lt;sup&gt;7&lt;/sup&gt;)

— nevertheless,

if he would have known that he has no reward,

that would have been for him a proof that his service is not entirely proper.

that a "servant out of love" is "doing the truth because it is truth &lt;b&gt;and the good will come in its wake&lt;/b&gt;&lt;sup&gt;8&lt;/sup&gt;

": with this the Rambam comes not merely to guarantee that also a "servant out of love" receives reward

(although he does not do for the sake of reward)

— for what does this come to teach us?

And further — what is the addition-emphasis "in its wake"?

Rather this is a sign of a true "servant out of love",

that when he does "because it is truth" then "the good will come in its wake"].

And therefore,

seeing that the Above gives him reward in This World,

Avraham was afraid that by him would be lacking the "end of the good for which it comes",

which this is a sign of deficiency in his service.

It is however a great difficulty to learn thus.

For if the fear of Avraham was not because of the lack of reward in itself,

but because of that which this proves that his service of G-d is not in perfection,

then the "Fear not, Avram" should have assured the main thing: that he should not fear,

because his service is in perfection,

and so forth.

From this that the verse says: "Do not fear, etc. &lt;b&gt;your reward &lt;/b&gt;is very great"

(Not mentioning at all about his service)

It is proven,

That the matter of the reward here is

(Not as a sign of another thing,

But)

As a matter in itself.

And thus the difficulty returns to its place.

3.

will one understand this with the introduction of the explanation in a story

(which at first glance is puzzling)

in the Zohar of our parshah⁹

in connection with the verse "your reward is very great."

The Zohar there explains,

that one who is engaged in Torah "they give him length of days in the World to Come and they give him wealth and honor in this world,"

and following this he brings the story:

R' Abba once proclaimed,

that whoever wants wealth and whoever wants "the path of life in the World to Come" should come and learn Torah.

A certain "bachelor" came to him and said: "I desire to toil in Torah

(I want to toil

in Torah)

so that I may have wealth

(wealth)

and R' Abba agreed to this.

R' Abba asked him what his name was,

and he answered: Yosi; R' Abba said to his students "remember him as R' Yosi, master of wealth, and he shall be called"

(that they should call him "R' Yosi, the man of wealth and honor").

When a period of time had passed, R' Yosi came to R' Abba and asked: "An hu utra"

(Where is the wealth)?

"Amar

(R' Abba)

Shma mina d'lav l'shem shamayim ka'avid"

(And he wanted to pray "that that student should die, since he was engaged [in Torah] not for its own sake"&lt;sup&gt;10&lt;/sup&gt;).

"Shma chad kala d'hava amar la ta'an'shei d'gavra raba l'hevei".

R' Abba said to R' Yosi that he should continue to learn "V'ana yahivna lach utra".

And the Zohar relates further,

that to R' Abba came a rich man,

who had not merited to learn Torah,

and asked him that someone should learn Torah for his merit "V'ana yahivna utra".

R' Abba said to R' Yosi that he should learn Torah and the rich man would give him wealth.

"Yahav lei hahu kasa d'faz

(He gave R' Yosi a cup of fine gold)..

Yiteiv

(R' Yosi)

v'la'a b'orayta,

v'hahu bar nash hava yahiv lei utra".

With a time later, R' Yosi understood the preciousness of the Torah and he cried why he had his

(merit of)

Torah exchanged for wealth.

When R' Abba heard this — "he said now we deduce that this one acts for the sake of Heaven,

he called to that man, said to him: take your wealth

and give it to orphans and paupers

(return the wealth and give it away to orphans and paupers)

and I will give you an extra portion in the Torah ..

R' Yosi returned to him that cup of fine gold

(R' Yosi returned to him the cup of fine gold)

and until that day his name did not depart ..

son of Pazi"

(and until this day he is called R' Yosi &lt;b&gt;ben Pazi &lt;/b&gt; — because of the "cup of fine gold").

4.

In this story there are several difficulties,

and among them:

a)

Why did R. Abba want to punish R. Yosi for that he learned Torah not for its own sake — it is after all an explicit law¹¹

: "A person should always engage in Torah and commandments even if not for their own sake, for from not for their own sake he comes to for their own sake"?

The wonder is even greater: Rabbi Abba himself had proclaimed "Who &lt;b&gt;desires wealth &lt;/b&gt;..

let him come and engage in Torah",

and Rabbi Yosi initially came to study Torah "&lt;b&gt;so that &lt;/b&gt;I may have wealth"

What changed after he asked "Is there wealth",

until Rabbi Abba wanted to punish him,

and even with the punishment of death?

b)

from the fact that not only did R' Abba say to that man that from now on he should stop giving wealth because he wants to learn Torah lishmah,

but R' Yosi <b>overturned</b> the "throne of fine gold"

it is implied,

that thereby he wanted to nullify the entire "agreement" retroactively,

also regarding the merit of the Torah that he had <b>already</b> learned;

It is perplexing: the merit of the Torah that he studied earlier,

was already acquired by the rich man¹³?

g)

The conclusion in the Zohar

(<b>After</b> relating that R. Yosi had <b>regret</b>)

"And until that day, my name did not depart ..

ben Pazi" must bring out the greatness of R. Yosi — and at first glance, it is,

on the contrary,

this reminds that his study was <b>not for its own sake</b>

(because of the "throne of paz")¹⁴

; and moreover, the law is¹⁵

that one may not remind a baal teshuvah — of his former deeds.

5.

Also there are several precise points in this story,

and among them:

a)

The heavenly voice that "a great man he shall be" — how is this a reason for "you shall not punish her" — from whichever side: if the study not for its own sake is forbidden and therefore a punishment comes — then what does it help that <b>in the future</b> he will be a "great man"?

Can one then because of this permit a forbidden thing¹⁶?

! And if no punishment comes because "a person should always occupy himself with Torah and commandments even if not for their own sake" — then one need not come to the reason of "a great man he shall be".

b)

What is the practical difference that the Zohar tells that when R' Yosi came to R' Abba he was a "bachelor"?

6.

At first glance one could explain the conduct of R' Abba:

Chazal are precise,

that that which one must be occupied with Torah and mitzvos even not for its own sake,

is because "out of not for its own sake comes for its own sake",

i.e.

that is

it is not

(only)

because the deed is the main thing&lt;sup&gt;17&lt;/sup&gt;,

and therefore the deed outweighs the intention not for its own sake

(in the language of the Alter Rebbe&lt;sup&gt;18&lt;/sup&gt;

: that the mitzvah is done properly ..

except that his thought is not for the sake of the mitzvah),

but because

eventually it brings to "for its own sake&lt;sup&gt;19&lt;/sup&gt;.

And based on this one can say,

that when Rabbi Abba saw that Rabbi Yosi <b>demands </b>the wealth,

with a forcefulness,

Rabbi Abba calculated,

that such a manner of "not for its own sake"

(with such a strong forcefulness)

will not bring to "for its own sake".

But also this is not sufficient.

Because let us assume even that in such a case he need not learn Torah with him²⁰

— it seemingly has no place to say,

that one should for that be <b>punished </b>and with a death penalty!

7.

And one must say the explanation in this:

In the matter of learning Torah for the sake of receiving reward, there are two modes:

א)

One learns for the sake of the reward that the &lt;b&gt;Almighty &lt;/b&gt;gives for the fulfillment of the mitzvah of Torah study,

And in the language of the old Rebbe&lt;sup&gt;21&lt;/sup&gt;

: "He studies ..

to receive a reward in the World to Come or even in this world wealth and honor of the left-handers that is given&lt;sup&gt;22&lt;/sup&gt;

&lt;b&gt;from heaven&lt;/b&gt;".

ב)

One learns in order "to &lt;b&gt;take &lt;/b&gt;for himself honor and greatness that they call him Rebbe and he will be a Rosh Yeshiva"&lt;sup&gt;21&lt;/sup&gt;,

or "in order to earn a living through teaching or judging and rulings"&lt;sup&gt;23&lt;/sup&gt;,

which is a benefit that the &lt;b&gt;person &lt;/b&gt;"takes" from his study of Torah.

In this manner, it is not only the deficiency of "not for its own sake"

(as in the first manner),

but this is also the &lt;b&gt;prohibition&lt;/b&gt; — "You shall not do

(Torah)

a crown to magnify oneself with it, nor an axe to chop with it"&lt;sup&gt;24&lt;/sup&gt;

(of words of Torah)

for their own sake, but to magnify oneself or to make a living, it is better that he engage in Torah not for its own sake than that he be idle and withdraw, because from not for its own sake he comes to for its own sake"&lt;sup&gt;23&lt;/sup&gt;].

With this one can also explain a precision in the Alter Rebbe's Shulchan Aruch&lt;sup&gt;21&lt;/sup&gt;

(where he enumerates various manners in the study of Torah not for its own sake)

: First he says

(that he studies)

"to receive a reward ..

even in this world, wealth and honor ..

given from heaven"; and afterwards,

when he speaks about the reward that he himself "takes",

he mentions only "honor and greatness, that they call him 'Rabbi' and he will be a Rosh Yeshiva",

and omits the detail of "wealth".

And according to the above it can be explained: That which they permitted to use Torah as a "hatchet to chop with it" is only "&lt;b&gt;to support oneself&lt;/b&gt;"&lt;sup&gt;25&lt;/sup&gt;,

since a person is obligated to support his wife and the members of his household; but when it comes to using words of Torah in order that he should thereby acquire wealth

(in a manner

that &lt;b&gt;people&lt;/b&gt;&lt;sup&gt;26&lt;/sup&gt;

should make him rich for what he learns Torah)

— for this there is not the aforementioned permission&lt;sup&gt;27&lt;/sup&gt;.

8.

Based on this, the conduct of R' Abba will be understood,

mentioned above:

R' Abba's declaration "Who wants wealth etc. should come and engage in Torah",

meant the wealth that is "given from &lt;b&gt;heaven&lt;/b&gt;"; and he thought,

that such wealth also R' Yosi had in mind when he said "I wish to engage in Torah so that I may have wealth".

But when R' Yosi later came with a claim to R' Abba "if he is wealthy",

he thereby revealed his intention from the outset that &lt;b&gt;R' Abba &lt;/b&gt;would provide him with wealth; therefore R' Abba wanted to punish him,

because his learning is not merely not for its own sake,

but in a manner that he is "using the crown of the Torah" for which the punishment is "uprooted from the world"&lt;sup&gt;23&lt;/sup&gt;.

And it is sweetened in this that the Zohar is precise to inform that R' Yosi was then a "&lt;b&gt;bachelor&lt;/b&gt;": if he had been a family man,

it is judged favorably that wealth he needs in order to fulfill "her food, her clothing ..

he shall not diminish"&lt;sup&gt;28&lt;/sup&gt;

(which this was permitted,

Since however that he was a "bachelor" — it is a proof that he wanted <b>wealth</b> — and for this there is <b>no</b> permission,

as above)

as mentioned above,

and therefore Rabbi Abba rejected such a study not for its own sake.

According to this it becomes however even harder to understand the announcement of the Heavenly Voice that <b>in the future</b> "he will be a great man" — is this a permission that one should in the present use Torah as a "hatchet to chop with it" for wealth?

9.

This will be understood through the explanation in the maamar "Le'olam ya'asok adam etc. shemitoch shelo lishmah ba lishmah",

that this means

but]

that already &lt;b&gt;now &lt;/b&gt;there is within the "toch" the intention of lishmah,

the "toch" of the "shelo lishmah" is "lishmah":

In the "toch" of every Jew&lt;sup&gt;29&lt;/sup&gt;,

in whatever state he may be,

there is the will and intention to fulfill the Will of the Above; as per the ruling of the Rambam&lt;sup&gt;30&lt;/sup&gt;

known,

that also the Jew whom Beis Din must &lt;b&gt;coerce &lt;/b&gt;him to fulfill the verdict of the Torah

(to give a get),

he has &lt;b&gt;at the time of the act &lt;/b&gt;the will "to do all the mitzvos etc. and it is his evil inclination that overpowered him"

(and for this reason the coercion helps — although a get must be given willingly by the husband — since the coercion only reveals the true inner will to fulfill the command of Hashem).

Nevertheless, one sees,

that not in every case does one reckon with the "inner" of

man.

And as we find in Tosafot³¹

the distinction,

that that which one may study Torah not for its own sake is specifically "one who studies in order that they honor him,"

but <b>not</b> when his study is "to provoke his friends"³²

for then it is "it would have been better for him had he not been created"³³

(although also by him there exists the intention for its own sake from his "inner" and inwardness).

What superficially is this not simple&lt;sup&gt;34&lt;/sup&gt;

: Even though that "to provoke his friends" is much worse than learning merely "in order that they honor him",

but nevertheless this is superficially not more than an &lt;b&gt;intention &lt;/b&gt;not for its own sake,

(Who according to some he should not learn Torah)

— because there is lacking in that learning&lt;sup&gt;36&lt;/sup&gt;

his Torah; for "the purpose of wisdom is repentance and good deeds"&lt;sup&gt;33&lt;/sup&gt;,

and therefore,

when one learns "not to do" there is lacking

(not only in the "intention" of the learning,

but)

in the very

(purpose of the)

learning&lt;sup&gt;37&lt;/sup&gt;].

Why should the intention of "to provoke" make such a fundamental change in the study,

to the extent that "it would have been better for him had he not been created"?

Yud.

And one must say the explanation of this:

The explanation of "from not for its own sake comes to for its own sake" is not only that in the "within" of a &lt;b&gt;Jew&lt;/b&gt; there is the intention for its own sake — rather that the "within" of the "&lt;b&gt;not for its own sake&lt;/b&gt;" &lt;b&gt;itself&lt;/b&gt; is — "for its own sake":

That which Torah and commandments bring with them matters of reward

— both physical good and spiritual good,

and not only reward that the Above gives in the manner of &lt;b&gt;segulah&lt;/b&gt;,

but also the matters of good that a fulfiller of commandments receives as a &lt;b&gt;natural&lt;/b&gt; result&lt;sup&gt;38&lt;/sup&gt;

of the fulfillment of the commandments

head of a yeshiva,

etc.]

is not a hindrance to the service of G‑d for its own sake;

And it can be said, regarding one who is an oved Hashem lishmah,

the reward becomes a matter of avodas Hashem³⁹,

Because the true matter of lishmah means,

that during learning and fulfillment of the mitzvah one thinks entirely not about <b>oneself</b> and about one's own benefit,

rather one does entirely and thoroughly for the sake of the Exalted One's matter.

So accordingly, regarding him also concerning the reward of the Torah and the mitzvos: at the time he receives wealth and honor etc.,

for example,

he does not feel that <b>to him</b> is due importance and greatness

(that <b>he</b> has earned wealth and honor),

rather that through this the honor of <b>Heaven</b> is increased in the world — all see,

that when one fulfills Torah and mitzvos one receives wealth and honor etc.⁴⁰.

And the way it is stated

by Avraham, "And I will make your name great."

It is known regarding this the question

: Did Avraham seek greatness — he was indeed nullified in existence,

"And I am dust and ashes"

Is one of the explanations about this,

that on the contrary,

this is the very reason: since Avraham was nullified in existence,

he had no place at all in himself — therefore the "name" is not his "name" but of the One Who made me,

"the name of Heaven"; that which "Your name is magnified in the world"

does not produce in him the feeling of his greatness,

but only — the magnification of the name of Heaven].

11.

And this means "from within not

for its own sake comes for its own sake" — that the "inner" of "not for its own sake" itself is "for its own sake":

That which the Jew feels that &lt;b&gt;he &lt;/b&gt;desires honor and wealth and the like — this is only from the side of &lt;b&gt;the body&lt;/b&gt;; but in this there is a “pnimiyus” — the will of the soul,

which desires the matters of reward so that it should come to honor of the Torah and honor of Heaven,

through that which one sees revealed to the eyes of all that through Torah and mitzvos one is blessed with all good.

on the verse&lt;sup&gt;47&lt;/sup&gt;

“Hungry and also thirsty, their soul within them is wrapped,”

that the hunger and thirst of the body for a thing of food and drink comes from that which “&lt;b&gt;their soul &lt;/b&gt;within them is wrapped” — the soul wants to refine the holy sparks from that food and drink].

And therefore the concept of "from not for its sake comes to for its sake" applies specifically when it speaks about such a face whose "inner" <b>can</b> be "for its sake"; but not the one who learns "to provoke" — which is a matter <b>opposite</b>

(has no positive side)

— one cannot say,

that the "inner" of <b>this</b> "not for its sake" is "for its sake"⁴⁸.

יב.

According to the above one will understand what the Heavenly Voice meant by saying that Rabbi Yosi will be a "great man":

Although there is the rule that one may not use Torah for wealth as above

(the permission is only to support oneself),

but the one to whom "the many need him",

"that there is none in the state as great in wisdom as him ..

and the community is commanded to support him honorably ..

and even &lt;b&gt;to enrich him &lt;/b&gt;..

make him great from the property of his brothers ..

and the same applies to every great one of the generation"&lt;sup&gt;49&lt;/sup&gt;,

The heavenly voice revealed that that which Rabbi Yosi wanted to have wealth as reward for his learning,

is connected with that he has &lt;b&gt;in potential &lt;/b&gt;the powers that will come into actuality and "let him be a great man"

(that "they are commanded ..

to enrich him ..

make him great from the property of his brothers")

; and consequently,

although in his current state he wanted the wealth for his own benefit,

but in this desire itself there is the "inner core" &lt;b&gt;and cause &lt;/b&gt;— that his &lt;b&gt;soul &lt;/b&gt;wants to attain the status and condition of "a great man",

and "make him great from the property of his brothers".

And therefore in &lt;b&gt;this &lt;/b&gt;case — he &lt;b&gt;was allowed&lt;/b&gt;&lt;sup&gt;50&lt;/sup&gt;

to learn Torah in order to have wealth,

since that from the perspective of his hidden powers in the present he will be a "great one of the generation" who "is commanded ...

to enrich him".

13.

With this one will also understand why Rabbi Yosi finally returned the "throne of gold",

and also the reason that he was called "Rabbi Yosi ben Pazi":

That which the public must support and make rich the great one of the generation,

is,

of course,

not causing in him, heaven forbid, any feeling of pride and the like; on the contrary: because he is the true great one of the generation,

who has true self-nullification to the Above,

specifically because of that he is the one who has the power to "clarify" the wealth; because by him the wealth is — honor of Heaven

(in the manner of the above section ten).

And this is the explanation in the aforementioned story:

By giving back the "Kisei d'Paz" he did not intend to nullify the merit of the rich man in the Torah that he studied for his merit

(This one cannot⁵¹

After the fact,

as above),

Rather, R' Yosi wanted to bring out how much the level of engaging in Torah lishmah needs to be.

And therefore they called him "Ben Pazi" — the name is <b>for praise</b>: the name brings out

(In addition to that it mentions that after the paz became <b>his </b>— Pazi⁵²

— he returned it)

this great quality of R' Yosi,

that he is a "Gavra Rabba": Gavra

(Even though his name — from 'gibor')

is not in his power to open such "paz",

wealth

(for the sake of wealth)

should be transformed and elevated to "for its own sake"; Rabbi Yosi, however,

being a "great man",

he was able to be a "ben Pazi"

(like the law of "ben chorin")

— transforms the "Paz" so that it becomes "Ba'al HaBayit" completely over the Paz — it becomes "Pazi",

he transforms the matter of wealth to for its own sake.

14.

And accordingly one can explain the explanation in that which the Above said to Avraham "your reward is very great" — even though Avraham was a "servant out of love" — because,

on the contrary,

this itself gives the reason:

Because Abraham was a "servant from love" in the utmost perfection,

so also the matter of reward for the work by him

(not for himself,

but)

for the sake of His service.

And on the contrary: specifically by this that the Most High told him "your reward is <b>very great</b>",

is brought out the true greatness of the service of Abraham,

that he is on so much no existence in his own eyes,

until that also reward in a manner of "very great"⁵³

is by him no contradiction to service for its own sake,

but on the contrary a part of his service,

Because the "greatness" of the reward of his work by him is not any own greatness,

rather the greatness of the Above.

(From the talk of Shabbos Parshas Lech Lecha 5741)