English translation — ואתחנן ג

A.

On the last two words of our parshah — "

(And you shall keep the commandment etc. which I command)

today to do them" — Rashi explains¹

: and tomorrow for the World to Come to receive their reward.

Commentators learn²

that this Rashi commentary comes in continuation of his commentary on the previous verse "and repays those who hate Him to their face, to destroy them — in their lifetime He pays them their good reward in order to destroy them from the World to Come",

D.

H.

the Almighty pays off a wicked person his reward for his good deeds in this world so that he should have no World to Come —

So in continuation of this the verse says "And you shall guard etc. today to do them" — "and tomorrow for the world to come to receive their reward",

so by righteous people it is reversed,

that the reward is not "today" in this world,

but "tomorrow for the world to come".

Because "reward<sup>3</sup>

of a mitzvah in this world there is none"<sup>4</sup>.

And this corresponds with the words of the Talmud<sup>5</sup>

— the source of Rashi's commentary this — where it brings the statement "today to do them etc. and tomorrow to receive their reward" in continuation to the statement on "He shall not delay to his enemy"<sup>6</sup>

— "to his enemies he does not delay but he delays for completely righteous people,

and that is what R. Yehoshua b. Levi said: What is that which is written ..

today to do them ..

today to do them tomorrow to receive their reward".

D.

E.

With "tomorrow to receive their reward" means Rashi that the Most High is

(specifically —)

"delaying" the reward of the completely righteous

(on "tomorrow",

the World to Come).

B.

It is however difficult to learn this explanation in the words of Rashi,

because:

a)

According to this, Rashi should have emphasized

(as in the Gemara)

the contrast,

that in this verse

("And you shall keep etc. today to do them")

it speaks

(not about "His enemies",

but)

about completely righteous individuals*⁶.

From the fact that Rashi is general "today to do them,

and tomorrow etc." — not making distinctions thereby — it implies,

that Rashi intends to state a principle in relation to all Jews⁷.

b)

And furthermore, mainly: How can one say that according to Rashi

(according to the plain meaning of Scripture)

"there is no reward for a mitzvah in this world",

when there are many verses in the Chumash where many physical promises are stated for fulfillment of the Torah and commandments — and in the language of the verse⁸

"If you walk in My statutes etc. and I will give your rains in their time"

(with all the blessings enumerated in the portion),

and moreover: immediately after our verse come the verses⁹

"And it will be, because you will listen etc. and He will love you and bless you etc. and bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your land, your grain etc. Blessed you will be etc. and He will remove etc. and you will eat etc."¹⁰?

3.

Commentators¹¹

answer based on the words of the Rambam¹²

the well-known,

that the true essence of reward of commandments is the life of the World to Come,

and all those physical promises are only in order to "remove from us all the things that prevent us ...

and bestow upon us all the good things that strengthen our hands to do the Torah etc. so that we may merit the life of the World to Come."

And this means "tomorrow for the World to Come to receive their reward" — because the

(true)

reward of a commandment — in the language of the Rambam there: the ultimate reward of commandments — is the life of the World to Come,

and about this one says: there is no reward of a commandment in this world.

One cannot, however, accept that this is Rashi's method in the plain sense of Scripture — because

(who wrote his commentary in clear language)

somewhere have had to indicate this distinction¹³,

that the physical rewards in the Torah are not the essence of the mitzvah

(or conversely: Rashi would have had to emphasize here in our verse that he is speaking

(not about the "reward" discussed in the Torah,

about "the ultimate reward" etc.)

— is]

a)

In the verse¹⁴

“And I will turn to you” — which speaks about physical promises: “And I will make you fruitful and multiply you” — Rashi explains: “I will turn away from all my affairs to pay your reward. A parable: a king who hired workers, etc.”

And from this it is clear that Rashi’s view on the Torah

is that the “to pay your reward” is not

but)

(only)

an incidental matter

(the removal of obstacles to the fulfillment of the commandments)

but the reward for the service itself

(exactly like the wages paid to workers)¹⁵.

b)

In general, it is difficult to accept that Rashi in his commentary on the Torah explains like the statement “There is no reward for a commandment in this world,” because the source and foundation of this view are the verses “So that your days may be lengthened and that it may go well with you”¹⁶

(regarding honoring father and mother)

and “So that it may go well with you and you may prolong your days”¹⁷

(regarding sending away the mother bird),

that this means: “So that it may go well with you in a world that is entirely good,

and so that your days may be lengthened in a world that is entirely long”¹⁸,

But Rashi in his commentary on the Torah does not bring

(on the aforementioned verses)

the explanation

(a world that is entirely good ..

that is entirely long).

And on the contrary: from the laconic language of Rashi on the verse¹⁹

"Honor etc. so that your days may be long" — "If you honor they will be long and if not etc.'",

and likewise on the verse¹⁷

"Send you shall send etc. so that it may be good for you etc.' — "If a light commandment etc. the Torah said so that it may be good for you and length of days; all the more so the reward of weighty commandments" — it is proven,

that Rashi holds that the plain meaning of Scripture is length of days and goodness in their literal sense in physicality²⁰

(and this is also "the reward of weighty commandments"²¹).

And the question returns to its place: how does Rashi say here at the end of our portion with a plain meaning "and tomorrow for the World to Come to receive their reward"?

4.

Also it is not smooth in the language of Rashi:

The maamar "Today to do them,

and tomorrow

(the World to Come)

to receive their reward" is brought in two places in the Shas — in Maseches Eruvin⁵

and in Maseches Avodah Zarah²²,

but with a change of language:

In tractate Eruvin the wording is "Today to do them and not tomorrow to do them,

today to do them, tomorrow to receive their reward",

in tractate Avodah Zarah it says: "Today to do them and not tomorrow to do them,

today to do them and not today to take reward".

And the reason for the difference is understood simply: from the verse "Today to do them" the Gemara learns two things:

(a)

The emphasis in "today" — that the "to do them"

(doing of commandments)

is specifically today,

and not "tomorrow" in the World to Come.

(b)

The emphasis in "to do them" — that the time of "today"

(this world)

is specifically for "to do them",

and not for "to take reward".

And this is the precise wording²³

(in Avodah Zarah²⁴)

"and not today to take reward" — because the lesson is

(not the positive aspect — that reward is "for tomorrow",

but)

in the negative aspect,

that "today"

(in this world)

is

(specifically to do them,

and)

not the time of "to take reward" — there is no reward for a mitzvah in this world.

And accordingly,

if one were to learn that Rashi's intention here is the matter of "there is no reward for a mitzvah in this world"

(that with "today to do them" the verse innovates that the Most High does not pay a righteous person in his lifetime in this world,

in contrast to "His enemies" whom "in his lifetime He pays him his good reward")

— then seemingly the wording would be more appropriate

(as in tractate Avodah Zarah)

"and not today to take their reward"²⁵.

Heh.

And it can be said,

That Rashi comments as above, exactly his language — "and tomorrow etc. to take their reward".

— In tractate Eruvin

(in our text²⁶)

the language is "tomorrow to receive their reward",

but Rashi specifically chooses the version

(from tractate Avodah Zarah²⁷)

"to take their reward".

The precision is even more striking based on the above,

That at the beginning of the language Rashi specifically chooses the language of tractate Eruvin

("and tomorrow etc."),

and not from tractate Avodah Zarah

("and not today etc.").

And one can explain the explanation in this,

With an introduction: The difference between the expressions — "to receive" and "to take" — is:

"To receive their reward" shows that the reward comes from the giver — the receiver is not a master on his own to take the reward,

but he is dependent on the giver,

he is only a "receiver"; in contrast, "to take their reward" shows,

that the person himself takes the reward

(which comes to him).

And with this Rashi clarifies that this speaks about a different type in the manner of payment of reward: "tomorrow for the World to Come" will reveal a novelty,

that then Jews will become householders over their reward,

they will take,

themselves! "take" their reward²⁸.

It turns out that this has no connection to the matter of "reward of a mitzvah in this world": as above Rashi holds according to the plain meaning of Scripture that there is reward of a mitzvah in this world,

as the multitude of verses that speak about physical promises as reward for fulfillment of the Torah and the commandments.

But in this world, the concept of reward is in a manner of "to receive their reward": The Almighty gives a Jew all good, forever, with children, life, and sustenance

(and in all of them)

abundantly,

but not that the Jew has the power and strength to take the reward himself.

And therefore it can be,

that into this there may sometimes interfere various

(side)

reasons that cause that in practice he should not receive the reward²⁹

says regarding the incident where Rabbi Yaakov saw how a certain person who "his father said to him: Go up to the attic and bring me young birds, and he went up to the attic and sent away the mother and took the young, and on his return he fell and died" — that if he had been

"contemplating idolatry" — he would not have deserved to receive the reward of "that it may be well with you and you may prolong your days"

(in its simple sense).

4.

5.

So even though he performed the commandments themselves in their perfection and the deficiency is in a different matter

(which has no connection to the performance of these commandments)³¹

— it causes that one should not receive the reward]

But not so "tomorrow for the World to Come" Jews themselves will take,

"take" their reward,

and there will not be able to be any delays etc. upon this.

6.

Based on this, the precise wording of Rashi is understood: "And tomorrow, for the World to Come, to receive their reward"

(and not — "and not today etc."),

because the novelty of Rashi is

(in contrast to "His enemies" who "in their lifetime He pays them their good reward")

— on the contrary: according to Rashi's explanation, the Above certainly pays the righteous their good reward in this world,

as explained in the simple meaning of the verse, all the physical promises in the Torah — rather, the novelty is]

In this obligation,

that "tomorrow for the World to Come" a new manner in the payment of reward will be revealed

(which is not present "today")

— "tomorrow ..

to take their reward"³².

And the continuation of the verses here is: earlier it says "and He repays His enemies to their face to destroy them; He will not delay [repaying] His enemy to his face; He will repay him",

that a wicked person is paid specifically immediately in his lifetime "in order to destroy him from the World to Come",

but unlike by those who are not "His enemies",

it is possible sometimes that the reward should not be received immediately

(as above)

Then the verse says — "And you shall keep the commandment etc. today to do them",

so the order

(that there can be a delay in the payment of reward)

is only "today",

but "tomorrow in the World to Come to receive their reward".

7.

The explanation

(inner)

in this aforementioned difference — whether the payment of reward is in a manner of "to receive" or "to take":

In this time, the matter of the payment of reward is connected with the Heavenly Court.

And therefore one does not take the reward by oneself,

it is dependent on the Heavenly Court.

But in the future to come in the World to Come — the time of a day that is entirely Shabbat³³

— it can be said that there will not be the matter of a court

(of the Heavenly [Court])

(in the manner that on Shabbat all courts are closed³⁴)

; and consequently,

if a Jew has done a good deed for which he is due reward,

there is no possibility of any delay³⁵,

and he takes his reward.

8.

There is yet another difference between the two terms "to receive" and "to take":

"To receive their reward" indicates that the reward comes to the person through the giver; the giver not only determined the reward,

but he gives it to him,

the person is only a "receiver"

(the reward).

But "to take their reward" shows,

that the man must take it — the giver determines a reward for the recipient,

but in order for it to reach him, an action is required,

that he should "take" it.

And with this Rashi indicates the difference between the physical rewards and the reward of the World to Come:

The material rewards are all in the category of "to receive their reward": The Almighty gives a Jew all good forever, with children, life, and sustenance, and in all of them profit, in a manner that the Jew receives his reward incidentally

(without any additional action on his part)

However, the spiritual reward of the World to Come is a higher type of reward: The life of the World to Come is not a matter that a person is merely a "receiver" — rather, the person must "take" the reward; one finds oneself in a world where one has the ability to enjoy "the radiance of the Divine Presence,"

but in order to actually have enjoyment, the "taking of their reward"³⁶ is necessary.

And with this Rashi warns about a matter in this verse:

Learning the verse "And you shall guard etc. today to do them" it turns out,

that the matter of guarding the Torah and the commandments pertains specifically to "today".

The question arises: in what will the service of the Jewish people consist "tomorrow"

(in the World to Come)?

Even simply one understands that one has no need to say that in the World to Come there will not, heaven forbid, be any matter of service of God³⁷

Rashi says - "And tomorrow for the World to Come to take their reward": In the World to Come, Jews will occupy themselves with the service of "taking their reward"³⁶.

— According to this, it turns out,

that Rashi's commentary has no connection to the discussion about "reward of a mitzvah in this world" — because here it is not the question whether the Above pays reward in this world,

rather: In what does the service of Jews "tomorrow" consist.

9.

The difference between the two terms "לקבל" and "ליטול",

can also be connected with the two opinions³⁸

regarding reward and punishment:

a)

That they come in a miraculous way,

h.

That the reward and punishment,

are not in the manner of cause and effect directly from the mitzvah and sin,

but they are in the manner of reward and punishment that a person determines according to his will because of a good deed or its opposite.

b)

So they come naturally,

d.

d.

That the Almighty has embedded in the mitzvos and the sins themselves,

That they should bring reward or punishment.

And this is the difference between "to receive" or "to take":

If reward for commandments comes naturally,

it turns out,

that when a Jew does a commandment, no additional matter is created³⁹

to receive the reward — the doing of the commandment is the cause which brings the reward in a manner of automatically.

"To receive their reward" — the reward comes automatically and the person only needs to receive it.

If however reward for commandments is not a natural matter,

but it comes only in a manner of miracle — it turns out,

that the reward does not come automatically by virtue of the doing of the commandments,

but payment of reward is an action not by nature,

an additional action,

one needs to be an action of giving

(and taking⁴⁰)

the reward.

Yud.

According to the above, one can explain

(in the inwardness of the matters)

the precision "and for tomorrow, for the World to Come

(specifically)

to take their reward":

The two manners above in the payment of reward — a miraculous matter,

or a natural matter — both exist in the spiritual reward for the fulfillment of Torah and mitzvos.

It is known⁴¹

that there are two types of reward: a)

the reward of the Garden of Eden,

which is a limited reward, so to speak⁴²,

because there the Divine light that is clothed in the order of the chain of descent shines

(the light that fills).

b)

the reward of the resurrection of the dead,

when then the encompassing light that is above the chain of descent will shine

(the light that surrounds),

which is an unlimited reward.

And therefore: the reward that is connected with the light that fills, which is limited according to the arousal of the created beings,

since regarding this light, the service of the created beings occupies space,

the reward is in a natural way⁴³

: the service of Jews brings about this reward;

Not so the reward of the commandment of the encompassing light cannot be said about this that this is a natural matter in the service — because regarding this light the service of created beings does not occupy space; rather this is a miraculous matter that is not necessary,

it is a matter that comes by way of a gift from His will, may He be blessed⁴⁴.

And this is the reason why "and tomorrow to the World to Come to receive their reward":

In this world, only the limited reward shines in open revelation⁴⁵,

from the aspect of the light that fills,

and therefore the payment of the reward is in a manner of "to receive their reward" — the service of Jews opens up the giving of the reward,

so that it comes to him in an automatic way and he only needs to receive it;

But not so "tomorrow for the World to Come",

when the unlimited reward will shine

(from the aspect of the encompassing light)⁴⁶

— the payment of the reward is in a manner of "to take their reward"⁴⁷,

the reward does not come in an automatic way,

but rather it is a separate action of giving

(and taking)

the reward.

(From the sicha of Shabbos Parshas Vaeschanan 5725)