English translation — ויצא א

Sicha 1<pg>125</pg>

A.

At the end of the Laws of Shabbat, the Rambam wrote: And whoever guards<sup>1</sup>

the Shabbat according to its law and honors it and delights in it according to his ability, it is already explained in the Kabbalah that his reward in this world is greater than the reward stored up for the World to Come,

as it is said<sup>2</sup>

Then you shall delight upon the Lord, and I will cause you to ride upon the high places of the earth, and I will feed you the inheritance of Jacob your father, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

In the commentaries<sup>3</sup>

they note that the source of the words of the Rambam is the statement of Rabbi Yochanan in the name of Rabbi Yosi in tractate Shabbos<sup>4</sup>

"Whoever delights in the Shabbos is given an inheritance without borders, as it is said: 'Then you shall delight in Hashem, and I will cause you to ride on the high places of the earth, and I will feed you the inheritance of Yaakov your father,' etc.

(And the Gemara explains)

not like Avraham, about whom it is written<sup>5</sup>

Arise, walk through the land, to its length and to its breadth, etc., and not like Yitzchak, about whom it is written<sup>6</sup>

For to you and to your seed I will give all these lands, but rather like Yaakov, about whom it is written<sup>7</sup>

And you shall spread out to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south."

But according to this, it is not understood why the Rambam changed from the exposition of our Sages, may their memory be blessed:

a)

In the definition of the human action for which he receives this reward — in the Gemara it is said "whoever delights in the Shabbos",

and the Rambam wrote "whoever observes the Shabbos according to its law⁸

and honors it and delights in it according to his ability".

And this is that the reward according to the Rambam is not for this that he delights

(in the Shabbos)

alone,

but for this that he fulfills all the commandments of Shabbos according to its law⁹.

b)

In the definition of the reward — he wrote only "from-<pg>126</pg>

It is received in Kabbalah that his reward in this world is greater than the reward stored up for the World to Come,

but he omitted the manner of the reward — "they give him an inheritance without borders",

and as detailed afterwards that it is the inheritance of Yaakov

(not like Avraham and Yitzchak).

And superficially it seems from this,

that the intention of the Rambam here is not the exposition of the Gemara,

but rather the simple meaning of the verse¹⁰

[For the exposition of the Gemara "whoever delights etc. they give him an inheritance without borders" it can be said that it is a homiletic interpretation,

whereas the intention of the Rambam who wrote "explicitly" is that this is the plain sense of the verse,

and as we find in many places that the Rambam interprets a verse according to its simple meaning,

and not as Chazal expounded it¹¹].

And it can be said that therefore it is written "Whoever guards the Shabbos according to its law and honors it and delights it according to his ability"

(And not

(In short)

"Whoever delights the Shabbos")

— because the verse "Then you shall delight upon the Lord" comes in continuation of the verse before it¹²,

"If you turn back your foot from the Shabbos, doing your affairs on My holy day, and you call the Shabbos a delight, the holy of the Lord honored, and you honor it, not doing your ways, nor finding your affairs, nor speaking a word"

(And upon this it continues)

Then you shall delight etc.",

that the promise of "Then you shall delight upon the Lord etc." comes in continuation of all that is stated before this¹³

(And especially that the clause of "And you call the Shabbos a delight" is not at the end of the verse),

And that is

(According to the words of the Rambam)

"Whoever guards the Shabbos according to its law and honors it and delights it according to his ability"¹⁴.

And superficially there is to ponder,

Why did the Rambam deviate from the exposition of the Gemara and bring the explanation of the verse

(Only)

According to its simple meaning.

2.

And this requires explanation, preceded by an explanation of the language of the Rambam "explicitly stated in the tradition that his reward in this world is greater than the reward stored up for the World to Come" — which requires explanation: behold, the Rambam already wrote in the Laws of Repentance&lt;sup&gt;15&lt;/sup&gt;

that the principal reward for the commandments is in the World to Come,

and why did he need to emphasize this matter here?

And behold, in the Midrash&lt;sup&gt;16&lt;/sup&gt;

it is stated

(continuing from several virtues in observing the Sabbath)

"And not only that, but everything that you eat in this world is only from the fruits, but the principal remains for you for the World to Come, as it is said, 'And I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.'"

And it is explained in the commentators&lt;sup&gt;17&lt;/sup&gt;,

that the intention of the Midrash is that the Sabbath is among the things of which a person eats their fruits also in this world

(and that which is not mentioned in the Mishnah&lt;sup&gt;18&lt;/sup&gt;

"These are the things that a person&lt;pg&gt;127&lt;/pg&gt;

One eats their fruits etc.' is because he taught and left out).

And seemingly one can say that this is the source of the words of the Rambam here¹⁹,

and his intention is,

that Shabbat is included in the commandments whose fruits a person eats in this world.

And according to this,

the explanation of the words of the Rambam "it is explicit in the tradition that his reward in this world is greater than the reward stored up for the world to come, as it is said etc." is,

that in the verse "Then you shall delight etc." are included two matters,

the reward in this world and the reward stored up for the world to come: "Then you shall delight upon the Lord and I will cause you to ride upon the high places of the earth" — "his reward in this world"; "and I will feed you the inheritance of Jacob your father" — "the reward stored up for the world to come"²⁰.

But it is difficult to say that this is the intention of the Rambam here — because

[Besides that it is not settled

(well)

why he needed to add "in addition to the hidden reward for the World to Come",

for it is obvious that the main reward is in the World to Come,

as explained at length in the Laws of Repentance&lt;sup&gt;15&lt;/sup&gt;,

and the novelty is only that there is reward of their fruits also in this world,

and if so, he should have said "his reward in this world"

(and I would know that this is "in addition to the hidden reward for the World to Come")

— behold]

:

A)

If you say that the intention of the Rambam is to the words of the aforementioned midrash,

behold the main point is missing from the book,

for the Rambam should have emphasized the distinction between the two types of reward,

that the reward in this world is

(only)

in the category of "eating of fruits" whereas the reward in the World to Come is the "principal"

(and this is a primary and fundamental distinction)

; but the Rambam wrote only in a simple manner "it is explicit..

his reward in this world in addition to the hidden reward for the World to Come",

which does not imply from the meaning of this language that there is a difference between them in the essence of the reward.

2)

And the main point: in the Commentary on the Mishnah of the Rambam&lt;sup&gt;21&lt;/sup&gt;

It is explained the reason that in the Mishnah "These are the things that a person eats their fruits in this world etc." the Tanna cited examples of "honor of father and mother and acts of kindness etc.",

because only in "the second part regarding commandments that depend on the benefit of people" do they say that a person eats their fruits in this world

(since through them "he will find good in this world"),

and the observance of Shabbat is not included among them

(and as is explicit in the Rambam there,

that Shabbat is from "the first part regarding commandments..

that are between him and the Holy One, blessed be He").

And it is forced to say that the Rambam stated here as halacha according to the words of the Midrash

(that also regarding Shabbat a person eats their fruits in this world)

against an explicit Mishnah&lt;sup&gt;22&lt;/sup&gt;.

3.

And one can say the explanation regarding this:

Exactly his language "its reward in this world more than the reward stored up for the World to Come" the Rambam comes to inform us,

that there is a fundamental novelty in the reward of the commandment of Shabbos,

which we do not find its like in the reward of all the commandments of the Torah.

For behold, regarding the matter of reward of commandments, the &lt;pg&gt;128&lt;/pg&gt;

Rambam at length

(in Laws of Repentance²³),

that there are two types of reward:

(a)

"The ultimate reward of the commandments" is "the life of the World to Come",

that only these lives are fitting to be the purpose of the reward for the fulfillment of the Torah and commandments²⁴.

(b)

Physical promises,

that they are not the ultimate reward of the commandments,

and their entire purpose is only to enable a person to fulfill the commandments properly

(without distractions),

"so that we will not occupy all our days with things that the body needs, but rather we will sit free to study wisdom and perform the commandment in order to merit the life of the World to Come".

And it can be said that in this the commandment of Shabbat differs from all other commandments: "It is explicit in the tradition that its reward in this world is greater than the hidden reward for the World to Come",

and that is that the reward in this world is not like the physical promises

(which are only the removal of the obstacle to enable the fulfillment of the commandments etc. properly)²⁵,

but rather the reward in this world is in the same manner and measure as the hidden reward for the World to Come,

and that is actual reward²⁶.

And this is what the Rambam wrote: "It is already explained in the Kabbalah that the reward in this world is greater than the reward stored up for the World to Come, as it is said, 'Then you shall delight upon the Lord, etc.'"

In this verse it is emphasized,

that the reward for keeping Shabbat in this world

(is not a reward similar to the physical promises that we find in the entire Torah²⁷,

but rather)

it is a reward whose definition is of the kind of the World to Come,

and as it is explained: "Then you shall delight upon the Lord",

which is similar to and of the kind of the reward of the World to Come,

that "they enjoy the radiance of the Divine Presence"

(and as the Rambam wrote about "the good stored up for the righteous..

the life of the World to Come"²⁸,

which is^*28

that "the righteous sit etc. and enjoy the radiance of the Divine Presence",

and as explained there at length)²⁹.

And also in the continuation of the verse: "And I will cause you to ride upon the high places of the earth",

it is explained and emphasized that the intention here is not physical promises — "that He will remove from us all the things that prevent us from doing

(the Torah)

such as illness and war and famine and the like, and He will bestow upon us all the good things that strengthen our hands to do the Torah, such as plenty and peace and abundance of silver and gold"³⁰,

because these promises are in the category of "earth",

namely, things of this earth, the <pg>129</pg>

physicality,

but that they are the perfections of earth and matters of this world; as opposed to the content of the reward of "I have set you upon the high places of the earth" which is above even the perfection of this world

(high places of the earth),

and it is the pleasure "upon G-d",

enjoyment of the radiance of the Divine Presence,

which is above the boundaries of earth and the pleasures of this world,

as he elaborated in Hilchos Teshuvah there&lt;sup&gt;31&lt;/sup&gt;.

4.

And based on the above, the reason that here the Rambam explained the verse according to its simple meaning will be well explained,

and he did not bring the aforementioned exposition of our Sages:

In tractate Shabbos the maamar "All who delight in the Shabbos" is brought in the continuation of the sugya that deals

(not in the virtue of the general aspect of the matter of Shabbos observance,

but)

in the virtues of particular matters of Shabbos: "All who fulfill three meals on Shabbos are saved etc.",

"All who delight in the Shabbos are granted the desires of their heart",

"All who guard Shabbos according to its law, even if they worship idolatry etc., are forgiven",

and more similar — and therefore our drasha was brought there which explains a specific reward

("an inheritance without borders")

for a specific detail of Shabbos

("who delights in the Shabbos")

;

But the Rambam brought this verse at the conclusion and seal of all the laws of Shabbos,

because his intention is for a general matter in the mitzvah of Shabbos.

And therefore the Rambam stated in the action of the person

(for which they receive the reward)

"All who guard the Shabbos according to its law and honor it and delight in it etc."

(and not only "who delights in the Shabbos"),

since his intention is for the general content of Shabbos observance,

to all its details.

And likewise he stated plainly and wrote "It is explicit in the tradition that its reward in this world is greater than the reward stored up for the World to Come"

(and he did not state the reward of "they are given an inheritance without borders")

— because his intention here

(is not for a particular reward,

but)

for the general novelty in the reward of the mitzvah of Shabbos,

in relation to the reward of all the other mitzvos, all of them,

that through Shabbos observance a person receives reward in this world akin to the reward of the World to Come.

And one could say,

therefore the Rambam is precise "And everyone who observes the Shabbat etc. and honors it and delights it according to his ability"

(for at first glance,

where is this detail hinted in the verse?)

: the reason that the mitzvah of Shabbat is unique from all mitzvos of the Torah in that its reward

(the true one)

is

(also)

in this world,

is because the essence of Shabbat

(and the holiness of Shabbat)

is a semblance of the World to Come³².

And that is,

that this reward is in the category of a natural result,

that when a person unites with Shabbat,

he merits automatically to "a semblance of the World to Come" in this world.

And therefore the Rambam is precise,

that his reward in this world depends on this that the person "observes the Shabbat according to its halacha and honors it and delights it according to his ability",

in which it is emphasized that there is with the person completeness of the holiness of Shabbat,

both from the aspect of the object of Shabbat,

that he has all the details of the fulfillment of the mitzvah of Shabbat,

"observes the Shabbat according to its halacha and honors it and delights it",

and from the aspect of the subject — that he invests in this all the life of his soul

("according to his ability")³³,

that then Shabbat and the person unite in a complete union.

5.

In this way one can also explain the continuation of the matters in this halacha in the Rambam:<pg>130</pg>

The beginning of the halachah is "Shabbat and idolatry, each one of them is equivalent to all the other mitzvos of the Torah combined, and Shabbat is the sign between the Holy One, blessed be He, and us forever. Therefore, anyone who transgresses the other mitzvos is included among the wicked of Israel, but one who desecrates Shabbat in public is like an idolater, and both of them are like gentiles&lt;sup&gt;34&lt;/sup&gt;

for all their matters. Therefore the prophet praises and says&lt;sup&gt;35&lt;/sup&gt;

Happy is the man etc.",

And on this he concludes "And whoever keeps the Shabbat according to its halachah etc. for the mouth of the LORD has spoken".

In this halachah, the Rambam informs us of a great principle regarding the definition of the mitzvah of Shabbat,

and it is,

that Shabbat is not like the other mitzvos of the Torah, whose fulfillment is only an addition of holiness,

in addition to the holiness of Israel that is in him,

and consequently, in the absence of their fulfillment, he is

("wicked of Israel" —)

still within the category of Israel,

not so, but rather it is like idolatry,

which touches the essence of the holiness of Israel&lt;sup&gt;36&lt;/sup&gt;,

therefore one who desecrates Shabbat is like an idolater,

"and both of them are like gentiles for all their matters"&lt;sup&gt;37&lt;/sup&gt;.

And on this he continues,

that just as it is in the negative,

that one who desecrates the Sabbath is like a non-Jew³⁸,

so too it is in the positive aspect,

that keeping the Sabbath is not as something additional to the category of Israel within him,

but rather it pertains to the essence of the holiness of Israel³⁹.

And this is<pg>131</pg>

That which is said regarding the reward for keeping the Sabbath,

"It is already explained in Kabbalah that its reward in this world is greater than the reward stored up for the World to Come, as it is said, 'Then you shall delight upon Hashem, etc.'",

that his intention in this

(as above)

is that he has reward in this world similar to the reward of the World to Come — because the nature of the reward of the World to Come

(as explained in the Rambam, Laws of Repentance)

is the ultimate and perfection of the connection and attachment of Israel with the Creator

(therefore "David longed and desired the life of the World to Come"⁴⁰

(and likewise all of Israel desired this,

their prophets and their sages, etc.⁴¹))

— and through keeping the Sabbath he receives this reward⁴²,

namely that he adds strength to the essence of the holiness of Israel within him^*42

(attachment to the Creator similar to the perfection of attachment in the World to Come)⁴³.

6.

Based on this, we can add an explanation in what the Rambam brought also the end of the verse "for the mouth of G-d has spoken",

which is not brought in the Gemara.

Simply, one can say that these words

("for the mouth of G-d has spoken")

come to indicate that since this is an explicit promise from G-d in speech,

it will certainly be fulfilled⁴⁴,

and as the Rambam wrote in Hilchos Yesodei HaTorah⁴⁵

that any good thing that G-d decrees even conditionally does not revert.

But it requires clarification why this was emphasized specifically regarding this reward,

a matter which we do not find regarding other matters of reward?

And based on the above it is understood: Regarding other matters of reward<pg>132</pg>

And physical benefits that the Holy One, blessed be He, bestows in this world,

they are things within the category of the world and the natural order of the world,

and even the perfection of the good and the virtues that will be in this world in the days of the Messiah,

behold the Rambam writes⁴⁶

that nothing will be nullified from the natural order of the world.

But the reward of keeping the Sabbath,

to delight in the Lord,

which is the reward stored up for the World to Come,

is not a thing in the category of the natural order of the world,

as the Rambam elaborated in the Laws of Repentance⁴⁷

("That good is exceedingly great...

beyond measure and has no value or comparison...

a human has no power to grasp it in its purity, etc.,

and all the good that the prophets prophesy to Israel are only for physical things that Israel enjoy in them, etc., but the good of the life of the World to Come has no value or comparison, and the prophets did not compare it, etc."),

and therefore he adds and emphasizes in this "for the mouth of the Lord has spoken,"

that this thing which they did not grasp "and the prophets did not compare,"

is given to one who keeps the Sabbath according to its law and honors it and delights in it according to his ability.

7.

And from this a lesson for each and every one of Israel,

in the language of the Rambam^*47

"to correct the opinions and to straighten all the actions" — in the manner of addition and strengthening in the study of the inner dimension of the Torah,

whose content is "Know the God of your father"⁴⁸,

that specifically through this one comes to attachment with the Creator and to delight in G‑d,

and as the Rambam wrote at the end of the Laws of Repentance "Therefore a person must set himself apart to understand and to comprehend the wisdoms and the understandings that make known to him his Maker according to the capacity that there is in a person to understand and to grasp",

And especially in the service of prayer,

as it is stated in the Shulchan Aruch⁴⁹

regarding the early pious ones who would tarry⁵⁰

a full hour for each prayer of the three prayers,

that "they were not concerned about the nullification of Torah even though Torah study is equivalent to all [the commandments] because they would bind their minds to the Master of all, blessed be He, with fear and intense love and true attachment until they would reach the stripping away of physicality, and the mitzvah of true attachment with fear and love is greater than the mitzvah of Torah study and takes precedence over it".

And in truth, this is related to the essence of the matter of Shabbos,

as brought in the Maggid Mishneh here⁵¹

"And the reason for Shabbos is because it indicates creation ex nihilo, and one who denies creation ex nihilo denies the entire Torah, and therefore one must believe and establish in his soul the belief in creation ex nihilo and observe Shabbos, which is a faithful sign thereof."

And the details of the belief in creation ex nihilo and its depth come through study and contemplation in the inner dimensions of Torah,

in which these matters are explained with expanded elucidation and in all their details.

And its fixedness is through the service of prayer,

and as explained in the Rema⁵²

"And before prayer one should contemplate the exaltedness of the blessed God and the lowliness of man, and remove all human pleasures from his heart,"

And specifically through this can one come in prayer to attachment with the Creator,

And it is known⁵³

that prayer is

(in the manner of)

the aspect of Shabbat,

And through this that Bnei Yisrael observe the Shabbat according to its halachah, both in inwardness and in outwardness, the Shabbat⁵⁴,

behold immediately they are redeemed⁵⁵,

and then will be revealed<pg>133</pg>

to the eye of all how that "from You is their rest and upon their rest they will sanctify Your name"⁵⁶,

"from You literally"⁵⁷,

in the true and complete redemption through Mashiach our righteousness.

(From the talk of Shabbos Parshas Vayikra-Purim 5747)