Rabbi Sholom Twerski
August 6, 2026
As the summer winds to a close (weather notwithstanding) and summer break transitions to school for the kids, my mind turns to the upcoming Days of Awe with its themes of commitment and judgment. After all, this Shabbos we usher in the Jewish month of Elul; the month spent in preparation for the upcoming Yamim Noraim.
In the Shema we recite twice daily, we read of Hashem’s promise that if the Jewish nation heeds the Torah, fulfilling its mitzvos and refraining from the aveiros, He will provide an abundance of food by bringing rains of blessing allowing for bumper crops. In other places in the Torah, Hashem promises health, fertility, and tranquility.
The Rambam is bothered with this. What bothers him is that this seemingly contradicts an adage of the Sages. Chazal state unequivocally that there can be no reward for the fulfillment of mitzvot in this world.
The reward we expect to receive is inherently spiritual in nature. The only true Goodness is G-d Himself. To the extent that we are able to shape our thoughts, actions, and desires to align with His, we will be able to receive of Him in the next world. That is the ultimate reward which our souls will delight in. Such a reward can only be experienced in a world where our souls are dominant. In our current physical existence, we cannot fully experience or appreciate this, so reward for mitzvah observance can only be presented in the next world, not this one.
This being the case, how does the Torah then promise reward in this world? What do we make of the promises of flocks of sheep, of harvests of grain, wine, and oil, of peace and tranquility? Aren’t all of these earthly rewards?
The Rambam answers that these promises are not, in fact, rewards for fulfilling the mitzvot. Instead, Hashem promises us that if He sees we are making efforts to do His will, He will arrange that we will have more opportunities to do so. When we don’t have to worry about poverty and war, we can turn our full attention to studying the Torah in more depth, in creating a better society, and performing His mitzvot with more alacrity. This will in turn change us into human beings with a higher character, more capable of receiving His Presence. The blessing is to be able to live a life of service to G-d. As the mishna states in Pirkei Avos (4:2) The reward of a mitzvah is a mitzvah.
If we look carefully at the opening of this week’s parsha, we may find an indication of this concept as well.
“See! I place before you today, blessing and curse. The blessing- that you will hearken to the commandments of G-d, your Lord, that I command you today. And the curse, if you do NOT hearken to the commandments of G-d, your Lord, and you veer from the path that I command you today…”
When it comes to the curse, the Torah writes a causative clause. If-then. If you don’t obey the law, then there will be curse. When it comes to the blessing, however, the Torah does not use the word, “If”, instead using the word, “that”. That is to say, the true blessing does not come about as a result of performing the mitzvot, but rather, the blessing is the performance of the mitzvot themselves! Any physical bounty that Hashem bestows upon us is to allow us further blessing of continued and better observance of His Will.
May we all rise to be the best version of ourselves and merit to bask in His radiance!
Have a good shabbos!