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B"H

Thursday, Menachem Av 21, 5776 / August 25, 2016 - Hakhel year

 

In the beginning of this week's Parsha, Aikev, Moshe tells the people of Israel, "V'haya Aikev Tishma'un" - "And it shall be because you will listen to the commandments of G-d and you will keep and do them that G-d your G-d will keep with you the covenant and the mercy which He swore to your fathers. And He will love you and bless you and multiply you… And G-d will take away from you all sickness; and all the evil diseases of Egypt He will not put upon you..."

 

Throughout this Parsha, in his parting words to his people before his passing, Moshe reminds them to adhere to the words of the Torah and to observe G-d's commandments. He informs them that their success in the Promised Land, which they are about to enter, depends on their commitment and observance of G-d's will, for then they will merit G-d's blessings.

 

Our sages explain that the word "Aikev" can also be translated as "heel."

 

Our sages explain that the Torah used the term "heel" in connection with the observance of the mitzvot to emphasize that one should be very careful to observe even the mitzvot which people step over them with their heel; i.e. mitzvot which people may deem them unimportant.

 

In Pirkei Avot (Chapters of our Fathers) our Talmudic sages tell us, "Be careful to perform a minor mitzvah just as a major one, for you do not know the reward for each mitzvah." Each of the 613 mitzvot is G-d given and as such we cannot measure which mitzvot are "more" or "less" significant.

 

The Talmudic sages give the following parable to explain why G-d didn't specify the exact reward for each mitzvah. A king hired workers to plant trees and attend to them.  He told the workers that each tree had its price, which he guaranteed to pay. However, the king didn't disclose the different prices for the various trees. He said to himself, "If I tell them the exact reward for each of the trees, they will all plant the trees that will earn them the most. If I do not disclose the reward for each tree, the workers will plant different trees and the orchard will be beautiful." 

 

The same is with mitzvot. If G-d would have revealed the reward for each of the mitzvot, everyone would perform only the mitzvot which bring the greatest reward and ignore the rest. 

 

However, the Talmudic sage Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai says that from two mitzvot; honoring ones parents, and sending away the mother bird before taking its young, for which G-d did reveal their reward, one can understand the great reward for all mitzvot.

 

Honoring parents is considered one of the most important mitzvot and may involve much personal effort to perform. Sending away the mother bird is considered one of the easiest mitzvot to perform. Yet, the Torah tells us that the reward for both of these mitzvot is long life. "This teaches us," says Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, "that the reward for performing all mitzvot is very great."

 

HAVE A VERY GOOD, HAPPY, HEALTHY AND SUCCESSFUL DAY