B"H
Tuesday, Tammuz 22, 5783 (Hakhel Year) / July 11, 2023
Shabbat we will read in the Torah the final two portions (Parshiot) of the Book of Bamidbar (Numbers) – Matot & Masei. At this point, we in the Diaspora and in Israel, have the exact same Torah readings.
During the summer months we also recite a chapter of Pirkei Avot (Chapters of Our Fathers) each Shabbat. This Shabbat we start again with the first chapter.
One of the many beautiful and practical lessons in this chapter is: “Antignos of Socho would say, ‘Be not like servants who serve the master for the sake of receiving a reward. But be like servants who serve the master without the expectation of receiving a reward; and let the fear of heaven be upon you.”
Q.Reward is mentioned in the Torah. G-d promised many times in the Torah that He will reward us for the observance of Torah and Mitzvot. Why shouldn’t a person serve G-d for the sake of reward?
A.The Chafetz Chaim gives the following parable to explain this. A poor man was walking in the street. He was thinking to himself how he could earn some money to feed his family, as he had nothing in his home. He needed the basics of food and clothing. He was walking with a bitter heart, his head bowed down... when he noticed a shiny object on the ground.
He decided to examine it. He picked it up and saw it was a small piece of glass. He was about to throw it away, but something struck him that this glass is different than ordinary glass, as it sparkled with different colors. He decided to take it and bring it to someone to check it out.
He brought it to a jeweler, who after giving one look at it exclaimed, “You have a brilliant diamond here. It’s not for the ordinary person. A diamond like this is befitting for the king. The word got out and the king called for the poor man to show him the stone. After examining the diamond, the king said to the man, “This is an extraordinary diamond. How much do you want for it?”
The poor man was at a loss. He had no idea of its value. He said to the king, “I have no idea how much it is worth. I’m only a poor person and wasn’t even sure if it had any value when I picked it up… You, my dear king, you know its value. Give me what YOU think it’s worth!”
The same is with our performance of mitzvot. We have no idea of their true value. If we were to expect reward it would be according to our values, which we have no idea what they are. We are like the poor man who would have given the stone away for a few pennies.
Thus, our sages teach us that we should perform G-ds mitzvot and study G-d’s Torah not for the sake of reward as our understanding of their value is very limited. Only G-d knows the true value of each mitzvah. We should leave it up to Him to decide the reward which He will give us for performing them. His reward will surely be much greater and more meaningful than any reward we can think of.
HAVE A VERY GOOD, HAPPY, HEALTHY AND SUCCESSFUL DAY