אם בחקותי תלכו ואת מצותי תשמורו ועשיתם אותם (ויקרא כו, ג). ולכאורה נראה בכאן יתר לשון, ומהראוי היה לכתוב אם תשמורו את מצותי ונתתי כו'. אבל הנראה בזה, דאיתא בגמרא (קידושין מ.) מחשבה טובה הקדוש ברוך הוא מצרף למעשה, דהיינו במה שהאדם חושב ומקבל עליו במחשבה לעשות איזה מצוה אזי הקדוש ברוך הוא מצרפה למעשה, דהיינו כאלו עשאה מיד. וכל שכן כשאדם עושה איזה מצוה באמת בלי שום פניה אזי יכול להיות שיבוא אל מדריגה הגדולה לעשות עוד מצוה ואם עשה עוד מצוה אחת אזי יבוא למדריגה יותר גדולה. ולפי זה נקרא הצדיק בבחינת מהלך לפי שהולך ממדריגה למדריגה. וזהו מצוה גוררת מצוה. ועל פי זה נוכל לבאר מאמר חכמינו ז"ל (נדה עג.) תנא דבי אליהו כל השונה הלכות בכל יום מובטח וכו'. פירוש, זה קאי על הצדיק. ועל זה אמר כל השונה הלכות, דהיינו שישנה בכל יום. הליכותיו, שהולך בכל יום ויום למדריגה יותר גדולה. אז מובטח לו שהוא בן עולם הבא. וזהו אם בחקותי תלכו, דהיינו אם תדבקו בחקותי אזי תהיה בבחינת מהלך. ואת מצותי תשמורו, לשון שמר את הדבר (בראשית לז, יא) דהיינו עוד אני אומר באם שתשמורו את מצותי. כלומר, באם שתחשבו לעשות מצותי אף על פי שאין אתם עושים עדיין אזי ועשיתם אותם. פירוש, שתחשב בעיני כאלו עשיתם אותם לפי שמחשבה טובה הקדוש ברוך הוא מצרפה למעשה. וזהו ועשיתם אותם: Leviticus 26,3. “if you will walk in My statutes and observe My commandments and carry them out.” At first glance there appears to be unnecessary verbiage in this verse. We would have expected the Torah to write simply: אם תשמרו את מצותי ונתתי גשמיכם בעתו, “if you will observe My commandments I will provide your rainfall at the appropriate time.” However, the reason for the additional words may be understood when we recall that the Talmud in Kiddushin 40 states that G’d will account a good intention as if it were a good deed, i.e. that the good intention is already accounted as fulfillment of a commandment. In other words, the good intention is accounted as if it had already been translated into action, so that if through an accident beyond one’s control actual performance of the good intention was prevented, one is still given credit for it.Leviticus 26,3. “if you will walk in My statutes and observe My commandments and carry them out.” At first glance there appears to be unnecessary verbiage in this verse. We would have expected the Torah to write simply: אם תשמרו את מצותי ונתתי גשמיכם בעתו, “if you will observe My commandments I will provide your rainfall at the appropriate time.” However, the reason for the additional words may be understood when we recall that the Talmud in Kiddushin 40 states that G’d will account a good intention as if it were a good deed, i.e. that the good intention is already accounted as fulfillment of a commandment. In other words, the good intention is accounted as if it had already been translated into action, so that if through an accident beyond one’s control actual performance of the good intention was prevented, one is still given credit for it.
From this it follows that when one performs a good deed (commandment) truly without any ulterior motive this may result in such a person being transported to a higher spiritual level than the one he had been on prior to performance of that commandment. As a result of such a spiritual “promotion,” one will be granted the opportunity to fulfill still other commandments. The process will continue as a self-fulfilling prophecy. This is what the sages had in mind when they said that the reward of fulfilling a commandment is another commandment. (Avot 4,2) It is also the meaning of מצוה גוררת מצוה, “performance of one commandment drags an additional commandment in its wake.” (ibid.) Keeping this in mind we can also understand the meaning of the line in Niddah 73 quoted in the name of Tanna de bey Eliyahu that every person who makes it a rule to study at least one halachah daily, is assured that he will have a share in the world to come. The meaning is that that individual will progress daily ever closer to his ultimate objective of the world to come as he has not been deflected from his path. This is the meaning of the verse from Scripture quoted by the author of this saying, i.e. Chabakuk 3,6 הליכות עולם לו, “he will make steady progress towards another, eternal life.”
The words: אם בחקותי תלכו, mean that “if you cleave to My statutes,” you will be considered as “walking” on the right path, תלכו. The words: ואת מצותי תשמרו, refer to your planning, thinking of, performing My commandments, even if you have not succeeded for some reason to carry out your good intention, I will consider it as if you had done it, i.e. ועשיתם אותם. When understood in this manner, none of the words in our verse are superfluous or repetitious.
ונתתי גשמיכם בעתם (ויקרא כו, ד). מחמת שדברנו מקודם מענין שכר מצוה. כי גם בזה קשה הלא שכר מצוה בהאי עלמא ליכא. ונראה לתרץ, מהא דאיתא בפרקי אבות (ד, ב) שכר מצוה מצוה, פירוש כי שכר מצוה בהאי עלמא ליכא. אלא שכר מצוה היא שגוררת עוד מצוה אחרת. וזהו ונתתי גשמיכם בעתם, ומחמת הגשם תהיה ברכה בעולם ותוכלו ליתן כל אחד צדקה, והיינו שכר מצוה מצוה, שמצוה גוררת מצוה: Leviticus 26,4. “then I will provide you with your rain at the appropriate time.” Seeing that we have referred to the reward for performance of the commandments as being reserved for the world to come, this verse poses the question that it appears to contradict the statement of our sages that there is no reward for mitzvah performance to be expected in this life on earth. (Kiddushin 39)
We may answer this apparent contradiction by reminding the reader of Avot 4,2 in which we are told that the reward for performing a mitzvah is the opportunity to perform additional mitzvoth. Receiving the rain we need on time results in our economic viability and our ability to perform additional commandments such as being charitable to the poor with our disposable income. All this comes under the heading of “performance of a commandment dragging in its wake the opportunity to perform additional commandments.” This does not contradict what the sages meant when they described the “real” reward for performing the commandments being saved for life beyond the death of our bodies.
ופקדתי עליכם בהלה וכו' (ויקרא כו, טז). ופקדתי, לשון חסרון כמו ויפקד מקום דוד (שמואל א' כ, כה) היינו אחסר מעליכם הבהלה ושאר מכות כי לא יהיה אצליכם. וזרעתם לריק, כי עתידה ארץ ישראל שתוציא גלוסקאות וכלי מילת ותהיה הזריעה לריק, כי לא יהיה צורך לזריעה רק אויביכם יזרעו: Leviticus 26,16. “I will wreak misery upon you;” the root פקד usually refers to the lack of something, something being missing that should have been there. We find it in this sense when David’s seat near King Sha-ul was empty. (Samuel I 20,25) G’d says that He will remove certain plagues from us, seeing that the fact that we will sow and not reap but our enemies are reaping the fruit of our labours, this is sufficient punishment. According to the predictions of our sages (Shabbat 30) in the future the soil of the land of Israel will bring forth ready made buns and scones so that the Israeli farmer does not need to plough, sow, and harvest. At that time these labours will be performed for us by the gentiles. Our verses describe the very opposite occurring as G’d’s retribution for neglecting the Torah, so much so that even when we perform these labours ourselves, they will serve only others, as we will not benefit from our labours.
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