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Emphasis on the Earthly
Based on Likutei Sichot, vol.
37, p.79 ff., edited by Moshe-Yaakov Wisnefsky
If you follow My laws...I will provide the rains in their
time, the land will give its produce, and the tree of the field will give its
fruit.... (Lev. 26:3-10)
The obvious question here is why does the Torah detail the
earthly rewards for following its precepts? Shouldn't there be more of an
emphasis on the spiritual rewards, which far surpass any physical reward?  | | " Wheat stalks will tower like palm trees...." | | |
The same question applies to the emphasis on physical phenomenon
that will take place in the Messianic era. From these verses the sages derive
that in the Messianic era, plants will yield their produce on the same day they
are planted; that entire trees will be edible, not only their fruit; and that
even non-fruit-bearing trees will bear edible fruit. (Torat Kohanim ad loc.)
The Talmud describes the Messianic era as a time when the earth will produce
delicacies and silk clothing, when wheat stalks will tower like palm trees and
grains of wheat grow as large as two kidneys of a large ox. (Ketubot
111b)
Even though all this will certainly happen, isn't the emphasis
on the physical wonders misplaced, or at least out of proportion in relation to
the heightened divine consciousness that will be ours in the Messianic era? Of
course, we could answer this question by noting that not everyone is refined
enough yet - or all the time - to appreciate abstract, spiritual rewards. The
Torah must therefore detail the palpable rewards that await us for obeying G~d's
will; this will motivate even those of us who are not mature enough to value
only heightened divine consciousness.
Although this is certainly true, it is an insufficient answer,
since it leaves these verses and statements of our sages irrelevant for those
among us who are spiritually mature enough not to need such enticements
to serve G-d. Even though the Torah generally addresses the majority, there must
certainly be a way of answering this question that speaks to all of us.
[Translators note: This is especially true in light of the explanation given
above, that the observance of the Torah's laws referred to in these verses is
such that the individual becomes one with G-d's will, just as an engraved letter
is one with the stone on which it is engraved. Surely, such an individual does
not need the enticement of material reward to serve G-d!]
This may be understood through a parable: When a person is truly
and profoundly happy, he has to express this happiness in his physical body. His
face will smile, his hands will clap, and his feet will begin to dance; nothing
short of this will do. The same is true of all the emotions: the test of whether
the emotion has truly entered our consciousness and affected our essence is the
extent of its effect on our body. This is because when the core of a person's
being has been touched, it affects his entire person. | | " Only when the mechanical parts of the body are affected can it be said that the essence of the soul has been touched...." | | |
In contrast, it is easy for us to fool ourselves into thinking a
certain way or feeling a certain way. When we do this, what we think or feel
affects us only superficially. We have not been touched deeply, and this way of
thinking or feeling will have no lasting effects on our behavior. Only when the
mechanical parts of the body are affected can it be said that the essence of the
soul has been touched. The same is true of spiritual life. When one has achieved
true oneness with the Torah all of his being will be affected - even the
physical aspects of his existence. So, the material rewards spoken of here are
not only an incentive to keep the Torah, but the true indication that the Torah
has permeated our lives so much that our observance produces tangible results.
The difference between the tangible rewards of the present order
and the miraculous rewards of the Messianic future is due to the fact that only
in the future will we be able to infuse our entire beings with divine
service and consciousness. The results of our divine service will therefore be
concomitantly all-pervasive. Just as there will be no dichotomy between us and
our divine source, there will be no dichotomy between the physical world and its
divine source, and the physical world will be able to express perfectly G-d's
infinite beneficence. The Torah and the Sages therefore describe the
magnificence of the Messianic era in detail, for this opulence will express most
fully the consummation of the purpose of Creation, making this lowest world a
true vehicle for divine consciousness.
Copyright 2001 chabad of california /
www.lachumash.org
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