The Waiting Land
BS”D
Volume 39, No. 30
26 Iyar 5785
May 24, 2025
Sponsored by the Katz family on the yahrzeits of Avigdor Moshe ben Avraham Abba Hakohen Katz a”h and the other Kedoshim of Oyber Visheve, Hungary, Hy”d
The first Parashah that we read this week, Behar, opens with the Mitzvah of Shemittah / the sabbatical year for the fields of Eretz Yisrael. We read (25:6), “The sabbatical [produce] of the land shall be yours to eat,” which R’ Eliezer Dovid Gruenwald z”l (1867-1928; rabbi and Rosh Yeshiva in Oyber Visheve, Hungary) explains as follows:
The Gemara (Ketubot 112a) relates that the sage Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi came to Eretz Yisrael (about 200 years after the Bet Hamikdash had been destroyed), and he said, “Land! Take back your fruits! For whom are you producing fruits–for the foreigners who dwell here?” [Until here from the Gemara.] R’ Gruenwald continues: Thus we read (Tehilim 4:8), “You put joy into my heart when their grain and wine increase,” i.e., that Eretz Yisrael feels joy when “their”–the Jewish People’s–grain and wine increase. If Eretz Yisrael is forced to produce for any other nation, it does not feel joy, as our verse says: “The sabbatical of the land shall be yours to eat”: When does the Land feel relaxed on its sabbatical? Only when the produce is “yours,” the Jewish People’s, to eat!
In Bechukotai, this week’s second Parashah, we read (26:32), “And Ani / I, I will make the land desolate, and your foes who dwell upon it will be desolate.” Rashi z”l writes that this is, in fact, a blessing: no nation will successfully settle Eretz Yisrael while we are in exile. (As history shows, this prophecy came true, and Eretz Yisrael remained largely barren for 1,800 years.) R’ Gruenwald explains that Rashi understood this because of the superfluous “Ani” in the verse. Our Sages teach that Hashem does not attach His Name or Identity to bad things. Therefore, if the Torah emphasizes that “I,” Hashem, will make the land desolate, it must be something good. (Keren Le’Dovid)
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“I will walk among you, I will be Elokim to you and you will be a People to Me.” (26:12)
Rashi z”l writes: I will walk with you in Gan Eden as though I were one of you, and you will not tremble because of Me. One might think that this means that you will not be in awe of Me! Therefore the verse states, “I will be Elokim to you.” [Until here from Rashi]
R’ Shlomo Ephraim of Lunschitz z”l (rabbi of Prague; died 1619) writes: In interpreting our verse as referring to Gan Eden, Rashi means to deflect away from our holy Torah any claim that the Torah does not speak of an eternal reward for the soul. But why, in fact, does the Torah mention expressly only material rewards for Mitzvot, such as we find in our Parashah (quoted below), while it does not expressly mention reward in Olam Ha’ba / the World-to-Come?
R’ Shlomo Ephraim lists seven general approaches to answering this question:
(1) According to R’ Moshe ben Maimon z”l (Rambam; 1135-1204; Spain and Egypt), the Torah does not describe any rewards for Mitzvot, not even material rewards. When the Torah makes statements such as (26:3-4), “If you will follow My decrees . . . then I will provide your rains in their time,” the Torah is not promising a reward. Rather, it is promising that if we keep Mitzvot, Hashem will create conditions that will help us to continue to observe Mitzvot. Reward, however, is reserved for Olam Ha’ba.
(2) R’ Avraham ibn Ezra z”l (1089-1167) writes: The Torah was given to all Jews, but Olam Ha’ba is too abstract for most people to understand. Therefore, the Torah does not mention it.
(3) Rabbeinu Bachya the Elder z”l (Spain; early 11th century) explains that the Torah does not need to say that the soul will eventually return to the place from which it came, for that is perfectly natural. The Torah only needs to mention rewards that are not natural, such as: “Do Mitzvot and it will rain.” After all, there is no natural explanation for the fact that performing Mitzvot brings rain and other material rewards!
(4) When the Torah was given (and perhaps today as well), most of the world denied the existence of Hashgachah, i.e., that Hashem pays attention to man’s choices and determines the fate of the world in response. Instead, people believed that all events were predetermined or that one follows automatically from another. To counter those views, the Torah makes promises that are verifiable, for example: “If you will follow My decrees, I will provide your rains in their time.” One makes unverifiable promises such as, “If you will do Mitzvot you will earn Olam Ha’ba,” only if he fears that he cannot deliver on his promise–which is not true of Hashem, of course. This is the view of R’ Yehuda Halevi z”l (Spain and Eretz Yisrael; approx. 1075-1141).
(5) R’ Sa’adiah Gaon z”l (882-942; Egypt, Eretz Yisrael and Iraq; author of the earliest known work on Jewish Thought) writes that before the Torah was given, people used to pray to stars and planets and engage in various rituals to bring rain–so they believed–when it was needed. Because the Torah prohibits these idolatrous and superstitious activities, it must, instead, explain how to cause rain to fall in its proper time–i.e., by observing the Torah.
(6) R’ Yehuda Halevi (quoted above) writes that the Torah does not need to tell us that the soul can have a relationship with Hashem in Olam Ha’ba, for, in fact, the Torah can even have a relationship with Hashem in this world. The possibility of prophecy is the ultimate proof of the level to which a soul can rise in this world.
(7) R’ Yosef Albo z”l (Spain; 1380-1444) writes that the Torah speaks of rewards that apply generally, for example: “If you–i.e., the majority of Jews–observe the Torah, rain will fall in its proper time.” Reward in Olam Ha’ba is, however, individualized–each person according to his personal merits and demerits. Therefore, the Torah does not speak about it.
R’ Shlomo Ephraim writes: With these seven answers we can chase away anyone who would speak ill of our Torah. And, he adds, there is another answer: The Torah tells us that Hashem loved Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov, yet it does not seem that they led very happy lives. It follows necessarily that the reward for their good deeds awaits them in another world–i.e., in Olam Ha’ba. (Kli Yakar)
R’ Yehuda Aryeh Leib Alter z”l (1847-1905; second Gerrer Rebbe) writes: To me, it appears that the Torah is not promising reward at all, for that is not the purpose of the Torah. The word “Torah” means “instruction,” and everything in the Torah instructs us how to act. When the Torah says, for example, that rain will fall if we perform Mitzvot, it is stating that Hashem wants to do good for us–indeed, that is His ultimate goal in giving us Mitzvot, as we read (Tehilim 81:14), “If only My people would heed Me . . . I would satiate you with honey.” The Torah is, in effect, instructing us to act in a way that will allow Hashem’s goal to be accomplished—for example, to act in a way that makes us deserve rainfall. (Sefat Emet 5655)
R’ Reuven Mendlowitz shlita (Passaic, N.J.) elaborates: When the Torah promises rain, for example, it is commanding us to act in a way that will allow Hashem to give us rain–not as reward, but so that we can perform even more Mitzvot, as the Rambam quoted above writes. This what Pirkei Avot means when it teaches: “The reward for a Mitzvah is a Mitzvah,” i.e., doing one Mitzvah prepares us to do another Mitzvah. Only good things in this world, like rain, further serve as tools for Mitzvot, while Olam Ha’ba is purely a reward. Therefore, the Torah commands us to earn rain, and it does not command us to earn Olam Ha’ba. (Mi’ma’ayanei Ha’yeshuah)
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Shabbat
R’ David ben Shlomo ibn Zimra z”l (“Radvaz”; 1479-1573; Chief Rabbi of Egypt) writes: On the level of Pshat, The reason for the Mitzvah of Shabbat is that observing Shabbat makes a statement that the world has a Creator and it did not come into existence by chance, that Hashem made the world as He saw fit, and that everything that exists is like clay in the hands of a potter, who can twist it any way he wants, which is exactly what Hashem did when he brought about the Plagues and the Exodus from Egypt. The forgoing explains why we often find three concepts–belief in Creation, belief in the Exodus, and observance of Shabbat–mentioned together.
Radvaz continues: The Torah commands us to remember Shabbat with speech (i.e., Kiddush) when it enters, as we read (Shmot 20:8), “Remember the Sabbath day to sanctify it,” because something that is remembered regularly with spoken words is not easily forgotten from the heart. The Torah commands us not to work on Shabbat so that we will be free to engage in Torah study and deep thoughts, to think about the greatness of the Creator who made everything from absolute nothingness with no effort whatsoever–using only words. Even though the Torah says (Shmot 20:11), “He rested on the seventh day,” it is only a figure of speech. The verse speaks the way man would speak, referring to someone who has finished his work as “resting.”
For the foregoing reasons, writes Radvaz, the Torah commands the courts not to punish sinners on Shabbat; rather, it should be a day of joy, as we read (Yeshayah 35:10), “Sadness and sighing will flee.” Likewise, the Torah commands a person not to travel away from his place on Shabbat, as we read (Shmot 16:29), “Let no man leave his place on the seventh day.” That way, a person will be tranquil and relaxed and will devote himself to Divine service rather than running here and there. (Metzudat David, No. 91)
Go to Torah.org
Date: May 22, 2025
