Parshas Kedoshim – When Reward Is the Right Motivation
This week we read Parshas Kedoshim. Among its many mitzvos, the Torah teaches the special laws of a newly planted fruit tree.
When entering the Land of Israel and planting fruit-bearing trees, the Torah commands:
For the first three years, the fruit is forbidden. It is called Orlah. One may not eat the fruit, and one may not even derive benefit from it.
In the fourth year, the fruit becomes holy and must be brought to Jerusalem or redeemed and used there in holiness.
In the fifth year, the fruit becomes fully permitted. But then the Torah adds a remarkable promise:
“U’vashanah hachamishis tochlu es piryo, lehosif lachem tevu’aso.”
“In the fifth year you shall eat its fruit, so that it will increase its produce for you.”
This promise becomes the basis of a powerful lesson from the Rebbe.
What Does “Assur” Really Mean?
The Hebrew word for prohibited food is assur.
Usually this is translated simply as “forbidden.” But the word also means tied or bound.
The Alter Rebbe explains in Tanya that this teaches something profound.
Everything in the world contains Divine energy. Food is not merely calories or nutrition—it carries a spark of life from Hashem.
When a Jew eats kosher food and uses that strength for Torah, mitzvos, prayer, kindness, and holy living, the hidden spark is elevated to its source.
The food nourishes the body, and its spiritual energy is uplifted.
That is why permitted things are called heter—untied, released, able to rise.
But prohibited things are called assur—bound, tied down. Their energy is trapped and cannot be elevated in the same way.
Why Is Orlah Forbidden?
The first three years of fruit are forbidden because their spiritual energy is not yet in a state fit for elevation.
The fruit may look beautiful and healthy, but Torah teaches that appearance is not the whole story. There is also an inner spiritual condition.
After three years, that condition changes.
The fourth year can be elevated through holiness in Jerusalem.
The fifth year can be enjoyed fully in ordinary life.
The Rebbe’s Question
Yet the Torah’s wording is surprising.
Instead of saying only:
Keep this mitzvah because Hashem commanded it,
the Torah says:
Keep it, and you will gain more produce.
Why is the Torah motivating a person with reward?
We usually teach that mitzvos should be done because they are Hashem’s will—not for profit.
So why here does the Torah speak so directly about personal benefit?
Because This Mitzvah Is Hard
Rashi, quoting Rabbi Akiva, explains that this mitzvah is especially difficult for a person.
Imagine the farmer:
He plants the tree.
He waters it.
He protects it.
He waits year after year.
Then the fruit comes—and he cannot use it.
Year one: forbidden.
Year two: forbidden.
Year three: forbidden.
Year four: still restricted to holiness in Jerusalem.
The Yetzer Hara naturally says:
Why work so hard and get nothing?
So here the Torah addresses the struggle openly.
Hashem says:
You are not losing.
You are gaining.
Your obedience will bring blessing.
The Torah speaks to the human heart as it really is.
Rabbi Akiva’s Deeper Lesson
It is fitting that this teaching is associated with Rabbi Akiva.
Rabbi Akiva himself began Torah study later in life. He understood growth, process, and the power of beginnings that are not yet perfect.
The Sages teach:
“Mitoch shelo lishmah ba lishmah.”
From doing something not for its pure sake, one can come to do it for its pure sake.
Sometimes a person starts for reward, honor, encouragement, or external motivation.
But if he starts sincerely enough to continue, that beginning can mature into something much deeper.
The Same Principle in Education
This is why Rambam writes that when teaching children, one may motivate them with prizes, sweets, or rewards.
At first they may learn for the candy.
Later they learn for understanding.
Eventually they learn for the sake of Torah itself.
The external incentive is not the final goal.
It is the bridge to the final goal.
The same can be true for adults. Many people are spiritually inexperienced, even if they are grown. They too may need encouragement, warmth, and visible benefit before they appreciate Torah deeply.
A Lesson for Life
Many people delay growth because their motives are mixed.
They think:
If I am not doing it perfectly, maybe I should not begin.
But the Torah teaches otherwise.
Start where you are.
If reward motivates you—begin there.
If encouragement helps you—use it.
If visible blessing inspires you—let it inspire you.
The key is to begin moving in the right direction.
Purity often comes later.
The Lasting Message
Parshas Kedoshim teaches that Hashem understands the real struggles of human beings.
He does not demand perfection before growth begins.
Sometimes He commands.
Sometimes He inspires.
Sometimes He promises blessing.
And sometimes the first step toward serving Hashem purely begins with something as simple as wanting the reward.
If it leads a person forward, it is already holy progress.