Parshas Lech Lecha
1. On the verse[1], "Fear not, Avram, I am a shield for you; your reward is very great," Rashi explains[2] that Avraham was afraid: since "this miracle was performed for him, that he killed the kings… perhaps I have received reward for all my righteous deeds," G‑d told him, "Fear not, Avram… (and) as for your worry about receiving your reward — your reward is very great."
This is seemingly not understood: the service of our father Avraham was (not for the sake of receiving reward, but) service for its own sake. In the words of the Rambam[3], when he speaks of the virtue of "one who serves out of love," who "occupies himself with Torah and mitzvos… not because of anything in the world… and not in order to inherit the good[4], but does what is true because it is true" — that "this is a very high level… and it is the level of our father Avraham… who served only out of love" —
How, then, can one say[5] that Avraham, "who served only out of love," was afraid that he would have no reward, to the point that G‑d had to tell him, "Fear not… your reward is very great"[6]?
2. Seemingly, one could answer:
Although Avraham's service was entirely for its own sake, and he did not think about any reward for his service (not even about the reward of the World to Come[7]) — nevertheless, had he known that he had no reward, this would have been a proof to him that his service was not entirely as it should be.
[And according to this, the Rambam's wording is all the more fitting — that one who "serves out of love" "does what is true because it is true, and the good will come in its wake in the end"[8]: the Rambam does not intend merely to state that one who "serves out of love" also receives reward (although he does not act for the sake of reward) — for what would that be teaching us? Moreover, what is the addition and emphasis regarding the true "one who serves out of love," that when he acts "because it is true," "the good will come in its wake in the end"?]
Therefore, seeing that G‑d was giving him reward in this world, Avraham feared that in his case the "good will come in its wake in the end" would be lacking, which is a sign of a deficiency in his service.
However, it is very forced to learn it this way. For if Avraham's fear was not on account of the absence of reward in itself, but because this would show that his service of G‑d was not complete, then "Fear not, Avram" should have assured him of the main point: that he should not be afraid, because his service is complete, and the like.
From the fact that the verse says, "Fear not… your reward is very great" (without mentioning his service at all), it is evident that the matter of reward here is (not a sign of something else, but) a matter in its own right.
If so, the question returns to its place.
3. This will be understood by first explaining a story (which seemingly is puzzling) in the Zohar on our parshah[9], in connection with the verse "your reward is very great."
The Zohar explains there that one who occupies himself with Torah "is given length of days in the World to Come, and is given wealth and honor in this world," and in continuation of this it brings the story:
Rabbi Abba once proclaimed that whoever wants wealth, and whoever wants "length of life in the World to Come," should come and study Torah. A certain "bachelor" came to him and said, "I want to toil in Torah so that I will have wealth," and Rabbi Abba agreed to this. Rabbi Abba asked him his name, and he answered: Yossi. Rabbi Abba then told his students "to call him Rabbi Yossi, master of wealth and honor."
When some time had passed, Rabbi Yossi came to Rabbi Abba and asked: "Where is the wealth?" "(Rabbi Abba) said: Learn from this that he is not doing it for the sake of Heaven" (and he wanted to pray "that this student should die, since he was occupying himself not for its own sake"[10]). "He heard a voice saying: Do not punish him, for he will be a great man." Rabbi Abba then told Rabbi Yossi to continue studying, "and I will give you wealth."
The Zohar further relates that a wealthy man came to Rabbi Abba who had not merited to study Torah, and asked him that someone should study Torah on his behalf, "and I will give wealth." Rabbi Abba told Rabbi Yossi to study Torah, and the wealthy man would give him wealth. "He gave him a goblet of fine gold (paz)… (Rabbi Yossi) sat and toiled in Torah, and that man would give him wealth."
Some time later, Rabbi Yossi understood the preciousness of the Torah, and he wept over having exchanged his (merit of) Torah for wealth. When Rabbi Abba heard this, "he said: Now it is evident that he is doing it for the sake of Heaven. He called that man and said to him: Take your wealth and give it to orphans and to the poor, and I will give you a greater portion in Torah… Rabbi Yossi returned to him that goblet of paz, and to this day his name has not departed… ben Pazi" (and to this day he is called Rabbi Yossi ben Pazi — on account of the "goblet of paz").
4. There are a number of puzzling points in this story, among them:
a) Why did Rabbi Abba want to punish Rabbi Yossi for studying Torah not for its own sake? There is an explicit law[11]: "A person should always occupy himself with Torah and mitzvos even not for their own sake, for out of doing so not for its own sake he will come to do so for its own sake."
The question is even greater: Rabbi Abba himself had proclaimed, "Whoever wants wealth… let him come and toil in Torah," and Rabbi Yossi came from the outset to study Torah "so that I will have wealth" [to the point that Rabbi Abba told his students to call him "master of wealth and honor"][12]. What changed after he asked "Where is the wealth?" to the point that Rabbi Abba wanted to punish him, and with the punishment of death no less?
b) From the fact that not only did Rabbi Abba tell that man that from then on he should stop giving Rabbi Yossi wealth, since he wants to study Torah for its own sake, but Rabbi Yossi returned the "goblet of paz" [which he had received immediately when the "agreement" was made] —
It is implied that by this he wanted to annul the entire "agreement" retroactively, also regarding the merit of the Torah he had already studied.
This is puzzling: the merit of the Torah he had studied earlier had already been acquired by the wealthy man[13]!
c) The conclusion in the Zohar (after relating that Rabbi Yossi regretted it), "and to this day his name has not departed… ben Pazi," is meant to bring out the virtue of Rabbi Yossi — yet seemingly, on the contrary, it recalls that his study had been not for its own sake (on account of the "goblet of paz")[14]. Moreover, the law is[15] that one may not remind a penitent of his earlier deeds.
5. There are also a number of fine points in the story, among them:
a) The heavenly voice, "he will be a great man" — how is this a reason for "do not punish him"? Either way: if study not for its own sake is forbidden and therefore incurs punishment — what does it help that in the future he will be a "great man"? Can one, on account of that, permit something forbidden[16]?! And if no punishment is due because "a person should always occupy himself with Torah and mitzvos even not for their own sake" — then there is no need for the reason "he will be a great man."
b) What difference does it make that the Zohar relates that when Rabbi Yossi came to Rabbi Abba he was a "bachelor"?
6. Seemingly, one could explain Rabbi Abba's conduct as follows:
Our Sages are precise in saying that the reason one must occupy oneself with Torah and mitzvos even not for their own sake is because "out of doing so not for its own sake he will come to do so for its own sake." That is to say, it is not (only) because the deed is the main thing[17], and therefore the deed outweighs the intention that is not for its own sake (in the words of the Alter Rebbe[18]: "the mitzvah is performed properly… only his thought is not for the sake of the mitzvah"), but because ultimately it brings one to "for its own sake"[19].
According to this, one could say that when Rabbi Abba saw that Rabbi Yossi was demanding the wealth, and forcefully, Rabbi Abba reckoned that such a manner of "not for its own sake" (with such strong forcefulness) would not bring him to "for its own sake."
But this too is not sufficient. For even supposing that in such a case he need not study Torah with him[20] — there is seemingly no room to say that he should be punished for it, and with the punishment of death!
7. The explanation of this may be said to be as follows:
In studying Torah for the sake of receiving reward there are two ways:
a) One studies for the sake of the reward that G‑d gives for fulfilling the mitzvah of Torah study, in the words of the Alter Rebbe[21]: "who studies… to receive a reward in the World to Come, or even in this world, the wealth and honor of those who go to its left side, which is given[22] from Heaven."
b) One studies "in order to take for himself honor and greatness, that he be called Rabbi and be the head of a yeshivah"[21], or "in order to earn a livelihood from teaching or from serving as a judge and giving rulings"[23] — which is a benefit that the person "takes" from his Torah study.
In this way there is not only the deficiency of "not for its own sake" (as in the first way), but also the prohibition: "Do not make it (the Torah) a crown with which to aggrandize yourself, nor a spade with which to dig"[24]. [It is only that "one who does not have the fear of Heaven to speak (words of Torah) for their own sake, but only to aggrandize himself or to earn a livelihood — it is better that he occupy himself with Torah not for its own sake than that he be idle and withdraw, for out of doing so not for its own sake he will come to do so for its own sake"[23].]
With this one can also explain a fine point in the Alter Rebbe's Shulchan Aruch[21] (where he enumerates various ways of studying Torah not for its own sake): first he says (that he studies) "to receive a reward… even in this world, wealth and honor… which is given from Heaven"; and afterwards, when he speaks of the reward that he himself "takes," he mentions only "honor and greatness, that he be called Rabbi and be the head of a yeshivah," and omits the detail of "wealth."
According to the above, this may be explained: what was permitted in using Torah as "a spade with which to dig" is only "to earn a livelihood"[25], since a person is obligated to support his wife and household. But when it comes to using words of Torah in order to obtain wealth from them (in such a way that people[26] should make him rich because he studies Torah) — for this the above permission does not exist[27].
8. Accordingly, the above-mentioned conduct of Rabbi Abba will be understood:
Rabbi Abba's proclamation, "Whoever wants wealth etc. let him come and toil in Torah," referred to the wealth that is "given from Heaven"; and he reckoned that this was also the kind of wealth Rabbi Yossi had in mind when he said, "I want to toil in Torah so that I will have wealth."
But when Rabbi Yossi later came with a demand to Rabbi Abba, "Where is the wealth?", he thereby revealed that his intention from the outset was that Rabbi Abba would provide him with wealth. Therefore Rabbi Abba wanted to punish him, since his study was not merely not for its own sake, but in a manner in which he "makes use of the crown of Torah," the punishment for which is "he is uprooted from the world"[23].
This also makes it more understandable why the Zohar is precise in telling us that Rabbi Yossi was then a "bachelor": had he been a family man, one would judge him favorably that he needed wealth in order to fulfill "her food, her clothing… he shall not diminish"[28] (which was permitted, as above);
Since, however, he was a "bachelor," this was proof that he wanted wealth — and for this there is no permission, as above. Therefore Rabbi Abba rejected such study not for its own sake.
According to this, however, the announcement of the heavenly voice that in the future "he will be a great man" becomes even harder to understand — is this a license to use the Torah in the present as "a spade with which to dig" for wealth?
9. This will be understood through the interpretation of the statement, "A person should always occupy himself etc., for out of (mitoch) doing so not for its own sake he will come to do so for its own sake," that it means [not only that after a time he will come to "for its own sake," but] that already now, within (toch), the intention "for its own sake" is present: the "inside" of the "not for its own sake" is "for its own sake":
In the "inside" of every Jew[29], whatever his state may be, there is the will and intention to fulfill G‑d's will; as in the well-known ruling of the Rambam[30] that even the Jew whom the court must compel to fulfill the ruling of the Torah (to give a get) has, at the time of the act, the will "to do all the mitzvos etc., and it is his evil inclination that overpowered him" (and for this reason the compulsion is effective — although a get must be given with the husband's consent — since the compulsion merely reveals the true inner will to fulfill G‑d's command).
Nevertheless, we see that it is not in every case that this "inside" of a person is taken into account. As we find in Tosafos[31] the distinction that the permission to study Torah not for its own sake applies specifically to "one who studies so that people will honor him," but not when his study is "to provoke his fellows"[32], in which case "it would have been better for him had he not been created"[33] (although in him too the intention "for its own sake" is present by virtue of his "inside" and inner being).
This is seemingly not smooth[34]: although "to provoke his fellows" is much worse than simply studying "so that people will honor him," it is nevertheless seemingly no more than an intention that is not for its own sake.
[It is not comparable to one who "does not fulfill what he studies"[35] (who, according to several opinions, may not study Torah) — for there, his Torah study[36] itself is lacking, since "the purpose of wisdom is repentance and good deeds"[33], and therefore, when one studies "not in order to do," what is lacking is (not only the "intention" of the study, but) the very essence of (the purpose of) the study[37].]
Why should the intention "to provoke" make such a fundamental change in the study, to the point that "it would have been better for him had he not been created"?
10. The explanation of this may be said to be as follows:
The meaning of "out of doing so not for its own sake he will come to do so for its own sake" is not only that in the "inside" of a Jew the intention "for its own sake" is present — but that the "inside" of the "not for its own sake" itself is "for its own sake":
The fact that Torah and mitzvos bring with them matters of reward — both material good and spiritual good; and not only reward that G‑d gives in a supernatural manner, but also the good things that one who fulfills mitzvos receives as a natural consequence[38] of fulfilling the mitzvos [such as being honored because he is a scholar, a head of a yeshivah, and the like] —
Is no hindrance to the service of G‑d for its own sake;
For in one who serves G‑d for its own sake, the reward becomes a matter of the service of G‑d[39].
For the true meaning of "for its own sake" is that when studying and fulfilling the mitzvah one does not think at all about oneself and one's own benefit, but does everything entirely and thoroughly for G‑d's sake. So too with him regarding the reward of Torah and mitzvos: when he receives wealth and honor etc., for example, he does not feel that importance and greatness are due to him (that he has earned wealth and honor), but rather that through this the honor of Heaven is increased in the world — everyone sees that when one fulfills Torah and mitzvos, one receives wealth and honor etc.[40]
[Similar to what is written[41] regarding Avraham, "and I will make your name great." The question on this is well known[42]: did Avraham then seek greatness? He was utterly self-nullified, "and I am but dust and ashes"[43]!
One of the explanations of this is that, on the contrary, this itself is the reason: since Avraham was utterly self-nullified and did not regard himself as anything at all — the "name" is consequently not his "name," but that of "the Craftsman who made me"[44], the Name of Heaven. The fact that "your name is magnified in the world"[45] does not create in him a feeling of his own greatness, but only — the magnification of the Name of Heaven.]
11. And this is the meaning of "out of doing so not for its own sake he will come to do so for its own sake" — that the "inside" of "not for its own sake" itself is "for its own sake":
The fact that a Jew feels that he desires honor, wealth and the like — this is only on account of the body. But within this there is an "inside" — the will of the soul, which wants matters of reward so that they should add to the honor of the Torah and the honor of Heaven, through its becoming revealed to all that through Torah and mitzvos one is blessed with all good.
[Similar to the Baal Shem Tov's interpretation[46] of the verse[47], "Hungry and also thirsty, their soul enwraps itself in them," that the body's hunger and thirst for food and drink derive from the fact that "their soul enwraps itself in them" — the soul wants to refine the sparks of holiness in the food and drink.]
Therefore, the principle of "out of doing so not for its own sake he will come to do so for its own sake" applies specifically when we are speaking of a motive whose "inside" can be "for its own sake." Whereas one who studies "to provoke" — which is something contrary (and has no positive side) — of him one cannot say that the "inside" of his "not for its own sake" is "for its own sake"[48].
12. According to the above, we will understand what the heavenly voice meant in saying that Rabbi Yossi would be a "great man":
Although there is the rule that one may not make use of the Torah for the sake of wealth, as above (the permission being only to earn a livelihood), nevertheless it is different with one whom "the many need," "since there is no one in the country as great in wisdom as he… the community is commanded to support him honorably… and even to make him wealthy… make him great from that of his brethren… and the same applies to every great leader of the generation"[49].
The heavenly voice revealed that Rabbi Yossi's wanting wealth as a reward for his study was bound up with the fact that he already possessed in the present the powers that would come to fruition, so that "he will be a great man" (whom "they are commanded… to make wealthy… make him great from that of his brethren"). Consequently, although in his present state he wanted the wealth for his own benefit, within this very desire there was the "inside" and cause — that his soul wants to attain the standing of a "great man," and "make him great from that of his brethren."
Therefore, in this case he was permitted[50] to study Torah in order to have wealth, since by virtue of his lofty powers in the present he would be a "great leader of the generation," whom "they are commanded… to make wealthy."
13. With this we will also understand why Rabbi Yossi in the end gave back the "goblet of paz," as well as the reason he was called "Rabbi Yossi ben Pazi":
The fact that the community must support and enrich the great leader of the generation does not, of course, bring about in him, G‑d forbid, any feeling of pride and the like. On the contrary: because he is the true great leader of the generation, who possesses true self-nullification before G‑d, precisely for this reason he is the one who has the power to "refine" the wealth; for in his case the wealth is the honor of Heaven (similar to what was said above in section 10).
And this is the explanation of the story mentioned:
By giving back the "goblet of paz," he did not intend to annul the wealthy man's merit in the Torah he had studied on his behalf (this cannot be done[51] after the fact, as above); rather, Rabbi Yossi wanted to bring out to what extent the level of occupation in Torah for its own sake must reach.
And therefore he was called "ben Pazi" — the name is to his credit: the name brings out (in addition to recalling that after the paz had become his — "Pazi"[52] — he returned it) this great virtue of Rabbi Yossi, that he is a "great man": a gavra, a man (even though the name derives from gibbor, mighty), does not have the power to bring about that the paz, wealth (for the sake of wealth), be transformed and elevated to "for its own sake." But Rabbi Yossi, being a "great man," was able to be "ben Pazi" (similar to the expression ben chorin, a free man) — to transform the paz so that he becomes completely "master" over the paz, it becomes "Pazi," "my paz"; he transforms the matter of wealth into "for its own sake."
14. According to this, one may explain why G‑d said to Avraham, "your reward is very great" — although Avraham was "one who serves out of love" — because, on the contrary, this itself is the reason:
Because Avraham was "one who serves out of love" in utmost perfection, in his case the matter of reward for his service too was (not for his own sake, but) for the sake of serving G‑d.
And on the contrary: precisely through G‑d telling him "your reward is very great," the true greatness of Avraham's service is brought out — that he was so utterly without any sense of self in his own eyes that even reward in the manner of "very great"[53] was, for him, no contradiction to service for its own sake, but on the contrary, a part of his service;
For the "greatness" of the reward for his service was, for him, not his own greatness, but the greatness of G‑d.
(From a talk of Shabbos Parshas Lech Lecha, 5741)
Key Lesson
For one who serves G‑d truly for its own sake, reward is no contradiction to selflessness: when wealth and honor come, he does not feel them as his own greatness but as a revelation to the world of the honor of Heaven. That is why G‑d could tell Avraham, the one who served only out of love, "your reward is very great," and why Rabbi Yossi, destined to be a "great man," could transform the goblet of gold into "Pazi" — elevating wealth itself to "for its own sake." Even when a Jew finds himself wanting material things, the soul's inner desire within that wanting is to make G‑d's Name great, and that inner "for its own sake" is what he should bring to the surface.