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Reward
and Punishment
Putting
Reward and Punishment in its Proper Perspective
by: Rabbi Yitzchak Shurin
This is the season we hear most about "sin and punishment".
This usually makes us quite uncomfortable since
it stresses the politically incorrect negative.
But if we would take a moment to ponder the responsibility
G-d gave to man, we would realize that sin and punishment
is just a sign of how significant and important
man and his actions really are. The reason for the
discomfort is that deep down, man doesn't believe
that his actions are all that significant and therefore,
he wonders, why all this talk of punishment. (Of
course, nobody has any complaints with the great
reward we receive for our actions because we don't
mind getting something we're not worthy of.)
In truth, however, our every action is most significant.
We are like presidents of corporate firms where
every small decision we make has monumental ramifications.
That is why the salary we get is so high and the
consequences of mistakes are so severe.
The Vilna Gaon asks why, in the Mishna in Pirkei
Avot (3:1), "Know that you will eventually have
to give a 'din vecheshbon' (judgement and accounting)"
does it use the double expression "din vecheshbon"?
Wouldn't "din" alone have sufficed? He answers that
the judgment of man has two aspects; "din", judgement
for the sin itself, and "cheshbon" a judgement that
takes into account what he could have accomplished
while he was sinning. Man is also judged for what
he could have accomplished because he has the capability
with his actions to create worlds.
The Midrash makes the following unusual observation:
"The Torah teaches us Derech Eretz, that when a
person does a mitzva, he should do it with a happy
heart, because if Reuven would have known that G-d
would write about him, 'And Reuven heard and saved
him (Yosef) from their hands', he would have brought
Yosef back to his father carrying him on his shoulders.
If Aaron would have known that G-d would write about
him, 'Behold he will come out towards you and be
happy in his heart', he would have come out with
drums and musical instruments (to greet Moshe).
If Boaz would have known that G-d would write about
him, ' And he picked for her roasted corn', he would
have served her fatted calves. In earlier times
when man would do a mitzva, the prophets would record
it, now that there are no prophets, who records
the mitzvot of man? Eliyahu and the Moshiach; and
HaKadosh Baruch Hu stamps it." This seems strange;
the Midrash seems to imply that our great leaders
would have acted differently had they known that
their actions would have been publicized.
My grandfather, Rav Yaakov Kamenetsky zt"l, gave
the following explanation. At the time they were
doing them, these three great people did not realize
how significant their actions were. Each one thought
they were doing a simple, personal act of kindness.
In reality, however, if Reuven had brought Yosef
back to his father, the Jewish people could have
avoided the Exile of Egypt. When Aharon met him,
Moshe was beginning his mission which would lead
to the Jews being redeemed from Egypt, probably
the most significant event in Jewish history; and
Boaz' interaction with Ruth was the beginning of
a relationship which would lead to the birth of
Dovid HaMelech and Moshiach.
What each of these three great leaders did not realize
is that what they thought was a simple act of kindness
toward an individual actually had a profound affect
on all of Klal Yisrael.
The Midrash ends by saying that today a person's
actions are written now by Eliyahu and Moshiach,
so that a person should not think that since the
Torah is already redacted, what he does now cannot
have an affect on all of Jewish history. Rav Yaakov
illustrated this through an example of a person
giving tzedaka to a poor family. The giver does
not know the future, and cannot know the ultimate
affect of his actions. But G-d knows that a child
of this poor family he helped will eventually grow
up to be a great Talmudic scholar who contributes
greatly to Klal Yisrael.
Rav Yaakov thought this is hinted at in the Mishna
in Avot that says, "Look at three things and you
will not come to sin. Know what is above you, an
eye sees and an ear hears and all your deeds are
written in the book." "The book," he said, is not
the Book of the Righteous or the Book of the Wicked
(as some commentators explain), but the books of
Jewish history being written by Eliyahu and Moshiach
that the Midrash spoke of. They show how every action
contributes to the future of Klal Yisrael. The Mishna
teaches us that realizing the profound significance
of our actions protects us from sin.
This Rosh Hashana let us become sensitive to how
important we really are and act with the consciousness
that our every action could impact the future of
the Jewish people. Ktivah V'Chatimah Tova. |
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