Timeless Torah

This week's Torah portion is a study in contrasts. It swings from rewards to punishments, from sweet promises to crushing curses. It tantalizes us with visions of bountiful produce…it also warns us of destruction. Who decides what course of events will materialize? We do.

This week's Torah portion is a study in contrasts. It swings from rewards to punishments, from sweet promises to crushing curses. It tantalizes us with visions of bountiful produce, secure peace and G-d's Spirit dwelling in our midst. However, it also warns us of desolation, destruction and death. And who decides what course of events will materialize? We do. As the Torah states, “If you follow My statutes...” versus “But if you will not listen to Me...”

Interestingly enough, Rashi, the father of all Biblical commentary, does not understand the first verse, "If you follow My statutes...” to mean, “Observance of the commandments.” Instead, he explains what seems to be a simple, straightforward verse as a Divine directive to “ameilim B'Torah - to toil in Torah.”

Many subsequent commentaries wonder why Rashi utilizes the phrase "ameilim - to toil" rather than the more common “lomdim -to learn?” One possible answer may be gleaned from the prayer that is recited upon completing an entire volume of Talmud. In it we thank G-d for, “The advantage of the ones who learn Torah over those who engage in worldly matters. We toil and they toil. We toil and receive reward and they toil and do not receive reward."

A literal reading of this grateful recognition (we toil and receive...they toil and do not) is problematic. As is obvious to anyone who has ever been employed in the work force, all labor, not only Torah study, receives compensation and payment.

Nonetheless, the superior reward for toiling in Torah may be illustrated with the following parable. In a large corporation there are employees of all different levels, from the chief executive officer to the blue collar worker on the assembly line. While the CEO enjoys a power lunch at the city's most prestigious restaurants and takes lengthy vacations, the lowly employee comes in early every morning and puts in eight hard hours of backbreaking sweat. The CEO, of course, earns a large salary peppered with hefty bonuses. The worker, on the other hand, brings home not much more than minimum wage.

Some may ponder on the injustice of it all, until one comes to the recognition that society rewards accomplishment, not effort. G-d's system, we remind ourselves at the end of each Talmudic Tractate, operates on opposing values. If one learns a topic quickly and easily, he receives a smaller reward than one who spends much time and struggles to comprehend the subject. Thus the famous adage about study, “G-d does not count the pages but the hours.”
This is the point that Rashi wishes to impart. “Ameilim -Toil in Torah!” If you do so, you will be blessed with the greatest of all remunerations as outlined in the Biblical portion. This stands in stark contrast to the centers of commerce which pay dividends only on results, regardless of the effort expended.

Perchance this also clarifies the Torah's opening verse of the week, “If you follow My (Chukim) statutes.” The Hebrew word Chukim usually means that the particular law being demanded is incomprehensible to the human mind. In this case, it is not the actual commandment that defies common logic; it is the recompense that challenges man's appraisal of what is true labor.