Likkutei Sichos Vol. 30 – Vayeitzei 1
1. At the end of the laws of Shabbos, the Rambam writes: “And anyone who observes Shabbos according to its laws, and honors it and delights in it to the best of his ability, it is already explicit in the tradition (kabbalah) that his reward in this world is greater than the reward that is set aside for the World to Come, as it is said, ‘Then you shall delight in the L‑rd, and I will cause you to ride upon the high places of the earth, and I will feed you with the heritage of Yaakov your father, for the mouth of the L‑rd has spoken.’”
The commentators note that the source for the Rambam’s words is the statement of Rabbi Yochanan in the name of Rabbi Yosi in Tractate Shabbos: “Anyone who delights in Shabbos is given a boundless inheritance, as it is said, ‘Then you shall delight in the L‑rd, and I will cause you to ride upon the high places of the earth, and I will feed you with the heritage of Yaakov your father…’ Not like Avraham, about whom it is written, ‘Arise, walk through the land in its length…,’ and not like Yitzchak, about whom it is written, ‘For to you and your seed I will give all these lands,’ but like Yaakov, about whom it is written, ‘And you shall spread out to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south.’”
But according to this, it is not understood why the Rambam changed from the wording of the teaching of our Sages:
a) In defining the action for which a person receives this reward — in the Gemara it says, “Anyone who delights in Shabbos,” while the Rambam writes, “Anyone who observes Shabbos according to its laws, and honors it and delights in it to the best of his ability.” That is, according to the Rambam, the reward is not only for one who delights (in Shabbos) alone, but for one who fulfills all the mitzvos of Shabbos according to its laws.
b) In defining the reward — he writes only, “it is explicit in the tradition that his reward in this world is greater than the reward set aside for the World to Come,” but omits the manner of the reward — “he is given a boundless inheritance,” and the details that follow, that it is the heritage of Yaakov (not like Avraham or Yitzchak).
It would seem from this that the Rambam’s intent here is not to the Gemara’s interpretation, but rather to the plain meaning of the verse. [For the Gemara’s interpretation, “Anyone who delights… is given a boundless inheritance,” can be seen as a drash (homiletic interpretation), whereas the Rambam’s intent when he writes “explicit” is that this is the straightforward meaning of the verse, as we find in other places that the Rambam explains a verse according to its plain meaning, and not as it was interpreted by our Sages in the Midrash.]
It can be said that this is why he wrote, “Anyone who observes Shabbos according to its laws, and honors it and delights in it to the best of his ability” (and not simply, “Anyone who delights in Shabbos”) — because the verse “Then you shall delight in the L‑rd” comes as a continuation to the previous verse, “If you restrain your foot because of Shabbos, from pursuing your affairs on My holy day, and you call Shabbos a delight, the holy [day] of the L‑rd honored, and you honor it by not doing your ways, nor pursuing your affairs, nor speaking of them (and then it continues:) Then you shall delight…” The promise of “Then you shall delight in the L‑rd…” comes as a result of all that was stated before (especially since the phrase “and you call Shabbos a delight” is not at the end of the verse), meaning “one who observes Shabbos according to its laws, and honors it and delights in it to the best of his ability.”
But seemingly, it requires explanation: why did the Rambam depart from the Gemara’s interpretation and bring the explanation of the verse only according to its plain meaning?
2. This can be explained by first clarifying the Rambam’s phrase, “it is explicit in the tradition that his reward in this world is greater than the reward set aside for the World to Come” — which requires explanation: the Rambam already wrote in Hilchos Teshuvah that the main reward for mitzvos is in the World to Come, so why did he need to emphasize this point here?
Now, in the Midrash it is stated (in continuation to several virtues of Shabbos observance): “Not only that, but everything you eat in this world is only from the fruits, but the principal remains for you in the World to Come, as it is said, ‘And I will feed you with the heritage of Yaakov your father, for the mouth of the L‑rd has spoken.’” The commentators explain that the intent of the Midrash is that Shabbos is among those things whose fruits a person eats in this world.
It can be said that this is the source for the Rambam’s words here, and his intent is that Shabbos is among the mitzvos whose fruits a person eats in this world. According to this, the meaning of the Rambam’s words, “it is explicit in the tradition that his reward in this world is greater than the reward set aside for the World to Come, as it is said…” is that in the verse “Then you shall delight…” both aspects are included: the reward in this world and the reward set aside for the World to Come: “Then you shall delight in the L‑rd, and I will cause you to ride upon the high places of the earth” — “his reward in this world”; “and I will feed you with the heritage of Yaakov your father” — “the reward set aside for the World to Come.”
2. However, it is difficult to say that this is the Rambam’s intent here — for [aside from the fact that it does not (fully) resolve why he needed to add “greater than the reward set aside for the World to Come,” for it is obvious that the principal reward is in the World to Come, as is explained at length in Hilchos Teshuvah, and the novelty is only that there is also the reward of its fruits in this world; if so, he should have written simply “his reward in this world” (and I would know that this is “greater than the reward set aside for the World to Come”) — for]:
3. a) If we say that the Rambam’s intent is the above-quoted Midrash, then the main point is missing from his words, for the Rambam should have emphasized the distinction between the two types of reward — that the reward in this world is (only) in the category of “eating the fruits,” while the reward in the World to Come is the “principal” (and this is a fundamental and essential distinction); but the Rambam writes only in general terms, “it is explicit… that his reward in this world is greater than the reward set aside for the World to Come,” and this wording does not imply that there is an essential difference between them in the nature of the reward.
b) And more importantly: In his commentary on the Mishnah, the Rambam explains the reason that in the Mishnah “These are the things whose fruits a person eats in this world…” the Tanna gives examples such as “honoring father and mother, acts of kindness, etc.,” because only in “the second category, mitzvos that involve benefit to other people,” do we say that a person eats their fruits in this world (since through them “he will find good in this world”), and the observance of Shabbos is not among them. It is forced to say that the Rambam here rules according to the Midrash (that also regarding Shabbos, a person eats its fruits in this world) against an explicit Mishnah.
4. 3. The explanation can be given as follows:
By being precise in his wording, “his reward in this world is greater than the reward set aside for the World to Come,” the Rambam is teaching us that there is a fundamental novelty in the reward for the mitzvah of Shabbos, which we do not find in the reward for any other mitzvah in the Torah.
For regarding the reward for mitzvos, the Rambam explains at length that there are two types of reward: (a) “The ultimate reward for mitzvos” is “the life of the World to Come,” for only that life is fitting to be the ultimate reward for the fulfillment of Torah and mitzvos. (b) Material promises, which are not the ultimate reward for mitzvos, and their entire purpose is only to enable a person to fulfill the mitzvos properly (without distractions), “so that we will not spend all our days occupied with the needs of the body, but rather be free to study wisdom and perform the mitzvah, so that we may merit the life of the World to Come.”
It can be said that in this, the mitzvah of Shabbos differs from all other mitzvos: “It is explicit in the tradition that his reward in this world is greater than the reward set aside for the World to Come,” meaning that the reward in this world is not like the material promises (which are only the removal of obstacles to enable the fulfillment of mitzvos, etc.), but rather the reward in this world is of the same kind and nature as the reward set aside for the World to Come — that is, it is true reward.
And this is what the Rambam writes: “It is already explicit in the tradition that his reward in this world is greater than the reward set aside for the World to Come, as it is said: ‘Then you shall delight in the L‑rd…’” — in this verse it is emphasized that the reward for observing Shabbos in this world (is not a reward similar to the material promises found throughout the Torah, but rather) is a reward whose nature is similar to that of the World to Come, as it is explicit: “Then you shall delight in the L‑rd,” which is similar to and a reflection of the reward of the World to Come, where “they delight in the radiance of the Shechinah”.
And also in the continuation of the verse, “and I will cause you to ride upon the high places of the earth,” it is explained and emphasized that the intent here is not material promises — “that He will remove from us all things that prevent us from fulfilling it (the Torah), such as illness, war, famine, and the like, and will bestow upon us all the good things that support us in fulfilling the Torah, such as abundance, peace, and an increase of silver and gold,” for these promises are in the category of “earth,” that is, matters of this physical world…
…physical, but rather they are the perfection of “earth” and matters of this world; whereas the content of the reward of “I will cause you to ride upon the high places of the earth” is something that is higher even than the perfection of this world (the “high places of the earth”), and it is the delight “in the L‑rd,” the pleasure from the radiance of the Shechinah, which is beyond the bounds of “earth” and the pleasures of this world, as the Rambam elaborates there in Hilchos Teshuvah.
4. According to the above, we can now well understand why the Rambam here explains the verse according to its simple meaning, and does not bring the teaching of our Sages mentioned above:
In tractate Shabbos, the statement “whoever delights in Shabbos” comes in the context of a discussion (not about the general greatness of observing Shabbos, but rather) about specific virtues of particular aspects of Shabbos: “Whoever fulfills three meals on Shabbos is saved from…”; “Whoever delights in Shabbos is granted the desires of his heart”; “Whoever observes Shabbos according to its laws, even if he worships idols… is forgiven,” and similar statements. Therefore, there the teaching cited is the one that explains a specific reward (“an inheritance without boundaries”) for a specific aspect of Shabbos (“whoever delights in Shabbos”).
But the Rambam brings this verse at the conclusion and seal of all the laws of Shabbos, for his intent is to address the general matter of the mitzvah of Shabbos. Therefore, the Rambam refers to the action of the person (for whom the reward is given) as “whoever observes Shabbos according to its laws, and honors and delights in it, etc.” (and not merely “whoever delights in Shabbos”), since his intent is to the general content of Shabbos observance, in all its details. Likewise, he writes simply, “It is explicit in the Prophets that his reward in this world is greater than the reward stored away for the World to Come” (and does not specify the reward of “he is given an inheritance without boundaries”), for his intent here is not to a specific reward, but rather to the general innovation regarding the reward for the mitzvah of Shabbos, as compared to the reward for all other mitzvos: that through observing Shabbos, a person receives a reward in this world that is a reflection of the reward of the World to Come.
And it may be said that this is why the Rambam is precise in writing, “And whoever observes Shabbos… and honors and delights in it according to his ability” (which, at first glance, where is this detail hinted at in the verse?): The reason that the mitzvah of Shabbos is unique among all the mitzvos of the Torah in that its (true) reward is (also) in this world is because the essence of Shabbos (and the holiness of Shabbos) is a reflection of the World to Come. That is, this reward is of the nature of a natural consequence: when a person unites with Shabbos, he automatically merits a “reflection of the World to Come” in this world. Therefore, the Rambam is precise that the reward in this world depends on the person “observing Shabbos according to its laws, and honoring and delighting in it according to his ability,” which emphasizes that the person attains the completeness of the holiness of Shabbos, both from the perspective of the object of Shabbos — that he fulfills all the details of the mitzvah of Shabbos, “observes Shabbos according to its laws, and honors and delights in it,” and also from the perspective of the person — that he invests his entire soul in it (“according to his ability”), so that Shabbos and the person are united in complete unity.
5. In this way, we can also explain the continuation of the matters in this halachah in the Rambam:
The beginning of the halachah is: “Shabbos and idolatry — each of them is equivalent to all the other mitzvos of the Torah, and Shabbos is the sign between the Holy One, blessed be He, and us forever. Therefore, whoever transgresses the other mitzvos is included among the wicked of Israel, but one who publicly desecrates Shabbos is like an idolater, and both are like non-Jews in all respects. Therefore, the prophet praises and says, ‘Happy is the man…’” And on this he concludes, “And whoever observes Shabbos according to its laws… for the mouth of the L‑rd has spoken.”
In this halachah, the Rambam teaches us a fundamental principle regarding the nature of the mitzvah of Shabbos, namely, that Shabbos is not like the other mitzvos of the Torah, whose fulfillment is merely an additional holiness, added to the inherent holiness of a Jew, and therefore, when they are not fulfilled, he (“the wicked of Israel”) is still included among the Jewish people. Rather, it is not so; rather, it is like idolatry, which touches upon the very essence of the holiness of a Jew, and therefore, one who desecrates Shabbos is like one who worships idols, “and both are like non-Jews in all respects.”
And on this he continues: just as this is so on the negative side — that one who desecrates Shabbos is like a non-Jew — so too, on the positive side, the observance of Shabbos is not something additional to the status of being a Jew, but rather pertains to the very essence of the holiness of a Jew. And this is…
6. Regarding what the Rambam writes about the reward for observing Shabbos, “It is already explicit in the Prophets that its reward in this world is greater than the reward set aside for the World to Come, as it says, ‘Then you shall delight in the L‑rd…’” — his intent here (as above) is that one receives in this world a reward that is a reflection of the reward of the World to Come. For the nature of the reward of the World to Come is the completion and perfection of the bond and attachment of the Jewish people to their Creator (which is why “David so greatly longed and yearned for the life of the World to Come” — and likewise, all Israel, their prophets and sages, yearned for this). Through observing Shabbos, one receives this reward — meaning, it adds strength to the very essence of the holiness of the Jew within him (an attachment to the Creator that is a reflection of the perfect attachment in the World to Come).
7. Based on all the above, we can further explain why the Rambam also brings the conclusion of the verse, “for the mouth of the L‑rd has spoken,” which is not cited in the Gemara. Simply, one could say that these words (“for the mouth of the L‑rd has spoken”) come to teach that since this is an explicit promise from G‑d Himself, spoken with His mouth, it is certain to be fulfilled, as the Rambam writes in Hilchos Yesodei HaTorah that any good thing that G‑d decrees, even conditionally, is never retracted. But it requires explanation: why is this point emphasized specifically regarding this reward, something we do not find regarding other matters of reward?
According to the above, it is understood: in other matters of reward and physical promises that G‑d bestows in this world, these are things that are within the framework of the world and the natural order. Even the ultimate goodness and advantages that will exist in this world in the days of Moshiach, the Rambam writes, will not abolish the natural order of the world.
But the reward for observing Shabbos — “to delight in the L‑rd,” which is the reward set aside for the World to Come — is not something within the category of the world. As the Rambam elaborates in Hilchos Teshuvah: “That goodness is exceedingly great… beyond comprehension, without comparison or likeness… no human has the capacity to grasp it fully… all the good things that the prophets prophesied for Israel are only for bodily matters, from which Israel will benefit… but the goodness of the life of the World to Come has no comparison or likeness, and the prophets did not envision it…” Therefore, the Rambam adds and emphasizes here, “for the mouth of the L‑rd has spoken” — that this matter, which “even the prophets did not envision nor imagine,” is given to one who observes Shabbos properly, honoring and delighting in it to the best of his ability.
8. From this, there is a lesson for every Jew, in the language of the Rambam, “to correct the beliefs and straighten all actions” — namely, to add and strengthen the study of the inner dimension of Torah, whose subject is “Know the G‑d of your father,” for it is specifically through this that one comes to cleave to the Creator and to delight in the L‑rd. As the Rambam writes at the end of Hilchos Teshuvah: “Therefore, a person must set himself apart to understand and comprehend wisdoms and insights that make known to him his Creator, to the extent that a person is able to understand and grasp.”
And especially in the service of prayer, as it is stated in Shulchan Aruch regarding the early pious ones, who would spend a full hour in each of the three daily prayers, “and they were not concerned about neglecting Torah study, even though Torah study is equal to all [the mitzvos], because they would attach their minds to the Master of all, blessed be He, with awe and intense love and true attachment, until they would reach a state of divestment from physicality; and the mitzvah of true attachment in awe and love is greater than the mitzvah of Torah study and precedes it.”
In truth, this is connected to the very essence of Shabbos itself, as the Maggid Mishneh brings here: “And the reason for Shabbos is that it testifies to creation, and one who denies creation denies the entire Torah; therefore, one must believe and firmly establish in his soul the belief in creation, and observe Shabbos, which is a faithful sign of it.”
And the details and depth of the belief in creation are attained through the study and contemplation of the inner dimension of Torah, where these matters are explained at length and in all their particulars.
And its establishment is through the service of prayer, as the Rema explicitly states: “One should think before prayer of the exaltedness of G‑d, may He be elevated, and of the lowliness of man, and remove all human pleasures from his heart.” And it is specifically through this that one can come, in prayer, to attachment to the Creator.
And it is well known that prayer is, in a sense, a level of Shabbos.
And through the Jewish people observing Shabbos properly — both in the inner and the outer aspects of Shabbos — they are immediately redeemed, and then will be revealed…
5. It will be visible to all how “from You is their rest, and upon their rest they will sanctify Your Name” — that their rest is truly “from You” — in the true and complete redemption through our righteous Moshiach.
(From a talk of Shabbos Parshas Vayeitzei–Parshas Vayakhel-Pekudei, 5747)