אִם־בְּחֻקֹּתַ֖י תֵּלֵ֑כוּ וְאֶת־מִצְוֺתַ֣י תִּשְׁמְר֔וּ וַעֲשִׂיתֶ֖ם אֹתָֽם׃
Si vous vous conduisez selon mes lois, si vous gardez mes préceptes et les exécutez,
Kedushat Levi
Leviticus 26,3. “if you will walk in My statutes and observe My commandments and carry them out.” At first glance there appears to be unnecessary verbiage in this verse. We would have expected the Torah to write simply: אם תשמרו את מצותי ונתתי גשמיכם בעתו, “if you will observe My commandments I will provide your rainfall at the appropriate time.” However, the reason for the additional words may be understood when we recall that the Talmud in Kiddushin 40 states that G’d will account a good intention as if it were a good deed, i.e. that the good intention is already accounted as fulfillment of a commandment. In other words, the good intention is accounted as if it had already been translated into action, so that if through an accident beyond one’s control actual performance of the good intention was prevented, one is still given credit for it.Leviticus 26,3. “if you will walk in My statutes and observe My commandments and carry them out.” At first glance there appears to be unnecessary verbiage in this verse. We would have expected the Torah to write simply: אם תשמרו את מצותי ונתתי גשמיכם בעתו, “if you will observe My commandments I will provide your rainfall at the appropriate time.” However, the reason for the additional words may be understood when we recall that the Talmud in Kiddushin 40 states that G’d will account a good intention as if it were a good deed, i.e. that the good intention is already accounted as fulfillment of a commandment. In other words, the good intention is accounted as if it had already been translated into action, so that if through an accident beyond one’s control actual performance of the good intention was prevented, one is still given credit for it.
From this it follows that when one performs a good deed (commandment) truly without any ulterior motive this may result in such a person being transported to a higher spiritual level than the one he had been on prior to performance of that commandment. As a result of such a spiritual “promotion,” one will be granted the opportunity to fulfill still other commandments. The process will continue as a self-fulfilling prophecy. This is what the sages had in mind when they said that the reward of fulfilling a commandment is another commandment. (Avot 4,2) It is also the meaning of מצוה גוררת מצוה, “performance of one commandment drags an additional commandment in its wake.” (ibid.) Keeping this in mind we can also understand the meaning of the line in Niddah 73 quoted in the name of Tanna de bey Eliyahu that every person who makes it a rule to study at least one halachah daily, is assured that he will have a share in the world to come. The meaning is that that individual will progress daily ever closer to his ultimate objective of the world to come as he has not been deflected from his path. This is the meaning of the verse from Scripture quoted by the author of this saying, i.e. Chabakuk 3,6 הליכות עולם לו, “he will make steady progress towards another, eternal life.”
The words: אם בחקותי תלכו, mean that “if you cleave to My statutes,” you will be considered as “walking” on the right path, תלכו. The words: ואת מצותי תשמרו, refer to your planning, thinking of, performing My commandments, even if you have not succeeded for some reason to carry out your good intention, I will consider it as if you had done it, i.e. ועשיתם אותם. When understood in this manner, none of the words in our verse are superfluous or repetitious.
From this it follows that when one performs a good deed (commandment) truly without any ulterior motive this may result in such a person being transported to a higher spiritual level than the one he had been on prior to performance of that commandment. As a result of such a spiritual “promotion,” one will be granted the opportunity to fulfill still other commandments. The process will continue as a self-fulfilling prophecy. This is what the sages had in mind when they said that the reward of fulfilling a commandment is another commandment. (Avot 4,2) It is also the meaning of מצוה גוררת מצוה, “performance of one commandment drags an additional commandment in its wake.” (ibid.) Keeping this in mind we can also understand the meaning of the line in Niddah 73 quoted in the name of Tanna de bey Eliyahu that every person who makes it a rule to study at least one halachah daily, is assured that he will have a share in the world to come. The meaning is that that individual will progress daily ever closer to his ultimate objective of the world to come as he has not been deflected from his path. This is the meaning of the verse from Scripture quoted by the author of this saying, i.e. Chabakuk 3,6 הליכות עולם לו, “he will make steady progress towards another, eternal life.”
The words: אם בחקותי תלכו, mean that “if you cleave to My statutes,” you will be considered as “walking” on the right path, תלכו. The words: ואת מצותי תשמרו, refer to your planning, thinking of, performing My commandments, even if you have not succeeded for some reason to carry out your good intention, I will consider it as if you had done it, i.e. ועשיתם אותם. When understood in this manner, none of the words in our verse are superfluous or repetitious.
Kedushat Levi
[The following lengthy paragraph has been omitted in several editions of the Kedushat Levi. I have included it as I am puzzled why some publishers should have taken it upon themselves to omit such an impressive proof of the author’s lofty moral concept of how a Jew can become the personality which reflects that he has thoroughly “digested” what the Torah considers him capable of. Ed.]
“Here I have placed before you this day blessing and curse.” It appears somewhat strange that two opposites such as blessing and curse should have been lumped together by Moses in a single verse, instead of being treated in separate paragraphs, as is the case when the Torah, on two separate occasions in Bechukotai and Ki Tavo, lists the results of obeying or disobeying G’d’s commandments.
In order to understand this let us first explain an important rule concerning the works performed by man, something designed to prevent us from becoming overbearing and taking undue credit when we do serve the Creator by performing the various commandments that He has given us for our benefit. If we were to do that, we would be only a few steps away from generating physical desires that may overwhelm us.
Not only must we not compliment ourselves for our service of the Lord as being a major accomplishment on our part, but on the contrary, we must consider such service as being minimal, and as a result of this we must become conscious of the immense spiritual gap between us and the Creator, so that we wind up with a broken heart when we consider our relative impotence when compared to Him. The more we serve Him, the more will we realize that we are still at the beginning of gaining an understanding of the immensity of a Being that has called into existence the entire universe and keeps in constant touch with all His creatures, being aware of what they do at any place and at any time. If we merely take time out to contemplate that ours is not the only planet that G’d has created but that are millions like it, how can we not feel our relative insignificance in the scheme of things that G’d has created?
We get a glimpse of the feelings generated by servants of Hashem in the celestial regions when we recite daily in our morning prayers that in spite of their knowing that they are beloved, pure and mighty, i.e. כלם אהובים כלם ברורים, כלם גבורים, nonetheless, in spite of their “standing at the heights of the universe,” ברום עולם, they relate to the Creator in awe and dread, i.e. באימה וביראה. If this applies to the leading angels, how much more does it apply to us mortal human beings. It appears from the version quoted in our prayers that these angels did not experience the feelings of their inadequacy until they were actively involved in performing acts of service for the Creator.
Immediately following these lines in the morning prayers, the highest category of angels, the seraphim, chayot and ofanim, are described as having intensified and reinforced their worship by proclaiming the holiness of G’d three times, i.e. קדושה. When we serve the Lord in the proper manner, our spiritual progress will assume the nature of a “chain reaction,” each act of service resulting in a better understanding of the Creator by His creature. Our author sees in the command to serve the Lord by blowing shofar on New Year’s day, (Psalms 81,4) an “invitation” to spiritually improve ourselves, the word שופר from the root שפר, personifying the concept of beautifying, i.e. improving oneself. The word תקיעה, based on the root תקע, meaning “firmly pitching (tent),” see Genesis 31,25 when used with the blowing of the ram’s horn, suggests that this service of the Lord be something firmly embedded in our personality, [not an occasional visit to the synagogue. Ed.] The fact that it is performed symbolically on New Year’s especially, points to the effect it has in renewing our commitment to Hashem. The very idea that we need periodically to “renew” this commitment, suggests that we are still at the “beginning” of our spiritual ascent. This is also reflected in the psalmist urging us (psalms 98,1) to “sing a new song for the Lord.” The נפלאות, wonders, which G’d worked that the psalmist describes in psalms 98, are that He deepens the perceptive powers of His servants, the ones who sing new songs in His praise.
It is worth recalling an explanation of the Baal Shem Tov on psalms 48,15 where David describes G’d’s leading us forever with the words: הוא ינהגנו על מות, “He will lead us beyond death.” The Baal Shem tov, uses a parable to explain that verse. A father, when teaching his son to walk, ensures that he does not start by running but by taking slow steps. In order to encourage his son to walk more and more assuredly, he gradually distances himself from the son, so that the latter needs to cover more distance before arriving in the embrace of his father. The fact that G’d, i.e. His essence, appears very distant to us encourages us to make greater efforts to solve this mystery by getting closer to Him through serving Him better. This in turn, creates the feeling within us that although we have not achieved our objective in unraveling all the mysteries surrounding G’d, we nonetheless no longer consider our efforts as inconsequential. Every day we feel as if we enter a new chapter in our service of the Lord.
“Here I have placed before you this day blessing and curse.” It appears somewhat strange that two opposites such as blessing and curse should have been lumped together by Moses in a single verse, instead of being treated in separate paragraphs, as is the case when the Torah, on two separate occasions in Bechukotai and Ki Tavo, lists the results of obeying or disobeying G’d’s commandments.
In order to understand this let us first explain an important rule concerning the works performed by man, something designed to prevent us from becoming overbearing and taking undue credit when we do serve the Creator by performing the various commandments that He has given us for our benefit. If we were to do that, we would be only a few steps away from generating physical desires that may overwhelm us.
Not only must we not compliment ourselves for our service of the Lord as being a major accomplishment on our part, but on the contrary, we must consider such service as being minimal, and as a result of this we must become conscious of the immense spiritual gap between us and the Creator, so that we wind up with a broken heart when we consider our relative impotence when compared to Him. The more we serve Him, the more will we realize that we are still at the beginning of gaining an understanding of the immensity of a Being that has called into existence the entire universe and keeps in constant touch with all His creatures, being aware of what they do at any place and at any time. If we merely take time out to contemplate that ours is not the only planet that G’d has created but that are millions like it, how can we not feel our relative insignificance in the scheme of things that G’d has created?
We get a glimpse of the feelings generated by servants of Hashem in the celestial regions when we recite daily in our morning prayers that in spite of their knowing that they are beloved, pure and mighty, i.e. כלם אהובים כלם ברורים, כלם גבורים, nonetheless, in spite of their “standing at the heights of the universe,” ברום עולם, they relate to the Creator in awe and dread, i.e. באימה וביראה. If this applies to the leading angels, how much more does it apply to us mortal human beings. It appears from the version quoted in our prayers that these angels did not experience the feelings of their inadequacy until they were actively involved in performing acts of service for the Creator.
Immediately following these lines in the morning prayers, the highest category of angels, the seraphim, chayot and ofanim, are described as having intensified and reinforced their worship by proclaiming the holiness of G’d three times, i.e. קדושה. When we serve the Lord in the proper manner, our spiritual progress will assume the nature of a “chain reaction,” each act of service resulting in a better understanding of the Creator by His creature. Our author sees in the command to serve the Lord by blowing shofar on New Year’s day, (Psalms 81,4) an “invitation” to spiritually improve ourselves, the word שופר from the root שפר, personifying the concept of beautifying, i.e. improving oneself. The word תקיעה, based on the root תקע, meaning “firmly pitching (tent),” see Genesis 31,25 when used with the blowing of the ram’s horn, suggests that this service of the Lord be something firmly embedded in our personality, [not an occasional visit to the synagogue. Ed.] The fact that it is performed symbolically on New Year’s especially, points to the effect it has in renewing our commitment to Hashem. The very idea that we need periodically to “renew” this commitment, suggests that we are still at the “beginning” of our spiritual ascent. This is also reflected in the psalmist urging us (psalms 98,1) to “sing a new song for the Lord.” The נפלאות, wonders, which G’d worked that the psalmist describes in psalms 98, are that He deepens the perceptive powers of His servants, the ones who sing new songs in His praise.
It is worth recalling an explanation of the Baal Shem Tov on psalms 48,15 where David describes G’d’s leading us forever with the words: הוא ינהגנו על מות, “He will lead us beyond death.” The Baal Shem tov, uses a parable to explain that verse. A father, when teaching his son to walk, ensures that he does not start by running but by taking slow steps. In order to encourage his son to walk more and more assuredly, he gradually distances himself from the son, so that the latter needs to cover more distance before arriving in the embrace of his father. The fact that G’d, i.e. His essence, appears very distant to us encourages us to make greater efforts to solve this mystery by getting closer to Him through serving Him better. This in turn, creates the feeling within us that although we have not achieved our objective in unraveling all the mysteries surrounding G’d, we nonetheless no longer consider our efforts as inconsequential. Every day we feel as if we enter a new chapter in our service of the Lord.