Chasidut su Deuteronomio 7:12
וְהָיָ֣ה ׀ עֵ֣קֶב תִּשְׁמְע֗וּן אֵ֤ת הַמִּשְׁפָּטִים֙ הָאֵ֔לֶּה וּשְׁמַרְתֶּ֥ם וַעֲשִׂיתֶ֖ם אֹתָ֑ם וְשָׁמַר֩ יְהוָ֨ה אֱלֹהֶ֜יךָ לְךָ֗ אֶֽת־הַבְּרִית֙ וְאֶת־הַחֶ֔סֶד אֲשֶׁ֥ר נִשְׁבַּ֖ע לַאֲבֹתֶֽיךָ׃
E avverrà, poiché ascolterai queste ordinanze e osserverai e farai che l'Eterno, il tuo DIO, manterrà con te l'alleanza e la misericordia che giurò ai tuoi padri,
Kedushat Levi
Deuteronomy 7,12. “it will be that as a result of your listening, etc., that G’d will faithfully maintain for you the covenant and the attribute of love that He has sworn to your forefathers.”
It is an accepted principle that the “so-called” reward that G’d grants us for performing the commandments of the Torah is the least of all the pleasures that we will experience. The major pleasure is the satisfaction we derive from having been able to give the Creator a feeling of satisfaction that He created mankind, and that at least part of mankind, Israel, has seen fit to acknowledge this. This is what the Mishna in Avot 4,2 meant when the author states that the true reward for performing the commandments is the commandment itself. When we reflect on the significance of the performance of the commandment we will realize that having performed it was an unparalleled pleasure. Even the reward that G’d has “saved up” for us in the hereafter pales into insignificance when compared to the satisfaction of having been able to provide Hashem with pleasure.
This is what Moses had in mind when he described the mitzvah performance with the word עקב in our verse above. This word, meaning “heel,” when used elsewhere in Scripture, is used by Moses to describe the minute part of the pleasure that G’d’s “reward” provides for us when we compare it with the pleasure we provided for ourselves by having been the instrument to please the Creator.
It is an accepted principle that the “so-called” reward that G’d grants us for performing the commandments of the Torah is the least of all the pleasures that we will experience. The major pleasure is the satisfaction we derive from having been able to give the Creator a feeling of satisfaction that He created mankind, and that at least part of mankind, Israel, has seen fit to acknowledge this. This is what the Mishna in Avot 4,2 meant when the author states that the true reward for performing the commandments is the commandment itself. When we reflect on the significance of the performance of the commandment we will realize that having performed it was an unparalleled pleasure. Even the reward that G’d has “saved up” for us in the hereafter pales into insignificance when compared to the satisfaction of having been able to provide Hashem with pleasure.
This is what Moses had in mind when he described the mitzvah performance with the word עקב in our verse above. This word, meaning “heel,” when used elsewhere in Scripture, is used by Moses to describe the minute part of the pleasure that G’d’s “reward” provides for us when we compare it with the pleasure we provided for ourselves by having been the instrument to please the Creator.
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Tiferet Shlomo
Deuteronomy 7:12: Rashi asks: what will you listen [/abide] to? The miztvot which people usually trample under foot. So, it says in Talmud, right before Moshiach comes there will be lots of chutzpah. Arizal says that's the time to fix the feet of Adam. Since feet are coarser than the rest of the body, so they represent chutzpah. The main rectification is by guarding the bris since the 6th millennium is associated with [the sefirah of] yesod. This is what Hashem's promises, in the times of the heel of Moshiach, the Jewish people will be doing mitzvot and learning Torah despite being at the level of a heel as it says "it won't be forgotten from your children." Rashi, when talking to the mizvtot which people [adam=man] trample, refers to Adam himself. Rabbi Eliezer says that you should engage in coitus as if you were being forced by a demon. The "demon" has a shin and a daled. In a person, the head correspond to shin, the feet and hands correspond to the daled, and bris correspond to the yud. Rabbi Eliezer sanctified himself with bris, and he had the whole name of Hashem (Shin-Daled-Yud). If someone doesn't sanctify his bris, he misses the "yud" then becomes associated with demons (shin dalet). This is the meaning of Jewish demons as discussed in the Zohar. We also find that Adam wasted seed and demons and kelipa came from that. Adam committed coitus interruptus and spilled that seed. If a person doesn't have a intent of holiness and does not sanctify himself then it's as if he does dash, wasting seed, which is same letters as "demon." Zorah, to winnow, refers to kelipah because kelipah is always external, since during winnowing husks are separated from inside, thus zorah refers to externality. That's what Rashi is referring to by the ignored mitzvah: sanctifying oneself during coitus. So, the Torah says that if a person will sanctify his intimacy then G-d will guard the covenant and this will reveal blessings.
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Kedushat Levi
Genesis 49,19. “Gad shall be raided by raiders, but he shall raid at their heels.” We can best understand this blessing by referring to the Talmud shabbat 151 where we are told that when human beings demonstrate that they are merciful to G’d’s creatures, G’d in turn will have mercy on them.” Man’s actions trigger responses in heaven; in this instance, positive responses. What possible example of Gad’s having preformed acts of mercy do we know of? We have learned on folio 104 of the tractate Shabbat that the very sequence of the letters ג and ד which make up Gad’s name are an acronym meaning גומל דלים, “relating with loving kindness to the poor.” When a person deals charitably with the poor and he expects that G’d will in turn reward him for this by causing him to forget about the impending reward at the time the charitable deed is performed, so that this person has attained an even higher spiritual level thereby. Yaakov alludes to this when saying words which at first glance sound as if he is repeating himself, whereas actually he hints that certain actions inspired by one consideration may prove to be even more profitable (spiritually) when carried out altogether altruistically. The word עקב in our verse may be understood as in Deut. 7,12 והיה עקב תשמעון, “it will be as a result (automatic) of your hearkening to G’ds laws, etc.” In that verse G’d promises that He will honour the terms of His covenant with the Jewish people. The word גוד may be related to Daniel 4,11 (Aramaic) גודו אילנא, “cut down the tree,” i.e. when the Jewish people perform deeds of loving kindness their enemies will be cut down by G’d. According to Targum Onkelos on Deut.7,12 who renders עקב תשמעון as חלף תקבלון, “what you will receive in exchange,” this is what is meant in our verse as יגוד, “as reward for forgetting about any reward”.
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