Reward Secondary To Mitzvos

והי' עקב תשמעון

"And it will be, eikev (as a consequence of) your listening" (Devarim 7:12).

The Sfas Emes opens with the pasuk about blessing coming "eikev" — on the heels of — Bnei Yisrael's listening to Hashem.

זו הבטחה כי לבסוף ישובו בנ"י לשמוע אל דבר ה'

This is a promise that in the end Bnei Yisrael will return to listen to the word of Hashem.

He reads the verse as a guarantee that Bnei Yisrael will ultimately come back to heeding the word of Hashem.

גם רומז עקב תשמעון כי השמיעה יש לה כמה מדרגות כי טעמי ויסודי המצות אין להם סוף והשמיעה הגדולה אשר שמעו בנ"י בהר סיני שורש המצות בסודן

The word "eikev tishma'un" (eikev, your listening) also hints that listening has many levels, for the underlying reasons and foundations of the mitzvos have no end, and the great hearing that Bnei Yisrael heard at Har Sinai is the very root of the mitzvos in their hidden depths.

The word "eikev" teaches that listening comes in many degrees; the highest was the revelation at Har Sinai, which reached the very root and hidden depths of the mitzvos.

אבל גם בכל דור ודור אפי' השמיעה הקטנה שנק' עקב שאין מבינים כלל רק לקיים מצות ה' בגשמיות אפי' בזו השמיעה

But also in each and every generation, even the small level of listening that is called "eikev" (the heel) — where one understands nothing at all and merely fulfills the mitzvos of Hashem in their physical performance — even with that level of listening,

Even the lowest rung of listening — "eikev," the heel — where a person grasps nothing of the reasons and simply performs the mitzvos physically, still counts.

אם היא באמת לש"ש

if it is truly l'sheim Shamayim (for the sake of Heaven),

The condition is that the performance be genuinely l'sheim Shamayim, done for Hashem's sake alone.

ג"כ מביא הברכה

it too brings down the berachah.

When done with that pure intent, even this lowly listening draws down the berachah.

ואהבך ה"א

"And Hashem your God will love you" (Devarim 7:13).

He cites the continuation of the pasuk that Hashem will love and bless those who listen.

וזה עקב תשמעון כו' ושמר לך אפי' בשמיעה השפלה ישמור לך זכות אבות כיון שנמשכין אחר מעשיהם הטובים והסימן כקטן כגדול תשמעון

And this is the meaning of "eikev tishma'un... and He will guard for you" — that even with the lowly level of listening, Hashem will guard for you the zechus avos (merit of the forefathers), since you are drawn after their good deeds; and the sign of this is "whether small or great, you shall listen."

Because one is drawn after the good deeds of the avos, even lowly listening earns the protection of zechus avos; the proof is that Bnei Yisrael are commanded to listen 'whether small or great.'

עוד ירמוז והי' עקב תשמעון כו' ושמר ה"א לך

There is a further hint in "And it will be, eikev (as a consequence of) your listening... and Hashem your God will guard for you."

He introduces a second way to read the same verse about "eikev" and Hashem's guarding.

כענין שכ' עקב ענוה יראת ה' דרשו חז"ל כי יראת ה' עקב לגבי ענוה

It is like the matter of which it is written "the eikev (consequence) of humility is the fear of Hashem" (Mishlei 22:4), which Chazal expounded to mean that yiras Hashem is but the "heel" relative to humility.

He brings the pasuk in Mishlei where "eikev" of humility is yiras Hashem, which Chazal read as yiras Hashem being merely the 'heel' compared to humility itself.

כמו כן מתפרש כאן והי' עקב כו' ושמר לך

In the same way it is to be explained here: "And it will be, eikev... and He will guard for you."

He applies that same 'heel' reading to our verse.

פי' כל השכר של המצות הוא עקב לגבי עיקר קיום המצות כענין שאמרו יפה שעה א' בעוה"ז בת' ומעש"ט מכל חיי עולם הבא

The meaning is that all the reward of the mitzvos is but the "heel" relative to the essence, which is the fulfillment of the mitzvos themselves — as Chazal said, "One hour of teshuvah and good deeds in this world is more beautiful than all the life of Olam Haba" (Avos 4:17).

The point is that all reward for mitzvos is only the 'heel' — the secondary byproduct — compared to the essence, the actual doing of the mitzvah; even an hour of teshuvah and good deeds outweighs all of Olam Haba.

בודאי מאחר שזה שכר המצות בודאי הפעולה גדולה ביותר מן השכר

Surely, since this is the reward of the mitzvos, certainly the deed itself is far greater than the reward.

If something as great as Olam Haba is merely the reward, then the mitzvah-deed that earns it must be greater still.

וכן צריך להיות אצל האדם העיקר הרצון נעשות דבר ה' וקיבול השכר יהי' טפל אל המצות

And so it must be by a person: the essence is the will to carry out the word of Hashem, while the receiving of reward should be secondary to the mitzvos.

Therefore a person's main focus must be the desire to fulfill Hashem's will, with reward remaining secondary to the mitzvos.

ושוב ראיתי כן בס' קדושת לוי ע"ש:

And afterward I saw this very thing in the sefer Kedushas Levi; see there.

He notes that he later found this same idea in the sefer Kedushas Levi.

Summary: The Sfas Emes expounds the pasuk "And it will be, eikev your listening" on two levels. First, the word "eikev" — the heel — teaches that listening to Hashem has many degrees, from the lofty revelation at Har Sinai that reached the root of the mitzvos down to the lowest rung where a person simply performs the mitzvos physically without understanding; yet even that lowly listening, when it is truly l'sheim Shamayim, draws down the berachah and the protection of zechus avos. Second, just as Chazal read yiras Hashem as the mere "heel" relative to humility, so too all the reward of the mitzvos is only the "heel" relative to the essence, which is the fulfillment of the mitzvos themselves. Since even an hour of teshuvah and good deeds outweighs all of Olam Haba, the deed must be greater than its reward. A person's avodah, therefore, must center on the will to carry out the word of Hashem, with the receiving of reward remaining wholly secondary to the mitzvos.