Parshas Aikev

This week’s parsha, Aikev, begins with Moshe telling the Jews that they will in fact prosper in this world if they observe Hashem’s mitzvot. Moshe tells them, not only will they be rewarded in this world for observing the mitzvot, but the full reward will be given to them in the World to Come. What is the sense of receiving the reward in the future and not now? Essentially the physical world we live in currently cannot adequately reward us for our mitzvot. Since the pleasures of this world are so limited, we must wait to reap the fruit of our labor in the World to Come, where the spiritual delights surpass any pleasure we have in this world.

Additionally, Hashem waits to give us the full reward in the next world because He does not want us to follow His mitzvot solely on the expectation of reward, but rather because observing the mitzvot are Hashem’s Divine Will and our way of apprehending Him and His will. Moreover, in His great mercy, He allowed us to see intermittent gratification to keep us motivated to continue doing mitzvot.

This should shed some light into our own lives. Observing mitzvot are quite challenging; however, we should bear in mind that we will reap some reward in this world. The parsha promises the following rewards for following the mitzvot:

1. Hashem will love you, when a person is loved by  Hashem, the creator of everything, he will only receive blessings.
2. Hashem will bless you with material wealth.
3. Hashem will multiply you extraordinarily fast.

By observing the mitzvot, Hashem will protect us from sickness, war, hunger, and with more opportunities to do mitzvot; hence the opportunities for being rewarded will be continuous.

Every effort we make to cling to our Source does not go without notice. We should all be blessed with the strength to observe Hashem’s mitzvot and reap the benefits in this world and the next!