Be Selfless in Serving God: The True Meaning of Reward

Full Summary

Rabbi Zweig analyzes the fourth mishnah (משנה) in Pirkei Avos from Ben Azai: "Run after even a minor mitzvah (מצוה) as you would a major one, and flee from sin, for one mitzvah leads to another mitzvah, and one sin leads to another sin. The reward of a mitzvah is a mitzvah, and the consequence of a sin is a sin." He identifies four major difficulties with this teaching. First, this mishnah seems to repeat what was already established in chapter two - that one should be equally careful with all mitzvot because we cannot know their relative rewards. Second, it appears to contradict Antigonus of Socho's teaching that we should serve God "not in order to receive reward." Third, the Rambam (רמב"ם) calls this a "wondrous new insight" and cites Moshe's establishment of the three cities of refuge east of the Jordan as an example, even though these cities would be ineffective until all six were established. Fourth, how can half a mitzvah (which may have no value) demonstrate the principle that "one mitzvah leads to another"? Rabbi Zweig resolves these contradictions by distinguishing between two types of reward. There is "peras" - things that are "broken off" from God, such as material benefits, health, or even enhanced status in the World to Come. Seeking these makes mitzvot merely instrumental. However, there is also the reward of closeness to God Himself, which is not only legitimate but obligatory to seek. As King David expressed: "One thing I ask of God... to dwell in God's house all my days, to behold God's pleasantness." The Mesillat Yesharim teaches that God created the world solely to bestow goodness upon us, and we are obligated to understand this. The ultimate reward is not material benefit but spiritual proximity to the Divine. A person should perform mitzvot specifically to achieve greater closeness to God, just as doing favors for a friend deepens that friendship. This understanding explains why we must pursue all mitzvot equally - because we cannot determine which actions create greater or lesser closeness to God. The mishnah establishes that if we could know which mitzvot produced greater spiritual reward, we would be obligated to prioritize those. Since we cannot make such distinctions, we must treat all mitzvot with equal enthusiasm. The teaching reveals that serving God for the "reward" of divine closeness is not only permitted but represents the highest form of worship - doing mitzvot not as burdensome obligations but as opportunities to strengthen our relationship with the Almighty.