No community start suggestion yet.
How can we serve God without expecting reward while also fearing the absence of reward? The shiur resolves this paradox through a chiddush about love versus obligation: God owes us nothing since He owns us completely, yet true love requires reciprocity. We serve freely but rightfully expect His loving response — unlike idolatry where gods ignore their worshippers.
Rabbi Zweig analyzes a fundamental paradox in the Mishna of Antignus Ish Socho, who taught that we should serve God like servants who work without expectation of reward, yet also fear God. Rashi (רש"י) appears to contradict himself by explaining that love means serving without reward, while fear stems from the absence of reward - creating a logical inconsistency. The shiur examines multiple contradictory sources: the Mishna in chapter 2 that implies we should consider reward when performing mitzvos, the Talmudic dialogue between Moshe and God about entering Israel specifically to do mitzvos for reward, and Rashi's commentary on 'V'ahavta' that defines love as service without expectation of money, fame, or reward, yet concludes 'but in the end you will be rewarded.' Rabbi Zweig rejects Rav Chaim Volozhin's explanation that we should only want reward because it gives God pleasure to give it, calling this level beyond most people's reach. Instead, he proposes a revolutionary understanding: God cannot owe us anything because He owns us completely - He created us and constantly sustains our existence. However, this doesn't negate our expectation of reward. True love requires reciprocity. When we serve God out of love knowing He owes us nothing, we simultaneously expect reciprocation because love by definition must be mutual. If someone consistently gives love without receiving any response, they are engaged in self-destruction, not love. This explains why idolatry is defined as serving 'elohim acherim' - estranged gods who ignore their worshippers. The Torah (תורה) immediately follows the commandment to love God with promises of rain and prosperity, demonstrating that divine love includes reciprocal response. Rabbi Zweig distinguishes this from a business relationship where service creates debt. In love, we give freely without creating obligation, but we rightfully expect the beloved to respond with love in return. This resolves all the contradictions: we serve without creating divine obligation, yet legitimately expect God's loving response, and naturally choose actions that bring Him greater pleasure, knowing He will reciprocate with greater love.
Dedicate a Shiur in Pirkei Avos
L'ilui nishmas a loved one. In honor of a simcha or yahrzeit. As a zechus for a refuah sheleimah. Your dedication helps carry Rabbi Zweig's Torah to learners around the world.
Up Next in this Series
Why did the Sadducees reject rabbinic interpretations that seemed to contradict the written Torah? The shiur argues they weren't attacking oral law from the left but from the right - as strict constructionists who believed in an adversarial God-human relationship where Divine authority wouldn't extend to rabbis contradicting written text. The Pharisees maintained that Jews and God are unified, making rabbinic interpretation possible within a relationship of trust rather than contractual separation.
Why is silence called a "fence for wisdom" in Avos 3:13, and why is a healthy body found only in silence? The shiur develops the principle that speech can emanate from either the intellect or the body's physical drives. When speech expresses physical impulses rather than refined thought, the body gains independent momentum and man deteriorates from "adam" (person) into "basar" (flesh)—the transformation that occurred at the flood.
Why does the Mishna say there are three crowns when it lists four, and why is Kesser Shem Tov superior to the crowns of Torah, Kehunah, and Malchus? The shiur explains that Shem Tov means becoming the living definition of what's humanly possible—like Hillel, Rabbi Elazar ben Charsum, and Yosef HaTzaddik—so others see in you the true standard of halacha and mesirus nefesh. Chanukah celebrates this middah, as the Chashmonaim became the model of devotion, and the Menorah represents the Kesser Shem Tov that rises above all others.
Pirkei Avos 1:3
Looking for the full transcript?
Full access is available to members of the TUF Alumni Association or the Yam Hagadol Foundation.
Already a member? Let the admin know!
Why do we behave differently at home than in public, often becoming tyrants in our own domain? The shiur uses Avos 1:4-5 to show that homes naturally create feelings of sovereignty that distance us from God. Building homes around Torah scholars and chesed counters this ego-driven atmosphere with divine purpose.
