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Why does the Torah (תורה) emphasize worldly rewards when Maimonides teaches that the true reward is the World to Come? The shiur distinguishes between two levels: mitzvos naturally sustain creation's proper functioning in this world, while their deeper purpose is achieving deveikut - spiritual closeness with God in the afterlife. This reframes the entire question of performing mitzvos for reward versus performing them selflessly.
Rabbi Zweig analyzes the 11th principle of faith: belief in divine reward and punishment. He begins by noting Maimonides' emphasis that the greatest reward is the World to Come while the greatest punishment is being cut off from it, raising fundamental questions about why the Torah (תורה) almost exclusively discusses reward and punishment in this world rather than the afterlife. The lecture identifies several problems: Why doesn't the Torah extensively discuss the World to Come if it's the primary reward? Why does the Torah stress temporal rewards when they're supposedly secondary? How can one believe in divine reward while performing mitzvos without expectation of reward? Rabbi Zweig proposes a two-level understanding of reward and punishment. In this world, rewards and punishments represent the natural order - mitzvos maintain the world in its perfect state, like following blueprints for proper construction. When people observe the 613 commandments, the world functions ideally with proper weather, crops, and harmony. This isn't divine intervention but the natural consequence of following God's design for creation. However, the principle's true focus is schar (reward) in the World to Come, which Rabbi Zweig redefines as deveikut - spiritual closeness and connection with the Almighty. This reward isn't material benefit but the soul's ability to cleave to God's perfection. Mitzvos are not mere obligations but vehicles for developing relationship with the divine. This explains why the principle appears after hashgacha pratit (divine providence) - it represents the next level of God's relationship with individuals. Rabbi Zweig addresses the apparent contradiction between seeking reward and performing mitzvos selflessly. He distinguishes between two types of motivation: seeking personal benefit separate from God (forbidden) versus seeking closeness to God (obligatory). Using an analogy of a student studying either for personal fame or to better understand and connect with his teacher, he explains that pursuing deveikut as reward is not only permitted but mandatory. The World to Come receives little Torah emphasis because it represents unity with God, transcending the bilateral covenant structure of Torah, which addresses two separate parties. True schar involves such complete unity ("Yisrael, Oraita, v'Kudsha Brich Hu chad") that duality disappears, making it beyond Torah's covenant framework. The principle's placement after divine providence creates logical development: first establishing that God orchestrates events, then explaining that mitzvos create deveikut, giving divine coordination its ultimate purpose.
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Thirteen Principles of Faith - 11th Principle
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Why must belief in resurrection be a separate principle when we already believe in divine reward and punishment? The fundamental need drives human psychology: we cannot live knowing our potential for perfection is permanently lost through death. Resurrection represents God's chesed that restores hope and prevents the resignation that would otherwise follow from humanity's fallen state.
