Does Torah Observance Mean a Life Full of Blessings and Revealed Good?

For some, it would be a fair assumption to say that if we are living a Torah life, a life in accordance with halacha and the correct Torah hashkafot, then Hashem should bestow goodness upon us. We are, after all, living how He wants us to live. We are doing our part, and therefore, it is a reasonable expectation to think that Hashem should do His and shower us with blessings in return.

In this article, we are going to break down some of the errors and fallacies in the argument that we just proposed. We all know of many Torah-observant Jews – perhaps even ourselves – who are going through all types of difficulties and struggles. Does this mean that Hashem doesn’t care about us? That He doesn’t want to repay us for our actions? Does that mean there is no reward? Of course not. Hopefully, by the end of this article, we will have arrived at a more nuanced understanding of the subject of reward.

Defining the Terms

First things first, it is necessary to sharpen our initial question by defining our terms. What exactly do we mean by “a life full of blessings and revealed good”? Are we referring to “good” in an emotional sense or a material sense? 

If we are referring to good in an emotional sense, then we can say that living a Torah life does deliver in that area. Looking around in Torah societies, we see communities filled with happy, stable families, generosity, acts of kindness, and feelings of trust toward one another, among many other positive qualities. Does this mean that everyone is perfect and there aren’t any problems? No. But we can see the goodness that living a Torah life brings in a very real, tangible sense. 

Looking around in Torah societies, we see communities filled with happy, stable families, generosity, acts of kindness, and feelings of trust toward one another, among many other positive qualities. Does this mean that everyone is perfect and there aren’t any problems? No. But we can see the goodness that living a Torah life brings in a very real, tangible sense. 

If we are referring to good in a material sense, then there does appear to be an absence of this revealed good. Many frum families struggle to make ends meet – is this their “reward” for living a Torah life?

The Place for Reward

Now we get to the next quandary – what exactly do we mean by “reward”?

The Gemara (Kiddushin 39b) states: there is no reward for the performance of a mitzvah in this world [as one is rewarded for mitzvot only in the World to Come.]

Why do we have to wait until the next world to receive our reward though? Isn’t that a long wait?

Rav Dessler explains (Michtav Me’Eliyahu, Volume 1) that the question of reward in this world (or lack of it) only arises because we have incorrect notions about the function and significance of this world. 

The Mishnah in Pirkei Avot (4:16) states: Rabbi Jacob said: this world is like a lobby before the World to Come; prepare yourself in the lobby so that you may enter the banqueting hall.

The World to Come is our ultimate destination – the end in itself, and this world is merely the means of getting there. 

The next Mishna in Pirkei Avot, following the one that we just quoted (4:17), states: More precious is one hour of the satisfaction of the World to Come, than all the life of this world.

Rav Dessler explains that the reason why there can be “no reward for a mitzvah in this world” is because there is no mitzvah, however small, whose reward is not greater by far than all that this world can possibly contain. There is no sufficient happiness, joy, or reward in this world capable of being the reward of a mitzvah. To give an analogy, the reason that we cannot receive the reward for mitzvot in this world is because the reward is a different currency, so to speak, to the reward that we can receive here, and we cannot receive spiritual rewards in the form of physical goods. Compared to the eternity of spiritual reward, physical rewards in this world are transient and thus deceptively worthless. 

Free Will Comes into Play

There is another reason why we can’t get rewarded for our actions in this world, and that has to do with free will. If every time we performed a mitzvah, we got rewarded for our actions, then who wouldn’t do the right thing if they could immediately see the positive results. Imagine if every time we said a bracha, a wad of cash suddenly appeared. This would severely compromise our free will, and not only that, our reason for doing the right thing would very quickly adopt the wrong motivations – we would become “like servants who serve the master in the expectation of receiving a reward” (Pirkei Avot 1:3), which the Mishna tells us is what we should not do. It would be virtually impossible not to serve Hashem for ulterior motives.

Reward in this World?

Though it would seem that the reward for our actions is reserved for Olam HaBa, the Gemara (Shabbat 127a) explains that there are certain benefits in this world:

These are the matters that a person does them and enjoys their profits in this world, and nevertheless the principal exists for him for the World to Come, and they are: Honoring one’s father and mother, and acts of loving kindness, and bringing peace between a person and another, and Torah study is equal to all of them.

Thus, there are certain dividends from which we can benefit due to our actions here that do not detract from the ultimate rewards that we will receive in the next world.

In conclusion, when understanding the nature of receiving blessings, revealed goodness, and reward, it is first necessary to understand what our role is in this world, as well as the relationship between Olam HaZeh and Olam HaBa. True reward awaits us and will be bestowed upon us by Hashem Himself in the World to Come. As we quoted from Pirkei Avot, “This world is like a lobby before the World to Come; prepare yourself in the lobby so that you may enter the banqueting hall.” The means that lead us to our reward in Olam HaBa are the mitzvot that Hashem commanded us to observe.