Talmud for Makkot 3:16

רַבִּי חֲנַנְיָא בֶּן עֲקַשְׁיָא אוֹמֵר, רָצָה הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא לְזַכּוֹת אֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל, לְפִיכָךְ הִרְבָּה לָהֶם תּוֹרָה וּמִצְוֹת, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (ישעיה מב) יְיָ חָפֵץ לְמַעַן צִדְקוֹ יַגְדִּיל תּוֹרָה וְיַאְדִּיר:

R. Chananya ben Akashya says: The Holy One Blessed be He desired to accord merit to Israel, wherefore He multiplied for them Torah and mitzvoth, as it is written (Isaiah 42:21): "The L rd desired for his [Israel's] righteousness sake, [to vindicate them and to confer merit upon them], that Torah be aggrandized and glorified." [("He multiplied for them, etc.":) such as the section on forbidden ("detestable") animals and reptiles, to "multiply reward" for their abstaining from them. For even if they had not been forbidden, they would not eat them, a man naturally recoiling from them.]

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