Ben Azzai dit: Courez vers une mitsva "légère" comme vers une "lourde" et fuyez le péché. Car une mitsva engendre une mitsva et un péché engendre un péché. [C'est la voie du monde." Si un homme fait une mitsva, il lui est plus facile d'en faire d'autres et si l'on commence à pécher, il lui est difficile d'arrêter. Et, de plus,] la récompense d'une mitsva est une mitsva, et la «récompense» d'un péché est un péché. [Car le Ciel assiste et met entre les mains de celui qui a fait une mitsva de quoi en faire une autre, afin de le récompenser pour les deux; et donc avec la "récompense" pour un péché. Ou: tout ce que l'on gagne ou apprécie en faisant une mitsva lui est compté comme une mitsva elle-même, et il reçoit une récompense à la fois pour la mitsva et pour le plaisir et le bénéfice qu'il en a tiré; et la "récompense" et la jouissance que l'on tire du péché lui sont imputées comme un péché lui-même, et il est frappé à la fois pour le péché et pour la récompense et le plaisir qu'il en a tirés.]
Jastrow
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
Jastrow
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
Sefat Emet
In the verse, 'Like the practice of the land of Egypt' etc., 'my judgements' etc., 'to follow/walk in them'. Rashi explains 'you are not permitted to be exempt' from them. As it's written 'like' the practice, not actually 'the practice' of the land of Egypt. Because the Bnei Yisroel were already a holy congregation and what is the relevance to warn them from acting like these sinners? But the explanation (comes to teach us) that there should not be any act of a Jew that is like/similar to the acts of the wicked that all their acts are for worldliness alone. Rather the Bnei Yisroel need to sanctify all their actions to cleave to the source of the life-force and to take from it life-force. Because the action needs to be only for the purpose that man 'walks' in the service of HaShem (may He be blessed) and simple Jews are directed to eat and drink to add strength in their service of the Creator which is also a general (form of) 'walking'. And what also of the righteous that all their actions are for the sake of Heaven, and so too with every commandment that a person does, it needs to be directed (one should perform it with the intent) that through this (the performance of the commandment) he will come to greater holiness that he could add at all times from one (spiritual) level to the next (spiritual) level. Like (the concept that fulfilment of a) 'commandment brings another commandment'. And it won't be that the commandment was done simply to be discharged from the obligation, rather on the contrary, that through the merit of this, one will receive (the opportunity for) other commandments, as it's written, that the reward for (fulfilling a) commandment is (the opportunity to fulfil another) commandment. And this is what it means 'to follow/walk in them' etc., and to take from them life-force as it's written 'and live (by) them' (or possibly, and life is within them).
