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BEGIN WITH A GRIN

Two partners in a law firm were eating lunch together at a restaurant when suddenly one of them jumped up and exclaimed: “I must return to the office, I forgot to lock the safe.”

The second partner replied: “Why are you worried? No one will rob the safe – after all, we’re both here…”

LATE PAYMENT?

It is known that our Sages taught in the Medrash (Shemos Rabba 30:6) that there isn’t a mitzva, even the most minor one, G-d doesn’t fulfill Himself. “What He does, He tells Yisrael to observe and do – as it is said: ‘He declares His word to Yaakov, His statutes and ordinances to Yisrael.’” If G-d commanded us to keep the Shabbos, He too observes it. And if He wants us to put on tefillin, He too puts them on…

In this week’s Torah parsha, Parshas Kedoshim, there is a mitzva that, seemingly, G-d “completely ignores”…

The verse states (19:13): “You shall not oppress your fellow, and you shall not rob; the wages of a hired worker shall not remain with you overnight until morning.” The Torah requires every employer to pay workers on time! An employer is prohibited from delaying wage payment even “until morning.” The employer is obligated to pay the worker immediately upon completion of the employment, on the same day. Yet G-d delays payment of wages to the Jewish people much longer than a day…

This appears to explicitly contradict what our Sages say elsewhere. Our Sages comment on the verse “Today to do them” (Devarim 7:11), that “today” refers to this world, while “tomorrow” refers to the World to Come. The meaning of the pasuk is that fulfilling the mitzvos – the service of the Jewish people – (“to do them”) should be done “today,” in this world, but we will receive payment of the reward only “tomorrow” – in the future to come, as explicitly stated in the Mishna (Avos 2:16): “Know that the reward of the righteous is in the World to Come.” How is it possible that the G-d doesn’t pay on time?! What happened to the mitzva “on that day you shall give his wages”?!

The “Iyun Yaakov” (Eruvin 22a) explains that “all our days we are subjugated to G-d, to His service.” The Jewish people are obligated to serve G-d all the days of their lives. According to this, all the days of a person’s life constitute one continuous period of employment. The law states that “wages are only paid at the end [of the employment period]” (Bava Metzia 110b, so ruled in Shulchan Aruch Choshen Mishpat 339:5). Therefore, G-d is not obligated to pay a Jew for his mitzvos while still living in this world, because every action or mitzva that a Jew performs during his lifetime is part of one continuous employment, the payment for which will come immediately upon completion of the employment.

And when does the employment end? At the end of a person’s life. And what happens immediately when a person ends his life on earth? He receives his reward in the World to Come, in Gan Eden! If so, G-d indeed pays on time; He pays immediately after the completion of the work/employment, which is right after a person’s passing, and then the person merits to enter the Gan Eden, the world of souls, where he receives his reward.

At first glance, this seems like a good answer, but the Rebbe finds a glaring deficiency in it.

It only fits according to Rambam, who rules that the main reward for fulfilling the mitzvos, “the ultimate reward of the commandments,” is in Gan Eden, the world of souls without bodies. According to this, indeed, a person receives his reward immediately upon completion of the work.

But according to Ramban, which is also the ruling according to Chassidus, the main reward for fulfilling mitzvos is in the World of Resurrection, after the resurrection of the dead. If so, it turns out that G-d delays the payment of reward for a Jew’s service for thousands of years (in many cases), until Yemos HaMoshiach and the resurrection of the dead. According to this, the question arises again: how can we say that G-d will pay us our reward only in Yemos HaMoshiach and the World of Resurrection, if He is obligated to pay on time? Either daily or at least at the end of the employment period?!

THE BIG PAYDAY

In a wonderful sicha, the Rebbe teaches us a new perspective on the relationship between a Jew and the Creator, and on the relationship between each and every Jew, and this perspective will answer our question and solve the mystery. Instead of looking at each individual Jew as a private person, employed by G-d to do certain tasks or various work, we should look at all the Jewish people as one unit. G-d has a strategic goal and plan that encompasses the entire existence and creation, and the Jewish people, in fulfilling the Torah and mitvos, are the ones who implement His plan and work toward the goal set by the Creator.

The Jewish people are not “hired workers,” mere laborers – individual people who were given a job for a day, week, month, year, or more. The Jewish people are “contractors” – they, as a whole, have taken upon themselves a mission to bring down the Shechina and prepare for the Creator “a dwelling in the lower realms.” The law is that a “contractor” does not receive daily, weekly, or monthly wages; he receives his payment upon completion of the work, after the entire job is finished. Serving G-d is not a private “employment” that ends after 120 years, but rather part of one great “contracting job” that includes the service of all Jews throughout all generations! G-d entrusted the world to the Jewish people so that they would make it a “dwelling place” for Him.

In light of the above, we find that the reward that will be given in the World to Come, after the coming of Moshiach and the resurrection of the dead, is “on its day” – a general payment to all Jews as one, immediately after the completion of the contracting work of making the world a dwelling place for G-d.

Moreover, adds the Rebbe, in truth, the Jewish people are not only “contractors” but are in the category of “partners.” The work of the Jewish people to reveal G-dliness in the world is not a side matter, but is actually a collaboration with G-d in creation. As an example, the Rebbe brings the following halacha: “One who gives eggs to the owner of hens to have the hens sit on them until the chicks hatch, and the owner of the hens will raise them, and the profit will be shared between them” (Rambam, Laws of Agents and Partners 8:1).

G-d entrusted His world to us so that we would reveal the G-dliness hidden and concealed in it (similar to the “chicks” hidden inside the “eggs”). This is therefore an equal partnership, where the profit is not a side matter, but the chicks that were latent within the eggs, and the work of the owner of the hens is what revealed them, and therefore they are divided equally. Similarly, He entrusted to the Jewish people a world that contains divine life with the potential to be revealed, and He entrusted the work of revealing it to us.

Therefore, the reward is also divided equally. G-d delights in the fulfillment of His will and desire (“the Holy One, blessed be He, desired to have a dwelling in the lower realms”), while the delight of the created being is from “gazing upon the pleasantness of G-d” that will be revealed then.

Just as a true partner receives his share only at the end, when the investment has realized itself, so too, in relation to us—we don’t want (just) a few meager coins, but rather the great and longed-for divine revelation in the true and complete Geula!

So, let us take an active part, as a contractor and partner, and not just as a minor worker, in bringing the Geula and hastening the resurrection of the dead, by increasing in Torah, avoda, and acts of kindness.

TO CONCLUDE WITH A STORY

We will end with a story about how a true partner ought to behave. “Max” Katsch was an international dealer in furs who resided in London. Although a relatively new member of the Chabad community in England, he was quite familiar with how the Rebbe’s advice and blessings had impacted many people’s lives in virtually every area of human experience.

Once, during a yechidus, he put forth a tongue-in-cheek proposal for the Rebbe to partner with him in a business venture! The Rebbe’s expression became serious and said, “Fair enough. But remember that in a partnership, neither partner gets to make a move without the consent of the other. Do we have a deal?”

He was of course excited about this lucky opportunity to “partner” with the Rebbe. So even though he was somewhat skeptical about the Rebbe’s knowledge of the fur trade, he readily accepted the deal. The Rebbe gave him a token amount of dollars to “seal” the arrangement.

The Rebbe then advised him to make a large purchase of a rare fur that had never even been on the man’s radar: muskrat fur! The dealer went home and placed a large order for this unusual fabric.

When he reported back to New York, the Rebbe responded that the buy was far too conservative. A much larger quantity should have been purchased. On the Rebbe’s say-so, Katsch went out and bought astronomical quantities of the stuff  – to the point of investing his entire personal fortune to pay for the shipments, and also borrowing large sums to purchase even more. To the man’s chagrin, shortly he made all the purchases the value of this unusual fur began to plummet. Perhaps, he thought, he should hedge his investment and sell off a significant percentage of what he had purchased.

As promised, he contacted the Rebbe for his consent. To his surprise, the Rebbe did not consent and reminded him of their agreement with regard to unilateral decisions. The price of the fur continued to sink, and the his spirits sank as well; it seemed to him that he would certainly be ruined. Every day, he watched his fortune slipping further and further away. All pleas to the Rebbe were met with the same answer: “Don’t sell.” Facing financial ruin, he finally began to question his entire relationship with the Rebbe and Chabad-Lubavitch. Perhaps it was all a mistake. With each day’s devaluation of his inventory, his distance from the Chabad community widened.

The bleeding continued for nearly half a year altogether. One day, the price took a slight tick back up. He again consulted the Rebbe. But the Rebbe still withheld consent. When the price rose to where he could break even, the Rebbe still would not green-light the sell-off.

The price of the fur continued to rise incrementally. At each juncture, Mr. Katsch desired to sell, and always the Rebbe advised him to wait. Although by now his disillusionment was coated with heavy layers of bitterness, he continued to honor his agreement with the Rebbe.

Shortly thereafter, a famous fashion designer put out a line that called for extensive use of a rare material: muskrat fur! The industry was soon astonished to discover that a man in England had the market cornered. When he reported this to the Rebbe, he was told that the time had come to sell.

The inventory went fast. Even after repaying the loans and subtracting his costs, he made many millions in profit. He excitedly boarded a plane to hand the Rebbe a check for his “share.” The Rebbe declined, requesting that Max give the money to tzedaka instead.

When he asked the Rebbe if they could perhaps pursue another venture together, the Rebbe smiled as he demurred: “I’m sorry… You’re a shvacher shutaf, ‘a weak partner’-‘too weak-hearted’.”

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