As we saw in our last piece, the Torah explains that mitzvah fulfillment is for our own good. Mitzvah observance is not just a duty; it is a privilege. Though we should observe mitzvot because Hashem commands us to, our fulfillment also benefits us.
The meforshim present different ways that mitzvah observance helps us.
Reward in the Afterlife
Obviously, our fulfillment earns us rewards in the next world. This is how the Seforno (Dev. 10:12) explains the Torah’s description of mitzvot being for our own good. They are for our own good because fulfilling them earns us eternal life.
The Rambam (Makot 3:16) explains Rav Chananya ben Akashya’s famous words about why Hashem gave us so many mitzvot (“Ratzah Hakadosh Baruch Hu l’zakot et Yisrael”) similarly. As mitzvah fulfillment brings us to the next world, Hashem offers many mitzvot to afford us maximal opportunities for entry.
Religious and Spiritual Development
Most meforshim, including the Rambam himself, speak of benefits in this world as well. The Torah uses the term “yitav lach (it will benefit you)” this way regarding mitzvah observance in several places in Sefer Devarim. The phrase first appears in the Aseret Hadibrot (5:16) regarding the mitzvah of honoring parents. The Torah teaches that the mitzvah is: “l’man yitav lach al ha’adamah asher Hashem elokecha notein lach,” so it will be good for you on the land that Hashem, your God, gives you” — not just in the next world, but already in this one.
How do mitzvot help us in this world?
Many mention religious and spiritual benefits. The Rambam (M”N 3:52) describes how mitzvah observance inspires yirat shamayim. Our ultimate life goal is strengthening our commitment to and recognizing Hashem’s authority. Mitzvah fulfillment reflects and reinforces both of these goals.
But our observance accomplishes more. We know this from Moshe Rabbeinu’s characterization of yirat shamayim as also being for our own good (Ibid., 10:12–13). If yirat shamayim leads to a good outcome, there must be some benefit beyond just yirat shamayim. How else do we gain from mitzvah fulfillment and yirat shamayim?
The Rambam points to God-consciousness. At the end of his Moreh Nevuchim (3:51), the Rambam explains that we live in a world where Hashem’s presence is hidden, and we are involved in activities that are not inherently connected to His service. This makes maintaining awareness of Hashem’s presence and our relationship with Him challenging.
The commandment to strive for deveikut (connection to Hashem) addresses this challenge. Obviously, we cannot physically connect or even draw physically closer to Hashem. We connect to him through our consciousness by focusing more on His presence and our connection with Him. Mitzvah fulfillment is how we accomplish this. Performing mitzvot with the realization that we are observing Hashem’s directives reinforces our God-consciousness and connection with him.
The Ba’al HaTanya (L”T Bamidbar 45:3) derived this idea from the word mitzvah itself. The simple translation of the word is commandment, but it also means relationship. This second meaning refers to our relationship with Hashem, which mitzvah fulfillment reinforces.
Personal Development
According to the Rambam, mitzvot contribute not only to our spiritual development but also to our personal growth. He infers this from Devarim’s fourth perek (6-8), which asserts that non-Jews are also meant to see mitzvot as valuable. This means that mitzvot must help us in universally recognized ways — ways beyond spirituality.
This is why the Rambam (Temurah 4:13) believes that mitzvot foster personal growth. Chazal (Kid. 30b) explain that Hashem created us with a yetzer hara and, to combat it, He gave us Torah and mitzvot as the “tavlin (medicine/cure).” Mitzvah observance and Torah lessons teach us the proper perspective on life, show us how to control and channel our desires, and direct us toward meaningful pursuits.
This is part of why the Rambam encourages studying the reasons for mitzvot. These reasons include the lesson taught by each mitzvah. For a mitzvah to impact us properly, we must appreciate its unique message.
The Ramban (Dev. 22:7) agrees with the Rambam and explains that, in addition to reminding us of Hashem’s miracles, mitzvot protect us from incorrect beliefs and inappropriate behavior. This, explains the Ramban, is why Chazal (B”R 44:1) compare mitzvot to metallurgy: just as refining metal separates its impurities, mitzvah observance removes human imperfections.
In his commentary on the words “va’chai ba’hem,” (Vay. 18:4) the Ramban adds a second, broader way that the mitzvot benefit us — they help us build a healthy society. Because we each naturally focus on our own interests, we can often clash with others. Mitzvot show us how to create communities in which people can live peacefully and harmoniously.
Rav Kook (Orot, 104) saw this as central to the Torah’s message. There have always been individuals who live godly lives. The Torah aims to develop an entire society, fully inclusive of all socio-economic strata, that functions this way. Mitzvot are the blueprint for how to do so.
Physical Health
The Rambam (M”N 3:48) and Ramban (Dev. 22:7) see mitzvot as having yet another benefit — they protect and improve our physical health.
In previous pieces, we have seen that Torah prohibitions against certain foods and deeds protect us from potentially harmful consequences. For example, the Gemara (Yoma 39a) teaches that eating certain prohibited foods “blocks” one’s heart and mind. The Rambam extends this idea to all prohibited foods.
Just as prohibitions protect us from physical danger, positive mitzvot improve our health. Modern science believes that it has discovered examples of this. Male circumcision has been found to reduce various forms of cancer and women married to circumcised men seem to have significantly reduced rates of certain forms of infection. Similarly, a recent study showed that regular tefillin use protects men during heart attacks.
According to the Rambam and the Ramban, these studies are just the tip of the iceberg. Many other mitzvot protect and improve our health as well.
Comprehensive Health
We have seen that the Rambam and Ramban offer numerous explanations for how mitzvot benefit us. These different explanations are, of course, not at all contradictory or mutually exclusive. Mitzvot help us in all these different ways.
May appreciating this strengthen our passionate pursuit of mitzvah observance.
Rav Reuven Taragin is the dean of overseas students at Yeshivat Hakotel and the Educational Director of World Mizrachi and the RZA. His new book, Essentials of Judaism, can be purchased at rabbireuventaragin.com.
