Not infrequently in the Torah, the people are enjoined to observe God’s commandments, often with a promise of reward. One verse, however, stands out for its profound influence on both Jewish behavior and belief throughout the ages:

“And you shall keep My statutes and My laws, which a person shall do and live through them. I am the Lord.” (Leviticus 18:5)

Ostensibly, the meaning of this verse is straightforward: the reward for observing God’s laws will be a good life, a theme that reverberates throughout the Torah’s presentation of divine legislation. In fact, variations of this very idea appear a number of times in Tanakh (see Ezekiel 20:11, 13, 21).

The rabbinic tradition of the Mishnaic period offers two contrasting interpretations of this verse, both of which have played major roles in shaping Jewish tradition. In the first, the interpretive emphasis falls on the latter part of the verse, defining for which commandments one must risk one’s life and for which one must not:

“Behold, the commandments were only given to Israel that they might live by them, as it is written, ‘Which a man shall perform and live by them’ – he shall live by them, and not die by them. Nothing takes precedence over saving a life, save idolatry, sexual sins, and murder. In which circumstances are these things said? When it is not a time of persecution. But when it is a time of persecution, even when it comes to the smallest of commandments, a person should die for it, as it is written: ‘Do not profane My holy name’ (Leviticus 22).”  (Tosefta Shabbat 16:14, Lieberman ed., p. 75)

In contrast, the Sifra, the rabbinic midrash on Sefer Vayikra (Leviticus), roughly contemporary with the Tosefta, understands the verse in a way that adheres more closely to its plain meaning, yet with implications radically different from those in the Tosefta:

“‘And live through them’—in the world to come. For if you were to say [that the intention was] to live in this world, does not one in the end die? Therefore, how do we fulfill ‘live through them’? In the world to come. ‘I am the Lord’ – I am faithful to compensate with reward.” (Sifra Aharei Mot 9:10; See Daniel Schwartz, “Mah Hava Ley Meimar ‘V’hai Bahem’”)

Along with a guaranteed promise of reward in the world to come comes an implied commitment to fulfill all of the commandments, even at the cost of one’s life, seemingly the very opposite of the principle articulated in the Tosefta.

Unsurprising, the debate over these two diametrically opposite positions has had real life consequences throughout the ages over the question of martyrdom in the Jewish tradition. (See Haym Soloveitchik’s brilliant article, “Religious Law and Change”, where he argues that those who claimed justification for martyrdom did so erroneously.)

In contrast, Ramban (Rabbi Moshe ben Nahman, Spain 13th century) read this verse as a piece of spiritual advice:

Know that man’s [reward in] life for the observance of the commandments is in accordance with his preparation for them. 1. For he who fulfills the commandments not for their own sake, but in order to receive a reward, will be rewarded on account of them in this world with longevity, riches, possessions, and honor… 2. Similarly, those who engage in the observance of the commandments so as to merit by them reward in the World to Come, these being the people who serve God out of fear [of punishment], will be found worthy on account of their intention to be saved from the judgments that will come upon the wicked, and their souls shall abide in joyfulness [in life eternal]. 3. But those who engage in the observance of the commandments out of love, as is right and proper, together with worldly occupation, … they will merit good life in this world according to the usual nature of things, and in life eternal, in the World to Come, their merits will still be complete before them [since the reward they received in their lifetime will not reduce that which is to come to them in the hereafter]. 4. But those who abandon altogether the concerns of this world and pay no attention to it, acting as if they themselves were not creatures of physical being, and all their thoughts and intentions are directed only to their Creator, … [these people] on account of their soul cleaving to the Glorious Name will live forever in body and soul… This verse thus leads Ramban to outline four distinct approaches to religious life—and, I would argue, to life in general. I am less concerned here with the rewards assigned to each path than with the human types they represent.

The first two approaches are essentially utilitarian. A person acts in order to receive something in return: either the good life in this world or eternal life in the next. In such cases, the person does not fully identify with what they are doing; the act is a means to an end.

The third person acts out of love, unconcerned with reward. This person acts because the deed itself expresses love, devotion, and appreciation. The action is no longer instrumental. It is an authentic expression of self.

The fourth type of person goes even further. Such a person acts out of total identification with God and with purpose itself. There is no longer a distinction between commandment and self, between obligation and desire. Life itself becomes an expression of divine attachment.

It is clear that the verse: “And you shall live through them” can be read on multiple levels. It can mean preserving life, earning eternal life, acting out of love, or even transcending the ordinary boundaries of life itself through complete attachment to God. These possibilities indicate to us that religious life unfolds on many levels. At times, we serve God because we seek blessing; at times, because we fear loss; at times, because we love; and at rare moments, because service of God is no longer something we do, but something we are. The challenge in life is not only to ask what reward awaits us, but to ask what kind of people our observance is shaping us to become.

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)