DEUT1613 Let us now consider the role of reward and punishment in a theistic ethical system. What distinguishes man from animals is his need for, or at least his capacity to respond to, the Ultimate Power of the universe, an unseen reality whom he may inadequately but inevitably conceptualize as universal “Father” or “King.” Man alone experiences the presence of God and stands accountable to Him. If, as in a covenant ethic, God is Supreme Lawgiver, then good and evil become chesed [i.e., lovingkindness-AJL], faithfulness to and Chat [i.e., sin-AJL], betrayal of divine expectations. Reward and punishment remain a constant foundation of covenant ethics. At the “lowest” level man conceives of obedience and disobedience as a choice between plenty and drought, health and pestilence. “I have set before you this day life and prosperity, death and adversity...” (Deuteronomy 30:15) When in his personal life there seems to be no direct correlation between piety and reward, the religious man may conclude that he is less deserving than he imagines, for that reward is being deferred to some postmortal realm, or that God is testing him.

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DEUT1615 See [[DEUT135]] Deuteronomy 4:37 loved OXFORD 40

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DEUT1616 "And if your heart turn away and you do not hear": This teaches us that if you turn your heart away, you will no longer hear (Succah 46b)

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DEUT1626 See [[DEUT1589]] Deuteronomy 30:11 baffling AMEMEI 248

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DEUT1627 See [[DEUT1614]] Deuteronomy 30:15 set AMEMEI 116

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DEUT1629 See [[GEN62]] Genesis 1:26 image AMEMEI 34

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DEUT1617 Animals are programmed from birth, and thus, their choices are limited. Animals are not capable of moral choices, and thus receive no reward for "doing the right thing" or punishment for acting immorally. Every human being faces many moral choices each day. Even though the Torah "commands" man to commit many moral acts or commandments, at the very end of the Torah, the Torah itself proclaims that man retains the right to reject God and these Commandments, and choose between right and wrong [Deuteronomy 30:15-19]. Of course, he will be rewarded or punished accordingly. This free choice and free will is described by Maimonides in detail (Maimonides, Hilchot Teshuva 5:1). It matters not with what tendencies and personality traits a human is born. He retains the ability to go on a moral or an immoral path, regardless of his environment or past history.

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DEUT1622 Our very humanness means we sometimes behave badly. Our teachers cared mightily that we live up to the high standards set by Jewish law and communal ideals. They couldn't easily rationalize how little good most of us actually do and how easily and regularly we fall into sin. Yet despite their unblinking look at how we actually behave, the rabbis remained optimistic, knowing that the Torah's positive influence upon our moral choices cannot be disputed: [this verse]. They attributed our chronic sinning to the powerful nature of the evil urge, a foe so wily and untiring that it can never be permanently defeated. Nonetheless, the Torah's teaching is plain: with God's help we can ally ourselves with God's goodness and rule humanity's evil streak. One of our sages actually pictured us as schizoid, with two yetzarim evenly split in their ability to dictate our actions: "As R. Levi taught: There are six parts of the body that serve a person; three are under his control and three are not. The eyes, the ears, and the nose are not under a person's control; he sees what he doesn't want to see, hears what he doesn't want to hear, and smells what he doesn't want to smell. The mouth, the hand, and the foot are under a person's control. If he wants he can use his mouth to study Torah or speak gossip and blasphemy. He can use his hand to give charity or steal and kill. He can use his feet to walk to synagogue or houses of study, or to brothels" (Gen. R. 67.3).

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DEUT1628 See [[DEUT1612]] Deuteronomy 30:15 set DUTIES 321

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DEUT1632 Trust and free choice in the service of God. Human actions that constitute either service of God or transgression can take place only if three factors are present: (1) choice by the heart and mind; (2) intent and resolve to do what one has chosen; and (3) the effort to complete the intended act with one's outer limbs and bring it into actuality. In regard to what is not hidden [or removed] from us, such as the choice of service or transgression, and the intent and resolve to carry out what one has chosen, relying on God in these would be erroneous and foolish; for the Creator, make He be exalted, has left to us the choice of serving Him or rebelling against Him, as it is written: “Choose life” (Devarim 30:19). But the carrying out of the intended act of service or transgression He did not leave to us, but made it dependent on external means that are sometimes present and at other times unavailable. If a person relies on God in the [very] choice of serving Him, and says, “I will neither choose nor resolve to do anything in the service of the Creator, until He chooses for me what is best,” he strays from the straight path and deviates from the right way. For the Creator, may He be exalted, has already commanded us to choose the performance of His service and to direct our intent toward it with vigor, resolve, and whole heart, for the sake of His great Name; and he has instructed us that this is the right way for us in this world and the next. If the means are available [to us] and we are able to carry out the work of service which we had previously chosen, we will receive bounteous reward for having chosen God's service, for having intended to discharge it, and for having carried out its acts with our external limbs. And if our limbs are unable to carry out the acts, we will receive reward for having chosen and intended to do them, as we mentioned earlier. The same is true in regard to punishment for transgression [whether committed or only intended].

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