The following is a brief summary of a thought said over by the maggid shiur in a shiur delivered via satellite this evening. I have attempted to reproduce this vort to the best of my ability. Any perceived inconsistencies are the result of my efforts to transcribe the shiur and should not be attributed to the maggid shiur. Unfortunately, the satellite broadcast did not identify the speaker, and as such I am unable to propely give credit where it is due.
This week's parsha contains two main themes - Hashem promises that if you (the Jewish people) follow my rules, then various positive results will occur including that the rain will come in the proper time, the trees of the fields will give fruit and you will eat bread to the point of satiation (Vayikra 26:3-5). The flip side of the coin is also foretold in the parsha as Hashem states that if the Jewish people do not keep his laws then various negative results will occur.
The maggid shiur then brought various sources that support the general concept that Hashem does not reward us in this world for doing mitzvos, rather the ultimate reward is received in the afterlife. If this is case asked the maggid shiur, then why does the parsha write that these good things will occur if the laws are followed?
Before answering the question, the maggid shiur posed another query - one of the promises of reward is that the bread will be eaten to the point of satiation (Vayikra 26:5). Rashi points out that this means that if a person eats one piece of bread, he will be full. The question asked was, why is this a blessing in a time of plenty? It would be more apropos to say that one piece of bread will satiate when there is too little food (certainly a blessing) then when the food is so plentiful there will be no room to store it?
The maggid shiur answered both questions in talmudic fashion by saying that one question serves as the answer for the other. He drew an analogy to a boss who sends his best salesman out on the road and tells him - stay in a nice hotel and don't worry about your meal expenses - I won't take it out of your pay. In so doing, the owner is telling his worker - I want you to have the best that you can without distraction or worry. I will pay you the salary that I promised you, but while you are on the road do not worry about the little things - this way I know that you will be solely focused on doing your job.
The same concept can be said by the parsha. Hashem is not rewarding us for doing his mitzvos, he is giving us what we need in order to continue to do his commandments, while allowing us to bank the real reward for the world to come. Similarly with the example of the salesman, the money spent on his room and board are not equal to his salary, they are merely a benefit to him now. When he returns from his trip he will receive his salary that he can use to support his family.
So why are there seemingly wondrous rewards promised in the beginning of the parsha? Are they truly rewards? The maggid shiur answered by quoting to a medrash - that "the rains in its time" meant that rain would come on Friday night after everyone was home and would not be inconvenienced by the precipitation.
The medrash further explained that the fruit would be wondrously large and the sages will store it for future generations. Why? To show what sin causes. While this concept may seem counter intuitive it is not. [Ed. note - at this point the maggid shiur began quoting " R' Meir Simcha" who I assume to be the Meshech Chachma]. The maggid shiur explained that the medrash is telling us that rain in the proper time and extra large fruit used to be the norm. Only once the Jews began to sin did the teva (the natural order) change and fruit shrunk and water became scarce. On the other hand, if we return to simply doing what we are commanded, the teva can also return to the prior norm and we can I'YH enjoy the nice fruits and surroundings that will allow us the freedom to do more and more mitzvos and accumulate more reward in the world to come.
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