From Finite to Infinite
The deeds of the Mighty One are perfect, for all His ways are just. He is a faithful God, never unfair; righteous and moral is He (32:4).
This week's parsha discusses Hashem's attribute of justice and His ultimate system of reward and punishment. Rashi (ad loc) quoting the Sifri (307) explains; "Hashem is faithful to pay the righteous for their righteousness in the World to Come. Even though He postpones their reward, in the end He makes His words trustworthy." Rashi continues, "And for the wicked as well, He pays the reward for their righteousness in this world." Meaning, Hashem is trustworthy to pay everyone what they are owed for their good deeds; the righteous receive it in the World to Come and the wicked receive their full payment in this world.
This is difficult to understand. The Gemara (Kiddushin 39b) quotes Rava as saying, "The reward (for fulfilling mitzvos) is not given in this world." The reason for this is based on the understanding that man's ultimate purpose in this world is to earn a relationship with Hashem, which is the ultimate good that Hashem intended to bestow on mankind. Man can create a relationship with Hashem by doing mitzvos, thereby enabling himself to connect to the infinite.
But we live in a finite world with a finite existence. Any reward earned for an infinite act by definition cannot be paid in this finite world because it would be woefully inadequate. This is similar to trying to pay your mortgage with Monopoly money. For this reason, the true reward for mitzvos is only available in the World to Come.
Imagine for a moment that a person who knows nothing about precious stones goes to a jeweler to buy a diamond. The jeweler sizes him up immediately and realizes that if he gives this customer a big sparkly cubic zirconia "diamond" he will be just as happy, never knowing the difference. Does this mean that the jeweler can deceive this customer? Of course not. Just because the customer would be satisfied doesn't entitle the jeweler to cheat him by taking full price for a diamond but only delivering a cubic zirconia.
Similarly, how can Hashem, who is the ultimate judge and creator of the ultimate system of justice, cheat wicked people by giving them a finite reward for an infinite act? It seems grossly unjust. To answer that Hashem rewards individuals based on what they perceive as valuable seems as wrong as the jeweler delivering a cubic zirconia instead of a real diamond.
What's the difference between a person who is a millionaire and one who isn't? Ultimately, it may be only one penny; if a person has $999,999.99 he simply isn't a millionaire. Likewise, Rambam teaches us that the difference between a wicked person and a righteous one may be that one single mitzvah or aveirah that puts one over the edge.
We see from here that more often than not a label isn't the complete picture of what something is. Most designations are generally an amalgamation of different forces. One of the great kindnesses of Hashem is that a person who has slightly more mitzvos than aveirosis considered a "tzaddik." Whereas a 51% score on a test in school is a failing grade, Hashem nevertheless still credits this effort as having "passed." This "tzaddik" designation means that Hashem, in His boundless mercy, considers good deeds eternal acts if they simply outnumber a person's aveiros.
People have conflicting forces within their psyche. Rambam (Hilchos Teshuvah 9:1) explains that wicked people are motivated by lust for physical pleasures, while righteous ones are motivated to act for the sake of heaven. While the vast majority of mitzvos can be physically and/or emotionally satisfying, we must never lose sight of the fact that the reason we do them is because Hashem requires it and doing those mitzvos draws us nearer to Him.
The reason that wicked people are paid for their righteous acts in this finite world is because their motivation for doing mitzvos isn't to be drawn nearer to Hashem; this is evidenced by the fact that the majority of their acts are aveiros. Thus, even when they do mitzvos they are not infinite acts, as their motivation isn't a relationship with Hashem but rather they are driven by personal desires. They may deserve reward because they acted properly, but when the majority of their actions are avairos they do not deserve an infinite reward. Hashem therefore pays them in this world - a finite reward for a finite action.
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