by Rabbi Mordechai Rhine

One of the famous verses in the Torah is the one in which Moshe says, “All that Hashem asks of you is to fear Him and do His mitzvos.” The Talmud asks: Is fear of Hashem really so small an expectation?

Rav Shimon Schwab observes that the Hebrew word for ask, “Shoeil,” can also be translated as “to borrow.” Thus Rav Schwab suggests that the connotation of this word actually explains why Moshe viewed this request as such a small expectation. “All Hashem is asking of you is a loan, so to speak.” You make the effort to do the mitzvah now, and Hashem will repay you exponentially in the future.

Take for example the story of Avraham. The medrash (Tanna Divei Eliyahu Rabbah 12) tells us that in the merit of Avraham’s feeding the angel-guests Hashem provided food for his descendents in the desert. Imagine… Avraham fed 3 guests with generosity, and Hashem repaid him by feeding an estimated 3 million people for 40 years. Indeed, “All that Hashem asks of you…” It is such a good investment that it is like it is “no big deal.”

As simple as the concept of investment and reward is, it is not so simple to implement. There is a famous study that was done in the 1970s called The Marshmallow Test in which children (ages 4-6) were given a marshmallow and were told that they could eat it now, or they could wait fifteen minutes and they would get two. The study, with the fascinating video footage it created, made clear that no matter how great the reward is, delayed gratification is quite a challenge.

Even more fascinating is that over decades a trend was observed that those children who were able to delay gratification to attain a greater reward did better academically than those who could not. It is argued that this simple test can foretell success better than IQ or math scores. Apparently a child that has a predisposition to investing wisely will carry over that tendency to study habits and other responsible choices. As one commentator put it: In modern America where instant gratification is King, and patience is scarcer than ever, the inability to delay and invest emotionally in a better future has caused rising credit card debt and the mortgage meltdown. In the question of sacrificing today for a better tomorrow, waiting is almost always better.

Even if a person does not have a predisposition to wait and to invest, these are skills that one can develop. By practicing with small life-opportunities one can develop the capacity to invest by sacrificing an immediate gratification for an exponentially greater reward in the future.

To Moshe who saw the treasure houses of reward, the decision was clear. “All that Hashem asks is that you fear Him and do His mitzvos.” The reward is so worth it. It is like a short term loan that will be paid exponentially.

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