Ben Bag Bag Said: "Learn It And Learn It [The Torah], For Everything Is In It. Look Deeply Into It; Grow Old And Gray Over It, And Do Not Stir From It, For There Is Nothing More Edifying For You Than It."
Ben Hay Hay Said: "Commensurate With The Painstaking Effort Is The Reward."
The commentaries
[78] explain that Ben Hay Hay was a convert.
[79] This is reflected in his teaching.
It is an accepted principle of faith
[80] that G-d rewards man for the observance of His
mitzvos. The
mishnah is teaching that in calculating the nature of that reward, G-d looks not only at the task accomplished, but also at the effort invested. When a person labors and struggles to perform a
mitzvah, G-d increases the reward he will receive.
More particularly, this refers to the effort a man invests in the fulfillment of a mitzvah when he is not obligated to do so, i.e., the observance of a mitzvah behiddur, in a beautiful and conscientious manner, or in the performance of mili dechassidusa, positive conduct that extends beyond the measure of the law.
Perhaps the most complete expression of this concept is the act of conversion.[81] A gentile is not at all obligated to accept the burden of Judaism; indeed, at first he should be discouraged from doing so.[82] Therefore, the painstaking effort he expends in the observance of mitzvos is surely worthy of reward.
(Likkutei Sichos, Vol. XXVII, p. 387ff)
Notes:
- (Back to text) Tosafos, Chagigah 9b, Machzor Vitri.
- (Back to text) Or the descendant of converts. This is reflected in the name Hay Hay, for the Hebrew letter hay was added to the names of Avraham and Sarah as a sign of their Jewish identity.
The commentaries also explain that Ben Bag Bag was a convert or the son of converts. One of the proofs is that the Hebrew letters that spell Bag (Gimmel and Lammed) are numerically equivalent to a hay.
- (Back to text) Rambam, Commentary to the Mishnah, Tractate Sanhedrin, Introduction to ch. 10, principle 11.
- (Back to text) In contrast, since a Jew is created "to serve [His] Creator," there is a dimension of obligation to every element of his divine service, even the observance of a mitzvah behiddur, or the performance of mili dechassidusa.
- (Back to text) Yevamos 47b.
Chapter Five - Mishna 20