Rabbi Chananyah ben Akashya says: "The Holy One, blessed be He, wished to make the people of Israel meritorious; therefore He gave them Torah and mitzvot in abundant measure, as it is written: 'G-d desired, for the sake of his [Israel's] righteousness, to make the Torah great and glorious.' "

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"Rabbi Chananyah ben Akashya says: The Holy One, blessed be He, wished to make the people of Israel meritorious; therefore, He gave them Torah and mitzvot in abundant measure."

QUESTION: How do we benefit from the mitzvot Hashem gave us?

ANSWER: The Midrash Rabbah (Bereishit 44:1) states that "The precepts were given only in order letzareif bahen et haberiyot — so that man may be refined by them. For what does He care whether man kills an animal by the throat or by the nape of its neck? Hence, the purpose is to refine man."

Just as the craftsman who refines silver intends to extract the impurities and dross, so are the mitzvot intended to rid our hearts of low character traits and false beliefs. The Midrash cites the example of the humane laws of ritual slaughter to emphasize the point that we should not think that the prohibition against cruelty to animals is because of Hashem's concern for these creatures per se. It is not them He cares about, but us. He is concerned lest we become cruel and insensitive to their suffering. Therefore, He commanded us the laws of ritual slaughter (which is incidentally the most humane way to take the life of an animal) because He wanted us to be humane in order to refine our soul with noble characteristics.

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Alternatively, in the Torah there are 613 mitzvot, 248 positive and 365 negative. In the human body there are 248 bodily parts and 365 veins, each corresponding to one of the 613 mitzvot of the Torah. (The Sefer Chareidim elaborates on this.) Through the 613 mitzvot all the 613 bodily parts and veins are purified and elevated.

Incidentally, the word "lezakot" comes from the word "zach" — "pure" (see Shemot 27:20). Rabbi Chananyah ben Akashya is saying that Hashem wanted to purify the Jewish people, therefore He gave them the mitzvot in abundant measure. Through every mitzvah performed, the Jew gains more purification.

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"To make Torah great and glorious … All Israel have a share in the World to Come."

QUESTION: The study of Pirkei Avot is preceded with the Mishnah "All Israel have a share in the World to Come, and is concluded with the words "to make the Torah great and glorious." How are these two thoughts linked together?

ANSWER: The words "yagdil Torah veya'adir" — "to make Torah great and glorious" — are in future tense since they refer to the Era of Mashiach, at which time the full glory of Torah will be evident (Isaiah 42:21, Radak, see Likkutei Sichot vol. 17, p. 416).

Through the fulfillment of the many mitzvot that Hashem gave the Jewish people, we will merit this glorious period. This era will be followed by the Resurrection, at which time all Israel will enjoy their share in the World to Come.