MW13 –
“I wouldn’t call it schar, only a reality; helping others leads to fulfillment. Just like one would not say that being full is schar for eating, being fulfilled is not schar for helping others; its just the natural effect.”
The issue with this is that the Ribono Shel Olam runs the world. Accordingly, nothing can be said to be “natural,” but rather is precisely calculated as to when and how to occur by none other than Hashem Himself. Being full may not be schar for eating, but a person may eat a given shiur of food and thereafter feel content, hungry, sick, etc. This feeling then necessarily is either schar or onesh not based upon eating but based upon what Hashem deems is necessary for this person to experience at this time. So too when performs an act of chesed and feels fulfilled therafter, this feeling of “fulfillment” is a gift from HaKadosh Baruch Hu. In fact, we know this from the famous gemara we say each morning after Birchas HaTorah “Alu devarim sh’adam ochail paroteichem b’olam hazeh v’hakeren kayamet b’olam haba…ugemilut chassadim…” I would hasten a guess that this feeling of fulfillment is amongst the “parot” of gemilut chassadim.
My entire point here is that doing “good” for any reason not involving Hashem is worth nothing. And if this “good” is worth nothing, one cannot merit anything through its.
– We may not be able to find common ground on this point because I believe you are categorically wrong (and I would imagine you think/feel the same). My friend, for 21 years I “did good” without any notion or idea of Hashem. Was I in some way opposed to Hashem? No, absolutely not. Rather it was lav da’atay. Being raised in a secular Jewish home, Hashem couldn’t even be said to have been an afterthought. Yet, through the infinite mercy of HaKadosh Baruch Hu, I was exposed to Torah and returned. So I ask you, by what did I merit this tremendous chesed? Ok so maybe you can argue it had nothing to do with how I lived my life up until that point. Fine. So from another angle then, we know that from the gemara in Berachos (61b – about a dozen lines down) that reshaiim are repaid their s’char in full in this world: V’amar Rava: lo ebrei alma ela l’reshaii gamurei or l’tzadikei gamurei. Rashi on l’reshaii gamurei – Ha’olam hazeh. Sh’ain lahem b’olam haba klum v’tzarichin limol (sp?) s’charan can. K’gon achav, sh’hayah asheer me’od (And Rava said: The world was not created excepted for the sake of the completely wicked or the completely righteous. Rashi on “for the sake of the complete wicked – (is) this world for there is not to them the world to come whatsoever and it’s needed to repay their s’char (reward) here. Such an example is Achav (one of the most wicked kings of the Jewish people) who was very wealthy). Unless you can make the argument that rashaiim gamurim are also doing good involving Hashem (which is farfetched to say the least), I do not see how you can say “and one cannot merit anything through it (sic).”
Looking forward to your response.