{"id":261,"date":"2007-04-06T00:04:00","date_gmt":"2007-04-06T00:04:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/virtualtalmud\/2007\/04\/virtue-is-its-own-reward.html"},"modified":"2007-04-06T00:04:00","modified_gmt":"2007-04-06T00:04:00","slug":"virtue-is-its-own-reward","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/virtualtalmud\/2007\/04\/virtue-is-its-own-reward.html","title":{"rendered":"Virtue Is Its Own Reward"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rabbi Grossman writes movingly<\/a> about the reasons she abstains from chametz<\/em> on Passover. As a Reconstructionist Jew, I too believe that God doesn’t intervene in the world to punish wrongdoers or those who violate the commandments, and yet I still place great importance on them. When we choose to observe Passover by abstaining from bread and other leavened foods, we are binding ourselves to a sacred story\u2013one that connects us to our history, to Jews around the world, and to God. I do this not because I worry I will be punished if I don’t, but because I believe acting this way brings its own reward. The ancient rabbi, Ben Zoma, captured this idea perfectly: Doing the right thing not to receive reward or from fear of punishment. He said, \u201cThe reward of a mitzvah<\/em> is a mitzvah<\/em> and the reward of a transgression is another transgression.\u201d (Pirkei Avot 4:2) By creating sacred places in our own lives and our own communities through these mitvzot<\/em>, we invite God to enter into our midst and be present.<\/p>\n

Read the Full Debate: Does God Really Care If We Eat Bread on Passover?<\/b><\/p>\n