Motzei Shabbos VaYishlach: Hashem Recompenses According to Deed

A gitte voch! The Tana D’Vei Eliyahu teaches us that Hashem renders punishment (or on the flip side, reward) according to the actions we do. There, in the section for Parshas VaYishlach, the examples of the plagues brought upon Mitzrayim are explained in such a way that we can understand why those specific plagues were done. So now that we have the side of Din, that Hashem renders punishment within the same general way or area that one is misbehaving in, we can learn something on the side of Rachamim.

If we approach doing mitzvos in a way of love for Hashem and happiness to fulfill His will, then it should be clear that He will recompense in kind. Like it says in Maseches Brochos, that one who extends his tefillah will be answered; though this is only if he doesn’t look back on his prayers and investigate them. What does this mean practically? One way of understanding this part of the gemoro is that the person who looks back on his tefillah was lacking Emunah in the first place; so we could ask why did he daven so long? Rebbe Nachman says in Likutei Moharan that those who exist in the state of Mochin D’Gadlus (Broad-Mindedness) can daven fast, this is because their mental state is on such a level that they aren’t concerned with time, rather they are only focused on their connection with Hashem, whether that is connected with time or not. When one dwells in such a state of thinking about Hashem and His various wonders all the time, then it becomes very easy to daven with kavana even very quickly. It’s said that the Kotzker zt’l would daven the entire Shachris in about 15 minutes. Though this is not recommended conduct for most, for a Tzaddik on his level this was proper.

So long as we serve Hashem with Emunah and Bitachon, so will we receive brochos from Him in such a manner. Rather than having everything given to us in the normal way b’tzimtzum (indirectly in short), meaning through the illusions of this world, Hashem will grant us what we need directly in the way that it is meant to be, with certainty and consistency. Though we may not focus on this as a purpose in our avodah, as shown by the example in Maseches Brochos, it can give us some chizuk (strength/encouragement) when things aren’t going so easily.