There is a debate as to what we receive from performing a mitzvah. We learn that the reward of a mitzvah is the ability to perform another mitzvah. And yet, we learn in Pirkei Avot, “The reward for a mitzvah is the mitzvah itself.”
We might ask, why do a mitzvah at all if there is no reward? The Torah teaches us that we are a holy people unto God. Before and after this verse, the Torah mentions the value of kashrut and the value of taking care of our bodies. The Rabbis infer that the verse explaining that we are a holy nation is intricately connected to the actions of our lives and the mitzvot we perform.
We as Jews have the concept of hiddur mitzvah, to make our actions beautiful. That is why we choose the most beautiful etrog and the most wonderful shofar to use in our performance of ritual. That is why we dress nicer on Shabbat than we do on a Monday. We know these acts will not garner us a reward from God, but we do know that doing so will make us more aware of what we are doing and why we are doing it, ultimately connecting our soul to God.
Yes, the reward for doing a mitzvah is in fact the mitzvah itself. The most striking example is at a funeral when we place earth upon the casket. We call this a chesed shel emet, an act of loving kindness. Every mitzvah in our can be repaid. Yet, this act, that we do at the end of one’s life is done purely for the sake of the act itself.
