Every day, morning and evening, we are commanded to recite the Shema. This central part of our lives is a declaration of faith and commitment to Hashem, reminding us of our intense relationship to the Creator.

Towards the end of EKEV, Moshe teaches the second paragraph of Shema (Devarim 11:13-21), which is a meditation on the consequences of mitzvah observance. It begins:
And it shall be, if you will surely listen to My commandments that I command you today, to love Hashem, your G-d, and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul. Then I will provide your land’s rain in its time, the early rain and the late rain. And you shall gather your grain, your wine crop and your oil crop. And I shall give grass in your field for your animals, and you shall eat and be satisfied (11:13-15).

The Torah states clearly that there is a direct causal relationship between fulfilling Hashem’s will and material success.

Many serious questions have been raised on this important passage. The Talmud (Berachot 35b) for example asks, “And you shall gather your grain” suggests that we be expected to do the work in the field ourselves. On the other hand, the ideal state of affairs is:
And strangers shall arise and tend your flocks (Yeshaya 61:5).
This apparent contradiction is resolved by R. Shimon bar-Yochai: When Israel does Hashem’s will, others will do their work for them, but when they do not do His will, they must do their work by themselves.

Tosafot raise a question based on the passage above. It states plainly, “you shall gather your grain” as a consequence of “it shall be if you will surely listen to My commandments.” Then, why does R. Shimon bar-Yochai call this “not doing Hashem’s will”? Tosafot answer that the situation described is when the people are not completely righteous.

However, Haamek Davar (R. Naftali Tzvi Yehudah Berlin, known as the Netziv, 1817-1893) finds Tosafot’s answer hard to understand. After all, the verse spells out what we must do. In the Netziv’s words, “What more does Hashem ask of us?”

In order to answer this, the Netziv develops an idea found earlier in Nefesh HaChayim, by R. Chayim of Volozhin (1749-1821), Gate I chapter 9. He also discusses this himself elsewhere in Haamek Davar (on Bereishit 2:5, and in Harchev Davar on Shemot 25:20 and 40:20).

It is Hashem’s will that we work in the natural way in order to obtain our sustenance, while simultaneously being aware of our dependence upon Him for our success. As the Netziv comments on “And you shall gather your grain”: you will succeed, but you must put in the effort.

The model for this existence on a national scale is in the land of Israel, with the Temple standing (see Bava Batra 99a). Then Hashem provides for us in the merit of two elements that are both called Lachmi, My bread:
1) Worship, as in My sacrifice, My bread (Bamidbar 28:2).
2) Torah, as it says, Come, eat of My bread (Mishlei 9:5), which the Talmud (Chagigah 14a) equates with Torah study.

These two factors are not equal, however. To explain their difference, the Netziv utilizes an analogy from a human king, for “Like an earthly kingdom is the heavenly kingdom” (based on Berachot 58a). The king has his subjects, and he also has his soldiers and those who maintain the government. The king allots land to each of his subjects, and they work the land and provide for themselves. The revenues collected from the farmers benefit the king’s guards and royal workers. On the other hand, the king provides for his soldiers and those who preserve his kingdom directly from his treasuries, without expecting them to earn their keep. Of course the king loves his soldiers dearly, and he confers with them frequently, more so than he does with the farmers.

So is the heavenly kingdom. The farmers are compared to Divine worship, the sacrifices, while the soldiers and those who bear the kingdom are compared to the study of the Torah.

More than any other area of mitzvot, sacrifice is especially called AVODAH (work), because its goal and purpose is to grant sustenance, just as one works to sustain himself:
One who works his land will be satisfied with bread (Mishlei 12:11).
The Talmud (Ketubbot 10b) says that the word for “altar,” MIZBEIACH, hints at what it does: MEIZIACH (removes harmful decrees), MEIZIN (sustains), MECHABEV (fosters love between Hashem and Israel), and MECHAPPER (atones for sins). Furthermore, a craftsman – for example, a tailor – might produce either for himself or to sell to others. A farmer, on the other hand, is the epitome of self-sufficiency, for what he produces he eats. Similarly, although only Hashem knows the purpose of the mitzvot, the sacrifices clearly exist to provide sustenance.

The Temple service is Hashem’s means of granting material sustenance to Israel and the world, but it is not automatic. It requires complete faith — “with all your heart” — and total will and devotion — “and with all your soul.”

In the absence of the Temple, we rely on prayer, which is the analogue to, and substitute for, sacrifice. As we learn in Taanit 2a, “and to serve Him with all your heart” means prayer. When pursued with the faith and devotion required of sacrifice, and coupled with commitment to Torah study, prayer will bring sustenance.

And it shall be, if you will surely listen to My commandments … to love Hashem, your G-d, and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul. Then … you shall gather your grain, … and you shall eat and be satisfied.

The second paragraph of Shema teaches that when Israel does Hashem’s will, meaning they learn and support His Torah, then in the merit of Divine service Hashem grants prosperity.