In describing the reward we’ll receive for keeping the mitzvos, the Torah says (Devarim 28:6), “Blessed will you be in your comings and blessed will you be in your goings.” While the plain meaning is that you’ll have blessing in your travels, Rashi says it means “You’ll exit this world without sin just like you entered the world (without sin).” A few problems: (1) This interpretation doesn’t fit with the plain meaning of these rewards as referring to reward in this world; (2) The idea of innocence of youth doesn’t seem like a Jewish idea. After all, the Torah describes man’s inclination as evil from his youth. So how can Rashi compare the perfected state of a tzadik who leaves this world to the instinctual state of a baby who enters this world? This episode addresses these questions while presenting important ideas about the Torah’s promised reward for doing the mitzvos.
