וישב משה וגו’ ויגד משה (יט’ ח’, ט’)
And Moshe brought back ... and Moshe told (19:8, 9)
The Gemara (Shabbos 87a) cites a dispute regarding how to understand these words. One opinion is that first, Moshe Rabbeinu informed the Jewish people of the punishments for not keeping the Torah, and only then informed them of the rewards. According to this opinion, the word וישב (which appears first) comes from the term שובב, which means rebellious, since hearing these punishments could lead one to rebelliously refuse to accept the Torah. The word ויגד (which appears second) comes from the term אגדה, which hints to matters that attract one’s heart, like the Aggadah (homiletic parts of the Torah). This hints to the rewards for the mitzvos that attract one’s heart.
Another opinion is that Moshe first told the Jewish people the reward for observing the mitzvos and only then informed them of the punishments. This is derived from translating the word וישב as to restore. For example, when a person is calmed down, this is referred to as משיב דעתו. Then, Moshe Rabbeinu informed the Jewish people about the punishments. This is because this opinion understands the words ויגד to be derived from the word גיד, a bitter herb.
The question is: What is the difference or significance whether Moshe Rabbeinu taught the Jews the punishments first or the rewards first?
The Mishna says (Avos 4:21) that one hour of enjoyment in the next world is more enjoyable than an entire life of pleasure in this world. The reason is because this world is limited in many ways, and therefore, whatever a person enjoys in this world is extremely limited compared to whatever happens in the next world, which is limitless. This is why, when the Gemara (Eruvin 22a) discusses the reward in the world to come, it does not simply refer to it as ‘the world to come’; rather, it calls it ‘the world that never ends.’ This name itself explains why reward is saved for the next world and not given out here, because the reward is limitless and cannot be contained by the restraints (time and other) of this world.
This helps explain another argument found in Avoda Zara (5a). One opinion holds that the Jewish people accepted the Torah on condition that no nation should be able to dominate over them if they keep it. The other opinion holds that they accepted it on condition that even the Angel of Death should not be able to dominate over them if they keep the Torah (see Gemara for details).
According to the second opinion, if there would be no death, one could receive reward in this world for fulfilling the mitzvos, since there is no limit to the length of a person’s existence, and he can therefore get his limitless reward even in this world. This opinion coincides with the opinion in the Gemara in Shabbos that Moshe Rabbeinu first informed the Jews about the rewards for the mitzvos, since at that point, they had not yet sinned, and it was relevant for them to know about the reward that they could receive in this world. Only later, he informed them of the punishments that they could get if they sinned.
The opinion in Avoda Zara says that the Jews accepted the Torah on condition that no nation could dominate over them (since the decree of death had already been decreed at the time of Adam Harishon and was written in the Torah and could not be revoked). This opinion must hold like the opinion in Shabbos that Moshe Rabbeinu first told them about the punishments that they could receive, since in this world, the most important thing was to hear that if they sinned, they would be subject to the rule of other nations. Only then did he inform them of the rewards that await them in the next world.
