BackAre Good Deeds with Selfish/Bad Intentions Worthless?
By: Rabbi Barak Bar-Chaim
“Rav Yehuda said that Rav said: A person should always occupy himself with Torah and mitzvot even not for their own sake, as through these acts performed not for their own sake, good deeds for their own sake come about. In reward for the forty-two offerings that the wicked Balak sacrificed (see Numbers, chapter 23) he merited that Ruth descended from him.” (Talmud Nazir 23b)
If a person knows that their intentions in performing a Mitzvah is for societal recognition or for their own honor, should they perform the Mitzvah or should they refrain from performing it? The above Talmudic text clearly states that one should not refrain from occupying oneself in Torah and Mitzvot even if one’s motivation is for personal grandeur and the like. The rationale provided by the Talmud is that good deeds performed with selfish intentions will ultimately lead to good deeds performed with altruistic intensions. Tosafot (Talmudic commentary) explains that this is only true if one’s motivation is for egoic reasons, but if one’s motivation is to inflict harm on others the principle does not apply.
The proof the Talmud brings in support of this principle is from Parshat Balak. Balak and Bilaam wanted God to allow them to curse the Jewish people. Balak offered forty-two offerings to the true God of Israel hoping to, thereby, get permission to curse the Jewish people. He was an evil person filled with antisemitic hatred. The Talmud states that despite Balak’s evil intentions in doing the good deed of bringing offerings to God, he was rewarded by having Ruth as his descendent. This proof is incredibly difficult to understand. Balak had the worst possible intentions behind his good deeds—to inflict maximum harm to the Jewish people! Why should he be rewarded? Additionally, Balak (who hated the Jewish people) would have been horrified to know that Ruth, the mother of the Kings of Israel, would descend from his lineage. He would have considered this a punishment and not a reward!
Rabbi Pinchas Winston explains that, in truth, Balak himself never considered having Ruth as his descendent to be a reward. In fact, Balak was, no doubt, punished for his evil intentions. The Talmud points out that good deeds performed even with the worst of intentions will result in some good. A person serving God out of egoic motivations will see the good effect of serving God with purity, and this will be their ultimate reward. A person who serves God to inflict damage on others will be punished; nonetheless, some good will occur in the world because a good deed must have some good after effect.
If good deeds even with sinister motivations have good consequences, then certainly good deeds performed for the sake of serving God have wonderful consequences for us and our world. Our world so desperately needs positivity and goodness. This is the time to increase our Torah study and good deeds no matter what our motivation is!