Hashem says, See how I have places before you blessing and curse...
את הברכה אשר תשמעו אל מצות ה' הלוקיכם
The blessing when you shall listen to the commandments of Hashem your God,
Or, (Heaven forbid)... the opposite.
There is a problem. The word אשר doesn't grammatically fit here. The word אשר means "that". If this is true then Pasuk literally means "the blessing that you shall do the Mitzvos." Awkward. Let's explain what this means.
The Tiferes Shlomo explains based on the Rambam.
The Rambam asks in Hilchos Teshuva that if Chazal say that there is no reward in this world for doing the Mitvos, then how can it be that the Torah promises much physical earthly reward? The Rabbi's say one thing, and openly in the Torah, the opposite appears!
The Rambam says that all of the blessing in this world is not the actual reward for the Mitzvah rather it the natural response of the universe to us doing the right thing. The land brings forth produce and the sky brings down rain. The world runs as it should. This is to facilitate us continuing to do the right thing. This is nature of the rewards stated in the Torah, and thus there is no contradiction.
This is also the meaning of our Pasuk. את הברכה אשר תשמעו אל מצות ה' אלוקיכם, The blessing so that you may do the Mitzvos. Hashem wants to fuel our continued cooperation in His Divine Plan.
More of this to come
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