Or HaChaim on Leviticus 26:16/אור החיים על ויקרא כ״ו:ט״ז

1 אף אני אעשה זאת לכם, "I will also do this unto you, etc." The meaning of the word אני is the attribute of Mercy. G'd says that under the circumstances even the attribute of Mercy will agree to the acts of retribution the Torah is about to describe as being performed by the attribute of Justice.

2והפקדתי עליכם בהלה, "I will appoint terror to afflict you, etc." G'd's selection of the list of afflictions enumerated here corresponds to the negative virtues of the wicked. Inasmuch as their principal sin is the neglect of Torah study G'd measured the people with the same yardstick. Torah has been compared to fire (compare Jeremiah 23,29) "is not My word like fire says the Lord."

3You have to appreciate that the Torah brings out three good qualities in a man's soul. 1) Preoccupation with words of Torah effectively refines man's soul much as the fire of the crucible refines ore into pure metal. As a result such a person does not need to descend into שאול, hades, after he dies so that his soul will be cleansed by the fires of Hell. Chagigah 27 describes the fire of Torah as being more powerful than the fire of Gehinom. The fires of Gehinom will therefore not make any impression on the soul of a person who has spent his life in Torah study. This is why Shemot Rabbah 7,4 describes Gehinom as complaining that it does not like the righteous as they undermine its power and extinguish its fire. The second advantage derived by Torah is that it illuminates one's eyes. The Israelites require a great light in order to be able to benefit from the brilliance of the שכינה, G'd's presence. G'd gave us the Torah which is called light (compare Proverbs 6,23) out of His great love for us. Torah study will enhance our power of vision. The degree of one's perception of the divine is in direct ratio to the amount of Torah one has studied. Isaiah 42,7 calls all the people who have not studied Torah "blind ones," describing the power of Torah as making the blind see. The third advantage that accrues to the person who studies Torah is that it gladdens his heart; we know this both from Psalms 19,9: "G'd's precepts gladden the heart of man," as well as from Psalms 97,11: "and for the upright there is radiance." Just as there are three distinct advantages which accrue to people studying Torah there are three kinds of corresponding penalties for those who fail to do so. Instead of the purifying fire of Torah study, G'd will smite those who failed to study with a destructive kind of fire, שחפת וקדחת, different kinds of fever. The reason the Torah also speaks about בהלה, terror, is because it is the reverse of the peace of mind one experiences as the result of engaging in Torah study. Whereas G'd had granted מאור עינים, enhanced vision, to people immersing themselves in Torah, G'd will deprive those who failed to study Torah by מכלות עינים, failure of their eyesight. Whereas G'd had granted joy to the people who did study Torah, He will afflict those who failed to do so with מדיבת נפש, feelings of melancholy.

4Our paragraph also contains an allusion to success of the people studying Torah in the celestial spheres. We are taught in Uktzin 3,12 (the final Mishnah in the oral Torah) that in the future G'd will let every righteous person inherit 310 worlds. It is a well known fact that the negative experiences the wicked have to look forward to parallel the positive experiences which the righteous will enjoy. Kohelet 7,14 has already spelled this out when Solomon said: "G'd has made one as well as the other." Just as the 310 worlds described in the above mentioned Mishnah are distinguished one from the other in quality, so the 310 possible domains of afflictions for the sinners are also each different from its counterpart. Their common denominator is called קרי, the word ריק, empty, spelled backwards. This is the mystical dimension of וזרעתם לריק זרעכם, "you will sow your seed in vain." [In talmudic parlance the word קרי often refers to the result of semen which has gone to waste, i.e. which is "empty" of content. Ed.] Instead of 310 worlds the wicked can look forward to 310 different kinds of emptiness. The 310 worlds which the Mishnah spoke about are based on Proverbs 8,21: להנחיל לאוהבי יש, That G'd will give an inheritance to the righteous described as something substantial. The numerical value of the word יש is 310. The numerical value of the word ריק, empty, is also 310. The Torah therefore threatens the wicked with the exact opposite it promises to the righteous. The number of spiritually negative manifestations of the קליפה is 310. The Torah uses the word "sowing," as it is also applicable to activities of a spiritual nature such as in Hoseah 10,12: "sow righteousness for yourselves!" ואכלוהו אויביכם "and your enemies will consume it." The powers of the קליפה derive pleasure from the activities of the wicked. The Torah describes them as "the enemy of man."