Musar su Malachia 3:16

The second level is the severity of positive commandments: The foundation of the reward and the root of the recompense resulting from the service is [found] in the performance of positive commandments, as it is stated (Proverbs 13:13), “He who respects a commandment will be rewarded.” And it is [also] stated (Malachi 3:18), “And you shall come to see the difference [...] between him who has served God and him who has not served Him.” And the service [to God] is with commandments that depend upon (involve) actions - whether there is nothing besides the positive commandment or whether there is [also] a negative commandment with them, such as (Deuteronomy 15:7), “do not harden your heart, etc.” (which accompanies the positive commandment of charity). And the commandment of the service will be explained in the Gate of the Service (no longer extant), with God’s help. Nevertheless, there is a manner of reward for the one who is careful not to transgress a negative commandment that reaches [that] of one who does a commandment - such as if the opportunity for a sin comes to a man and he had a desire for a sexual prohibition, but he overcame his impulse - for this is from the essence of the fear of God, may He be blessed. And likewise someone who had the opportunity to get rich by cheating and [charging] interest and there is no one to see and to know; yet he went with innocence and clean hands - his reward for this will be like one who plants righteousness and toils [to do a positive] commandment. And so it is written (Psalms 119:3) “They have done no wrong, but have followed His ways.” And our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, said (Yerushalmi Kiddushin 1:9), “Since they did not do wickedness, they have ‘followed His ways.’” And we have already discussed the explanation of this verse for you. And our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, likewise said (Kiddushin 39b), “[If] one sits and does not transgress, he receives a reward as one who performs a commandment, [...] in a case where an opportunity to commit a sinful act presents itself to him and he is saved from it.” And they also said (Berakhot 6a), “‘Those who revere the Lord and esteem His name.’ - this is [a case] where an opportunity to commit a sinful act presents itself to him and he is saved from it.” Even [with] this reward [however], its essence and foundation is [based in] a positive commandment, since he suppressed his impulse with the fear of God, as it is stated (Deuteronomy 10:20), “You must fear the Lord, your God.” And our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, said (Avot 2:1), “Be careful with a light commandment as with a weighty one, for you do not know the reward for the fulfillment of the commandments.” Yet behold [that] what will be done to anyone who transgresses a negative commandment is explicit in the Torah; and it allocates punishments and statutes and a code for what to do to them. And the punishments are forty lashes, death and expiation at the hands of the Heavens and the four death penalties of the court. But the reward for the fulfillment of the commandments is not explicit in the Torah, so that [people] not prevent themselves from fulfilling the light commandments and involve themselves only in the weighty ones.

Among the [negative commandments] that are dependent on the (heart) [tongue] are: “Since the Lord, your God, moves about in your camp to protect you and to deliver your enemies to you, let your camp be holy; let not anything unseemly be seen among you” (Deuteronomy 23:15). They, may their memory be blessed, said (Berakhot 25b) that included in this [prohibition] is that when we speak words of the Torah of God, may He be blessed - and in our speaking in prayer in front of Him - our camp should be holy, and let not anything unseemly be seen among us. Therefore we were commanded about this, to mention [God’s] name in holiness and to engage in words of Torah and prayer in holiness; and not to mention [God’s] name or words of Torah if he is naked or if there is a naked man across from him. And likewise were we warned that the place be clean, as it is stated (Deuteronomy 23:14), “you shall dig a hole with it and cover up your excrement.” And all the more so is he warned not to mention [God’s] name if his hands are not clean. And if his hands touched something disgusting to him, he should wash them - like the matter that is stated (Psalms 26:6), “I wash my palms in cleanliness.” And when one is walking on the path and he is in doubt if the path is clean, he should not mention [God’s] name, and he should not say words of Torah. And if there is something that is not clean behind him - such as excrement or a carcass or water [used for] soaking [flax] - one must move a distance of four ells away from where the odor ends; but in front of him, [the distance] is [as far as] his eye can see. And carefulness about this is one of the ways of fearing God, as it is stated (Malachi 3:16), “concerning those who revere the Lord and esteem His name.” And our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, said (Berakhot 24b), “‘For he has shown contempt for the word of the Lord’ (Numbers 15:31) - this is [referring to] one who says words of Torah in filthy alleyways.” And our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, said (Kohelet Rabbah 1:17), “‘He gives wisdom to the wise’ (Daniel 2:21) because the wise honor the Torah and occupy themselves with it in holiness.” But if He had given it to the silly, they would have said words of Torah in filthy alleyways.