Musar para sa Malakias 3:18

In truth, all this is hinted in the scriptural verse,²⁹Malachi 3:18 “You shall return and see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him.” Our sages commented,³⁰Talmud Bavli, Chagigah 9b “Is not the righteous the same as one who serves God, and is not the wicked the same as one who does not serve him? However, this is like the difference between one who reviews his chapter one hundred times, compared to one who reviews it one hundred and one times.”

Happy is he who does not lose hope of the redemption and sets his heart, for himself and his children, to increase in Torah and mitzvot, lest he be embarrassed in that time. For it is only in this world, which is compared to night, that everything is covered over and the righteous is not readily recognizable from the wicked. However, in that time, everything will be revealed, as Targum Kohelet translates the verse,¹⁷Ecclesiastes 12:13 “In the end of the matter, everything is heard,” that all the deeds of the people of the world will be made known, and each person will be honored according to the Torah and mitzvot he has in his hands, as scripture states about that time,¹⁸Malachi 3:18 “You shall return and see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him,” as mentioned in chapter one.

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.