“Sarah’s lifetime was one hundred years, twenty years... at one hundred, she was as free of sin as she was at twenty... (Rashi).” (23:1)
In 1967, Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, was celebrated as a national hero. While he certainly was an extremely brave man, why was he a hero? Armstrong basically followed instructions. In fact, some speculate that it was exactly Armstrong’s down-to-earth – excuse the pun – prosaic nature that got him the job. The last thing NASA wanted was a romantic stargazer wandering around the moon, going off-script.
Can you imagine the feeling of walking on the moon?! You are walking on the moon! On the moon! The Earth is a beautiful, enormous green/blue orb hanging in the sky above your head. Your head! You’re the man on the moon. You did it! You!
It’s much easier to get excited about fulfilling positive mitzvos than to refrain from violating negative commandments. We feel so much more accomplished when we perform a good deed — davening with proper intent or learning with exuberance — than we do when we merely refrain from doing what is wrong.
But feelings can be deceiving. The fulfillment of a positive mitzvah may feel more holy, but the Vilna Gaon writes that we are granted much more reward for refraining from sin. The Mishna teaches that Hashem grants each and every tzaddik 310 “worlds” of reward. The Gaon writes that a full 300 of these worlds are granted to him because he turns away from evil, whereas “only” 10 worlds are given to him because of his doing good.
It may be easier to appreciate doing a mitzvah — celebrating Yom Tov, learning Torah, or praying a meaningful section — than refraining from transgressing. The feeling of spirituality, the “wow factor,” is indeed more readily accessible in the cases of actions and doing good. But the substance of a Jew, the foundation upon which all is built, is refraining from bad.
When we commit to being more careful with what we see, we are laying the foundation of our World to Come, and we are therefore rewarded with the bulk of our reward in Olam Haba. And that is infinitely more exhilarating than walking on the moon.
