The comparison between a day and a year is also seen in the following Gemara (Chagigah 5:), which states, “Whoever sins even just one day a year, it is as though he sinned the entire year.”
The Chasam Sofer zt’l teaches:
Based on the principle that reward is 500 times greater than punishment. If one serves Hashem just one day a year, it is considered that he served Hashem for five hundred years! The Gemara (Pesachim 94:) states that the distance between heaven and earth is a five-hundred-year walk. With this information, the Chasam Sofer explains the pasuk, ירבו למען הארץ על השמים כימי ...ימיכם, “So your life will increase... like heaven is above earth.” Because for serving Hashem even just one day, it will be like he served Hashem for five hundred years, the number of years that heaven is above the earth. If he serves Hashem for another day, it will accumulate as though he served Hashem one thousand years, and so on. The reward will definitely be in Olam HaBa because the six thousand years of this world are too few to bestow this large reward that is due to him.
When we think about these concepts, we grasp the preciousness of time. Even for just a few moments of serving Hashem, we gain tremendously! We should look forward to each day because it carries so much potential!
Early one morning, the Rebbe of Radoshitz zt’l said, "A special guest arrived today, it's his first visit, and he won't be here again, so I want to honor him properly. The guest is Today. It came today, and it will never come back..."
Reb Eliyahu Lopian zt’l compared time to a travel bag. If one packs his bag neatly, there is plenty of room for all his belongings. But if he throws the items in without folding them and without order, after just a few items are put into the bag, there isn’t room for much else. Time is similar. If one is cautious and orderly with his time, he will see that there is a lot of time in the day. But those who aren’t careful with their time can’t find time for anything.
A student asked Reb Shlomo Zalman Auerbach zt’l how to set up his schedule for learning Torah. Reb Shlomo Zalman advised him to set aside time each day to review everything he had studied up to that point. The student told Reb Shlomo Zalman he didn’t have time for that. Reb Shlomo Zalman had a bar-mitzvah present on his table. It was a wrapped sefer, bound with a rubber band. Reb Shlomo Zalman took off the rubber band and showed him how small it became, compared to when it was stretched around the sefer. Reb Shlomo Zalman explained to him that this represents time. It seems short. But if one stretches it, one can find that he has plenty of time to do everything he needs to.
In Parashas Bechukosai, it states the rewards for keeping the mitzvos. One of the rewards is (Vayikra 26:9), אליכם ופניתי. Rashi explains, אפנה שכרכם לשלם עסקי מכל, “I will turn away from all my work so I can pay you your reward.” The Chidushei HaRim zt’l explains that ופניתי comes from the word פנאי, which means ample, extra time. The brachah is that the tzaddikim are granted ample time to accomplish a lot in avodas Hashem. The Chidushei HaRim would often repeat this translation, for it is indeed the greatest gift to have enough time to do everything one needs to do.
In the tochachah (curses), it also states (Vayikra 26:17), בכם פני ונתתי. According to the Chidushei HaRim's explanation, that פני means extra time, why does Hashem grant sinners ample time? The Beis Yisrael zt’l answers that having time is a blessing for those who use it well and a curse for those who use time unwisely and for sin.
Some have the custom of giving a gold watch as a gift to a chasan. This is to remind the chasan that time is precious like gold. The Lev Simchah zy'a added that the gold watch is only the wrapping of time. The wrapping is always less valuable than what it holds. If the wrapping is made of gold, it shows that time is far more valuable.
