Our Gemara on Amud Aleph tells us that if one successfully overcomes a particular temptation to sin, they will merit miraculous salvation.

Ben Yehoyada explains that this is "Middah K'neged Middah," a measure for measure response from God. In other words, if we, as individuals, choose to forgo immediate gratification of our natural desires and drives for a higher spiritual purpose, God reciprocates by suspending natural laws and granting us miraculous salvation.

Ben Yehoyada also provides an additional perspective on how this act of overcoming temptation leads to miraculous salvation. He refers to the principle that the reward for mitzvos (commandments) is typically reserved for the World to Come.  He argues that God is not violating the Biblical commandment of not paying one’s employees on time (Vayikra 19:13) because performing the mitzvos is not a “job”; rather we owe this performance to God no matter what.  As Hashem says in Iyov (41:3):

מִ֣י הִ֭קְדִּימַנִי וַאֲשַׁלֵּ֑ם תַּ֖חַת כׇּל־הַשָּׁמַ֣יִם לִי־הֽוּא׃

Who has a claim on me from before, that I should repay him? whatever is under the whole heaven is mine.

Yet, refraining from sin represents a unique situation. When someone refrains from sin, they are exercising their free will in a way that goes beyond a standard contract. This choice is fully within the realm of human domain, and God, in a sense, "owes" immediate reward for this act of self-control. As a result, the reward often comes swiftly in the form of miraculous salvation.

The Gemara in Berachos 33b reinforces the concept of free will, particularly in matters related to "fear of Heaven." Rabbi Ḥanina's statement that "Everything is in the hands of Heaven, except for fear of Heaven" underscores that individuals have the free will to choose to serve God or not. When a person actively overcomes the temptation to sin, they are exercising this free will in their own choices and this an “employment arrangement”, requiring immediate wages.

Translations Courtesy of Sefaria, except when, sometimes, I disagree with the translation

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