A popular outlook among some people these days goes like this: Don't be negative, only be positive. This exists in the religious community as well. Sounds great, no? Words like utopian, delusional, and naive come to mind when thinking of such a mindset, however, sooner or later.
What does the Torah teach us about this?
Our tradition teaches us that there are 365 מצות לא תעשה, negative commandments, and 248 מצות עשה, positive commandments. That works out to close to 50% more "negative commandments" than "positive commandments"!
We are taught that the מצות עשה correspond to the רמ"ח אברים, the 248 limbs/organs of a person, and the מצות לא תעשה to the שס"ה גידין, the 365 sinews. The organs/limbs of the body, of course, are very important. Where would be without them? But imagine a person without sinews, tendons that keep things connected and bound together? A body needs structure and connection.
We are told in sefer Tehillim, סור מרע ועשה טוב, turn away from evil, and do good.
A program of just being positive and not being negative, just teaching right and ignoring wrong, is neither practical nor desirable. It is recipe for disaster too.
Just like חסד needs גבורה to get to תפארת, and אברהם אבינו (chesed) was followed by יצחק אבינו (gevurah - din), to get to יעקב אבינו, בחיר שבאבות (tiferes), so too do we need both positivity and negativity, to promote the good and negate the bad, to advance.
Of course, the negative commandments are defined and circumscribed by the Torah. Being only negative is wrong, just like being only positive is. But in the imperfect and challenging world we live in, a world referred to as עלמא דשיקרא, the world of falsehood, we cannot afford the luxury, folly, and naivete of being "only positive".
So let us do both, according to the Torah's guidelines of course. It is the way to success.
May הקב"ה help us along the way.
