Commentary for Kiddushin 61:11
וא"ר חנינא ומה מי שאינו מצווה ועושה כך מצווה ועושה עאכו"כ דאר"ח גדול מצווה ועושה ממי שאינו מצווה ועושה
Raba said, [This may be deduced] from the following: The beginning of Thy word is true:<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Ps. CXIX, 160.');"><sup>13</sup></span> 'the beginning of Thy word,' but not the end!<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Surely not!');"><sup>14</sup></span>
Rashi on Kiddushin
And if this is [related about] one who is not commanded, and he performs it: [That] the Holy One, blessed be He, paid him his reward.
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Daf Shevui to Kiddushin
According to R. Hanina, a person who fulfills a commandment even out of obligation is greater than one who fulfills it not out of obligation. This, I think, is somewhat counterintuitive. Most of us think that when we do something because we want to, we are in some way better than those who fulfill it because they have to. That is, I think, R. Hanina’s point. Fulfilling commandments out of a sense of obligation shows a commitment not just to the particular deed, but to its source.
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