Our Gemara on Amud Beis references the tragic death of Aharon’s two sons, Nadav and Avihu, on the day of the inauguration of the Mishkan, and quotes Moshe’s cryptic words of consolation (Vayikra 10:3):

“This is what Hashem meant by saying: Through those near to Me I show Myself holy, and gain glory before all the people.”

The traditional way to understand Moshe’s message was that Hashem holds the righteous to a higher standard, and even small mistakes may have severe consequences. The consolation was to allow Aharon to feel that his sons didn’t die because they sinned in an ordinary manner. They were actually righteous, and because of that suffered an extraordinary judgment. In addition, others will learn to fear God by the fact that even a small transgression caused consequences (see Rashi ibid and Chovos Halevavos, Shaar Shelishi, Shaar Avodas Elokim 6).

This is tied into a similar principle (Bava Kamma 50a):

“‘And around Him it storms [nisara] mightily’ (Psalms 50:3). This teaches that the Holy One, Blessed be He, is scrupulous with those around Him, i.e., the righteous, even to the extent of a hairsbreadth [hasa’ara], so that even minor transgressions elicit a severe punishment.”

This is a difficult concept, as it seems too much like the adage “no good deed goes unpunished.” The Shittah Mekubetzes (Bava Metzia 32b) offers a pashut explanation: If one is more learned, he is expected to know more, and therefore even what is technically accidental or by omission is considered a transgression.

Be’er Mayim Chaim (Bereishis 1:1) offers a deeper theological explanation.

First, he sharpens the question. If anything, justice should be served by being more forgiving of the righteous, because they are more beloved by God. (My comment: That’s not justice; it’s favoritism. But I think he means they have more merit and better intentions.)

Be’er Mayim turns everything around so that it actually is justice that the tzaddikim are judged more harshly. Not all souls are created equal, and the degree of purification necessary for a soul to return to its source varies. He explains that this is why there are many more mitzvos and hiddurim (additional refinements) beyond the 613 commandments. There may be mitzvos of character refinement that are beyond the letter of the law.

Here is where it gets interesting. Typically, one would consider those extra legal refinements as spiritual “extra credit.” If he does them, wonderful; if not, it’s a lost opportunity, but no catastrophe. However, according to Be’er Mayim Chaim, since this person’s soul is on a different level, failure to do these refined acts that speak to that person’s soul are the equivalent of sin; the soul has not been refined enough for it to return to its proper spiritual place. For a person on a higher level, the refinements and extra credits are actually an obligation.

This places responsibility upon each person to fulfill their spiritual potential, and not doing so is not merely a lack of extra credit, but essentially a sin on their level. This makes sense because we would say the other way as well. Would we not exempt a person from certain commandments if, due to illness or mental shortcomings beyond their control, they were unable to fulfill them? If we could say that a person might be less obligated in certain mitzvos because of their physical or emotional makeup, why would we not say that they are obligated to do more if they have a more refined physical and/or emotional makeup? This unique perspective of the Be’er Mayim Chaim compels us to look at ourselves and our mitzvos differently.