…Do Mitzvos?
Well what a Great Question!
Let’s dig a little deeper! The possuk in Mishlei says, “B’chol Dirachecha De’eihu” (Mishlei 3:6) which means that in all our actions we should “know Hashem”. What does it mean to ‘know’ Hashem in all our actions?
The Maggid of Mezritch was once sitting and learning with his chassidim. He said, “The whole world is full of ways to connect to Hashem. In fact you said it last night in maariv!” The chassidim didn’t know what he meant. The Maggid continued, “In maariv we say, Mala HaAretz Kinyanecha – the world is full of Your kinyanim. A kinyan is an acquisition or something that a person owns. You could ‘make a kinyan’ in many ways, by picking something up, grabbing it, making it move etc. The simple understanding of the line is that Hashem owns everything in the world. But,” the Maggid said, “Kinaynecha, your kinyanim, can also be understood as ways to “grab” You! Ways to “grab” Hashem!”
The whole world is full of ways to grab connections to Hashem. Instead of just eating a steak – which is awesome by itself, we bring it to an even higher level by making a brachah, by making sure it was shechted properly etc. A steak, holy? You bet. Instead of simply tying our shoes – something many people don’t even think about – (unless you can’t tie yet… you’ll get it someday)! We “grab “ a connection to Hashem by first putting on the right shoe, then the left, Tying the left and then the right. We just turned a simple task into a holy mitzvah!
In all our actions, we can ‘know’, or ‘connect’ to Hashem!
Then, of course, there are six mitzvos you can do all the time! For example, knowing Hashem is one – yup, you just did a mitzvah by thinking about Him just now (!) or fighting your yetzer hora. Mitzvos are how we try to make every moment, not just awesome, but heilig! A great opportunity to “grab a connection to our Father, Hashem!”
This article was found in Nekuda Tova Issue 19.
