How important is your mitzvah?
Do you ever feel that your mitzvah is small compared to say a holy person’s mitzvah? Did you ever not do a mitzvah because you felt unworthy? Ever do a mitzvah and feel like you were a hypocrite?
Is there a difference between a great Rabbi’s mitzvah and my own mitzvah? Is Moses’ putting on Teffilin superior to the Teffilin of Jack Cohen? Is the lighting of the Shabbat candles by Devorah the prophetess greater then Melanie Goldberg’s?
There are 2 parts to every mitzvah, the body and the soul, the action and the intention, the deed and the passion. The body, action and deed part of the mitzvah is the same for every Jew. Moses and Jack, Devorah and Melanie, their mitzvot are identical, just as holy and just as perfect.
The soul, intention and passion of the mitzvah is individualized. Some know more then others, some are more passionate then others and some do it with more soul. And in this area there is a big difference between each one of us.
Obviously both parts of the mitzvah are important and necessary; however which part is most critical? The Torah is clear that the most critical part is the deed, the action part of the mitzvah. And in this most critical part all Jews are equal.
Why is the deed part of the mitzvah the most critical? On the one hand the deed is the lowest part of who we are and the simplest, on the other hand deed is connected to the deepest part of who we are.
The deepest part of our love can be expressed through action, through a hug and a kiss.
An action can be purer and more innocent then our other faculties. It is also the great equalizer, it is greater then our differences. A child or an adult, wise or ignorant people are equally capable of it.
G-d is neither spiritual nor physical, so being spiritual is not any closer to G-d then doing something physical. When we do something spiritual or physical because G-d desires it then we are getting closer to G-d. To create the physical was a deeper experience for G-d then creating the spiritual, (we need an entire article to explain this one). When we connect to G-d through the physical we are actually connecting to a deeper part of G-d. That is why it is the great equalizer. This is also why the deed of the mitzvah is so critical. So it does not matter if you know a lot or a little, have the passion or the soul. The body of the mitzvah and the deed of the mitzvah is perfect and the same as if it was being done by the greatest and most righteous Jew. G-d gets equal pleasure, joy and satisfaction from our mitzvot as he did from Moses’ or any other of our holy and righteous patriarchs and matriarchs. It could even be argued that He gets more pleasure from our simple performance of the mitzvot. So even if you feel that your mitzvah is not as special as someone else’s, in G-d’s eye it is just as special. Even if you feel like a hypocrite you are not.
I once had a conversation with someone regarding doing mitzvot and he responded by saying that he was not a good Jew and therefore he would ruin any mitzvah that he performed, he would rather I do the mitzvah for him since I would do it right. I explained to him that you cannot mess up the mitzvah. As long as you do it according to Jewish tradition you are fine, your own personal standing and level has no affect on the body and deed of the mitzvah.
The soul and passion of the mitzvah although not critical are very important and each of us should study and inspire our selves to perform the mitzvot with more soul and intent, but that should never stop us from giving G-d an eternal gift and pleasure. Since every mitzvah we do creates an eternal bond between us and G-d, and every bond between us and G-d gives G-d unlimited pleasure, then it follows that every time we do a mitzvah we are giving G-d an eternal gift and pleasure. Wow! Who knew that we in our unrefined condition could achieve so much.
As a matter of fact, by Jewish Law we are supposed to stand up out of respect when another Jew is performing a mitzvah, regardless if he/she is a very knowledgeable, has passion etc. the reason is because when we do a mitzvah G-d is now connecting with that person, through the act of the mitzvah alone this connection is achieved and since this connection is the same for every Jew therefore we need to stand for any Jew who performs a mitzvah.
So next time you have an opportunity to do a mitzvah, (every minute there is another mitzvah we could be performing), think about how regardless of how you feel, what you know, what spiritual level you are at, you can still perform as perfect a mitzvah as any other Jew that ever lived or will ever live. Don’t wait, you can start doing more mitzvot right now. And when you have more time you can work on the soul of the mitzvah.
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Zalman Marcus