Mitzvos: “Simply the Right Thing to Do?”

Yeah yeah Shirks this is just for you...
I wrote this in Kislev (I haven't really modified it) so it is a bit old, but since Torah is eternal I figured I could post still...
Btw, sorry the foot notes are messed up, but I don't really know how to fix them.

Anyway, here it is:

What goes through our minds when someone says “it’s a mitzvah,” or some other variation of the phrase? I have found that for some people “it is a good deed,” “brownie points,” or even simply that “it’s the right/good thing to do” are the types of phrases that first come to one’s mind. Some may even venture to go as far as saying, “mitzvos are what Hashem wants us to do to be good people” or “I have an obligation to fulfill them.” There are even those among us who are slightly more sophisticated, and will persist that mitzvos “are how one achieves a good life.”

Are any of these ideas true according to Torah hashkafa? Let us consider various sources and see if we can come to an answer[1].

One might wonder, “Why did Hashem create the world, for what purpose?” We only know this: Hashem’s ratzon was/is the reason for creation, and all we can observe is what Hashem does, not why he does it.

Our human notion of “reality,” is basically that we can tangibly experience it with at least one of our five senses. However, for Hashem, “reality” is him; everything else is merely what he creates.

Hashem’s reality is that he alone exists, and that everything else that “exists,” is dependent on him. In order to draw close to Hashem we need to have a method of peeling away the falsehood of us humans existing independently, and instead, recognize true reality.

How do we change our limited perspective of reality, to the all encompassing reality of Hashem?

Hashem, in his abundant chesed, gave us specific instructions of how to tap into true reality. These instructions are what we commonly call, “mitzvos.” Hashem set up this world as an obstacle course, where he presents us with a world that appears one way (what we think of as reality), and gives us the keys and the tools to transform the world into a world of reality (Hashem’s true reality)[2].

Again, why he did this is not something we can comprehend.

Hashem[3] clearly tells us “וְעַתָּה, יִשְׂרָאֵל--מָה יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ, שֹׁאֵל מֵעִמָּךְ: כִּי אִם-לְיִרְאָה אֶת-יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ,” “Now, Israel, what does Hashem your G-d ask of you? Only to fear Hashem your G-d…” The word “yirah,” could be said to come from the shoresh: reish, aleph, heh, meaning to fear, or to see. So we can read the verse as saying, “What does Hashem your G-d ask of you? Only to see Hashem your G-d [to see his reality]…”

How does one “see” G-d’s reality? That is where mitzvos come in. Mitzvos are specific instructions of what and how to do things in order to see Hashem’s reality. Mitzvos are Hashem’s gift to us, so that we can have glimpses into his “mind”—so-to-speak.

So ultimately, each mitzvah—in some way or another—helps us to see Hashem.

The more we “see” Hashem, the closer we can draw near to him, because we have an understanding of him (although even this is limited). As human beings, this is our goal.

As a nation, we expressed this idea by saying, “כֹּל אֲשֶׁר-דִּבֶּר יְהוָה נַעֲשֶׂה וְנִשְׁמָע,” “all that Hashem has spoken [his mitzvos], we will do [we will perform them] and we will hear [understand].” We are saying that first we will learn how to perform mitzvos, and then through them, we will learn to understand G-d’s true reality (“see” him).

So, to return to our original query: are ideas like, “a mitzvah is a good deed,” or “a mitzvah is the right thing to do,” and even the idea that “mitzvos are how one achieves a good life,” correct according to Torah hashkafa?

I think we can safely conclude that, although all of these ideas have some truth to them, they are somewhat incomplete.

The very essence of what is a mitzvah is that it reflects Hashem’s instructions on how we can draw close to him. Mitzvos function by slowly removing layers of a false reality, in order to allow us to see true reality (Hashem). This occurs whether we personally see it (depending on our individual madrayga), or even if we do not, this change is still happening.

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[1] This dvar Torah is merely one basic understanding of what a mitzvah is; there are many other explanations, but this is the one that currently makes the most sense to me.

[2] This analogy and many of the other concepts in this dvar, were heard from a shiur given by Rabbi Bentzion Twerski. If you want to know which specific concepts he went over (that I discuss), please ask me.

[3] Devarim 10:12