The Fatal Mistake of the Traditional Community

Some of us hold a view regarding the observance of mitzvot, claiming "When I feel it in my heart or understand with my intellect that observing mitzvot is the right thing – it will happen. Until then, we'll live as usual." Those who hold this view believe in the Creator and the Torah and even visit the synagogue on Shabbat and holidays, but the path to full observance is still long. Why? They are waiting for time to do its thing, telling themselves that surely sometime in the future their inner faith will manifest, and their heart and intellect will be ready to take the true step of spiritual strengthening. The problem is that 'sometime in the future' always remains 'sometime in the future'. Time passes, and meanwhile, they begin receiving flyers in the mail inviting them to visit senior homes, and they still tell themselves that someday it will happen.

So, is it reasonable to expect someone to become stronger in mitzvah observance before they intellectually understand the mitzvot's significance, and before they feel connected to practical mitzvot? The answer to this question is found in the Torah itself. After the revelation at Mount Sinai, Moshe Rabbeinu reads to the Israelites the words of Hashem and the ordinances on which they would seal the covenant, and they respond, "All that Hashem has spoken, we will do and we will hear." The question arises why they said "we will do and we will hear," and not "we will hear and we will do"? Normally, you hear and understand things, and then you carry them out. The answer is that the Israelites knew that any guidance given by the Creator is undoubtedly the right and just thing, even if they couldn't understand it with their intellect. They submitted themselves to Hashem and committed to doing His will even in matters that were not understandable to them. Indeed, in the Torah there are mitzvot whose logic can be easily understood, such as honoring parents or the prohibition against stealing, but there are also decrees without reasons or explanations, like the red heifer or shaatnez. This was the greatness of the Israelites – their faithfulness and submission to the Creator. Knowing that the mitzvot came from Him was enough for them to accept observing them, whether they understood them or not.

The approach behind "we will do and we will hear" is what differentiates the Jewish nation from other nations, who were also offered the Torah but refused to accept it. And what is the approach behind the idea of "we will do and we will hear"? To place the will of Hashem at the center and not our level of 'connection' to mitzvot. What distinguished the Jewish nation from other nations is the willingness to change, for the sake of connection with Hashem. The nations knew that accepting the Torah meant overcoming personal desires, giving up certain habits, and internal change, and they weren't willing to accept that.

When the Israelites received the Torah, they understood that there was a purpose to their lives on Earth, and living their lives without fulfilling that purpose is a life without meaning, a missed life. It could be a life full of comfort, unrestricted pleasures, and freedom in a lifestyle unbounded by anything, but from a higher perspective, it's a way of passing time, a life that fails to reach the goal for which it was created. Understanding this, the Israelites saw no alternative other than accepting the Torah. They committed themselves to fulfill the mission for which they arrived here.

The Torah indeed demands change from a person. It demands adopting changes into our lives, examining ourselves, and being subjected to a lifestyle conducted according to the laws of the Torah. It's not always easy, it's no secret. But it's the secret of faithfulness to the Creator. Especially when we don't understand the logic behind a mitzvah and still do it, especially when we don't feel any spiritual sensation from a mitzvah that even seems burdensome, and still we don't abandon it – that's where the genetic makeup of our ancestors is expressed, who were willing to go through fire and water with Hashem.

Feeling a personal connection to mitzvot is important, and it is definitely possible and attainable with most daily mitzvot through study and depth, but it should not be a condition for their observance. The fact that the mitzvot's source is from the one who created us and the entire creation – the King of the world, the one who loves us – our Father, and requires this for us and for our benefit, is what generates a personal sense of obligation to His will and commandments. Belief in the Creator is what should suffice for us to drive us to observe mitzvot before understanding them.

By way of analogy, a person whom the doctor instructed to take a medication or vitamins for their body's benefit will not first research how they operate within the body but will first take them, based on professional trust in the doctor, and only afterwards, delve into the study of health, as every day that passes without taking the doctor's prescription harms the body. And so it is also spiritually – every day that passes on a Jew without the observance of mitzvot harms the soul, constituting a loss that cannot be replaced. The damage to the soul, as opposed to damage to the body, is not a damage lasting several years in this world but is an eternal damage.

So maybe, a bit before buying a walking cane and beginning to consider selling the house in favor of payments for the golden age home, we should do "we will do and we will hear" ourselves.

Read also:

The Reasons for Mitzvot – Why Do We Observe Mitzvot?