Awakening the Heart: How Conscious Faith and Joyful Mitzvot Deepen Your Connection with God

Spiritual growth of the heart is reflected in one’s deepening connection with God. Just as physical things have different levels, so too do the dimensions of the heart and one’s inner bond with the Divine.

The qualities of faith, awe, and love of God vary from person to person. Everyone believes, but not with the same intensity. The Daas Torah (on Bereishit 7:7) compares this to a man who trusts a friend — enough to lend him a small sum of money, but hesitates to lend him a fortune. His trust has limits. So too, faith in God exists on many levels. It is like a ladder standing on the earth with its top reaching the heavens: many rungs, each representing a deeper stage of faith, awe, love, and attachment (devekut). Our goal is to keep climbing.

Is Inner Devotion Still Relevant Today?

Though this truth is self-evident, some question the need to emphasize inner spiritual work. They argue that such focus sometimes leads people to neglect halacha, as Rabbi Chaim of Volozhin already warned in Nefesh HaChaim (Gate 3, Ch. 4–5). Others claim that since we live in a lowly generation, engaging in mystical intentions brings no visible results, and therefore, it’s better to rely on simple faith and practice.

However, this argument misses the essence of Judaism. Even in our current state, we are not exempt from striving for genuine inward connection. Every person can find ways to awaken the heart and progress in his relationship with the Creator.

Do Actions Alone Draw the Heart?

The purpose of the mitzvot is to purify the heart and elevate it toward faith, awe, and love. Yet we must ask: how does that transformation happen? Is it automatic — does observance itself refine the heart, as the Sefer HaChinuch famously writes, “After the actions, the hearts are drawn”? Or are there conditions that determine whether our deeds truly touch the heart?

When Deeds Don’t Reach the Heart

Reality indicates that action alone is not enough. Certain conditions must be met, or the mitzvot may fail to influence the heart.

Even Torah study can be spiritually disconnected. The prophet Yirmiyahu (2:8) said, “The Torah-holders did not know Me.” The Sages added that Torah can become either a potion of life or of death. Doeg the Edomite and Yochanan the High Priest are tragic examples.

A person may be filled with mitzvot and still remain distant from God. Rambam (Hilchot Teshuvah 7:7) explains that one’s sins can block divine connection: “Your iniquities separate you from your God.” Such a person prays but is not answered, performs mitzvot but has them “cast back at his face.” This makes it urgent to uncover the spiritual conditions that allow mitzvot to reach and purify the heart.

Awareness — The First Essential Condition

Our sages teach that mindfulness is the key that allows mitzvot to penetrate the heart. As it says (Devarim 32:46), “Set your hearts to all the words that I testify to you today.” Rashi explains: one must focus his eyes, heart, and ears to truly hear the words of Torah. Likewise, “You shall place these words upon your heart” (Devarim 11:18).

Why this command? Because human beings can act without awareness, similar to driving a car. At first, we consciously focus on every move, but soon we switch to “autopilot.” The same happens with prayer and mitzvot. We perform them mechanically, while the mind drifts. Such actions, done “by rote,” cannot touch the heart. The prophet already lamented this: “This people draws near with its mouth and honors Me with its lips, but its heart is far from Me” (Yeshayahu 29:13).

Interestingly, Rashi (Yeshayahu 33:13) interprets “the distant ones” as those who served God from youth, and “the near ones” as baalei teshuvah — those who came close anew. Their emotional freshness and adult awareness make their mitzvot more heartfelt. Hence, returnees are called “close to God.”

Other Essential Conditions

A second mental condition is intent — performing mitzvot with the conscious goal of fulfilling God’s command. The Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 60:4) requires kavanah, and the Ramban (Critique on Sefer HaMitzvot, Command 5) explains that “to serve Him with all your heart” means performing each mitzvah with sincere intention for His sake, not mechanically.

A third condition depends on context. When most people were farmers, keeping shemittah (the sabbatical year) naturally deepened their faith in divine providence. Today, for someone who buys shemittah produce from a store, the experience may not awaken the same trust. Thus, the principle “after actions, the hearts are drawn” depends on the quality and consciousness behind those actions.

When Actions Push the Heart Away

Human nature resists coercion. Forced religious observance — external or internal, can create rebellion rather than devotion.

This is seen in education. Many youth who drift away from faith did not do so for lack of exposure, but because they were pressured without inner connection. Mitzvot imposed without joy or choice fail to nurture love of God — and may even produce aversion.

Thus, teachers and parents must combine “the left hand that pushes away with the right hand that draws near.” Genuine influence comes from engaging the child’s desire and identity, not crushing it.