Posted on 09/15/16
Of the 613 mitzvos that HaShem gave us, 74 of them are in this week’s Parsha of Ki Seitzei. I would therefore like to discuss a simple question - Why did HaShem give us so many mitzvos? Actually, if we are going to ask this question we must ask a more basic question - what is the purpose of the mitzvos? The Giver of these mitzvos certainly can have no need for them because He is G.D, what could He possibly be missing?
The Mishna addresses this question as follows. “HaShem wanted to purify the people of Israel, He therefore gave them Torah and MItzvos.” So here we have it. The purpose of the mitzvos is to purify us. The implication of this Mishna is that we are not perfectly pure but through the observance of the mitzvos we become more purified.
There is no such creature that is truly perfect. Every mortal being is going to be deficient, we all have our shortcomings.. Even the greatest people had their flaws. Is there anyone greater than Moshe, the one whom HaShem entrusted the giving of the Torah? And the Torah tells us of Moshe’s shortcomings. To that end HaShem gave us mitzvos to perfect us, to help us become more perfect. The question is how do mitzvos perfect us? There is another question we must ask. If every mortal being is going to be imperfect, no matter what he does, what is purpose of becoming more perfect if we will never achieve our goal of being perfectly perfect.
The answer to the second question is that there is no goal to become perfectly perfect. Rather, Man’s goal is to become always trying to be closer to perfect. In other words, it is the dynamic state of becoming perfect that we look to accomplish not the static state of being perfect. This means that he must always be working to come closer to perfection and if he lives such a life he achieved his goal - he is an accomplished Jew.
How do the mitzvos assist us in achieving this lofty goal? To appreciate the value of a mitzvah I would suggest you view mitzvos as workout exercises and protocols. Let us take the fellow who decides that he wants to keep himself in shape. He hires a personal trainer who reveiws with him his daily schedule and instructs him to make certain changes in his eating habits, in the types of food he eats, in his sleeping schedule and so on. He will also give a list of exercises to do on a daily basis as well specific methods of lifting heavy objects and so on.
HaShem knows better than anyone what our shortcomings are and from where they come. He knows which muscles need to be trained in order to bring us closer to perfection. He is the ultimate trainer. He knows how to train us in being more patient, He knows how to train us to be more selfless, He knows how to train us in being more generous. He knows which foods and drinks are detrimental to our perfection program. He knows what activities will encourage us in our desire to achieve this dynamic state.
We are drawing close to Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. These are days on which our Trainer reviews our fitness program and decides what challenges we need for the coming year. Every mitzvah works, so go for the easy ones and from there the harder ones will come into reach. So grab a few and enjoy the journey.