I hear it over and over again – “Mi K’amcha Yisrael” – Who is like you the Jewish people?
Enter the world of mitzvot – our secret weapon. How could that be? After all, what is a mitzvah? It’s a commandment in the Torah, which is 3,500 years old. How could doing a mitzvah possibly make a difference?
So, let’s try to understand what a mitzvah really is. Jewish wisdom says that we were put into this world to have a relationship with G-d. We do it through actualizing our potential, by becoming the greatest us that we can be. What is the barometer for success in this mission? Overcoming our nature and perfecting our character! And G-d gave a guidebook on how to do it – the Torah. It is filled with 613 commandments to help build us.
Every time I control my natural desire and choose the opposite because that’s what G-d wants me to do, I grow. I grow as a person, and I grow closer to G-d. It’s a win-win.
In The Elucidated Tomer Devorah, Rabbi Shmuel Meir Riachi writes, “Our Sages tell us that mankind is a microcosm of the entire world. The world mirrors the deeds of man, which means that we have great power to shape and improve everything that transpires. By perfecting our character (by changing ourselves), an individual can indeed change the world.”
G-d created a world that we can change by changing ourselves. Now that’s a win win-win.
To learn more about mitzvot, join the class that I’ll be teaching for the Konikoff Center for Learning of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater. Learn more and register by visiting JewishVA.org/KCL or contact Sierra Lautman at SLautman@UJFT.org.
First Person – A secret weapon – Mitzvot Matter
