PLUS – Parsha Questions and Answers

Although the website started off with a focus on mitzvos, commandments, however it then branched off to also discussing about the weekly Parsha, Torah reading. This was done in the form Questions and Answers. Please see the titles in the menu or place the word you are after in the search bar.

Further pages were then added – Bringing the Parsha alive that provides Real examples from the weekly parsha how to get children involved in discussing the parsha. Also, Living with Torah – Jewish Months that provides Insightful Jewish thought into the months and events of the Jewish year

Introduction – What is Living with Mitzvos?

By “Living with Mitzvos” we refer to doing the action of the mitzvah, the 613 commandments of the Torah, not just mechanically, but mindfully. To focus on what one is doing with understanding and insights touching the depths of the mitzvah, commandment, thus doing the action of the mitzvah with greater enthusiasm and awareness.

How can I come onto Living with Mitzvos?

One of the keys to this is to learn ta’amei hamitzvos – the reasons for the mitzvos, commandments.  The hebrew word “Taam” means taste as well as reason. The reasons we know for some of the mitzvos are a taste of their essence.  Knowledge of ta’amei hamitzvos, the reason of the commandments, gives meaning and purpose to the physical actions.

After knowing, comes doing

Besides knowledge and the intellectual side of the mitzvos, commandments, there are levels in how we perform them. There are three basic areas of human activity- thought, speech and physical action. Think of an architect and his process. First comes the idea in thought. Then he speaks it out until finally it gets drawn in action and then carried out. However, when we carry out a mitzva, commandment, we tend to just do the lowest level of carrying out the action and leave it at that.

This is the minimum requirement for fulfilling the mitzva, commandment, but it can be a mechanical and robotic action. Instead, a person needs to add these higher levels and ascend the spiritual ladder. Adding the activity of speech to the mitzvah (e.g. by making a brocha) means that a person is more aware of what he is about to do. However, even speech can get to becoming mechanical. Thought is an even higher level where we don’t just know what we are about to do, but we are focused on the significance and meaning of our action before and when it commences.

There is a special prayer in the siddur, prayer book, to say before putting on tallis and tefillin. Saying this prayer with kavana – focused intent – involves the activities of both thought and speech, before the action is done. In this prayer, we mention the source of the mitzva i.e. the posuk in the Torah and the meaning behind the mitzva. This makes this whole experience much more meaningful and inspirational.

Even Higher levels of Living with mitzvos

Once a person is involving his thoughts and speech together with the action of performing a mitzva, commandment, there is an additional factor that can fundamentally affect the mitzva. This is the state of mind with which it is done – sadly or with happiness.

What is the benefit of mitzvos?

There is no benefit to Hashem from mitzvos, commandments, only to man. There is a reason for every mitzva, taamei hamitzvos, reason for the commandments, that comes to assist a person is his living with mitzvos. The mitzvos, commandments, come to purify and better a person raising him to new spiritual levels through doing them. The word taam, means reason as well as taste since they come to spice up and give meaning to understanding the mitzvos. Although there are chukim, statutes,  the Chinuch (Mitzva 545) explains that this does not mean that they have no reasons but rather we cannot fathom their great depths.

Our approach to all mitzvos

The main example of this is seen in the chok, statute, is seen in the commandment  of Pora Aduma, the red heifer. Although King Shlomo, the wisest of men, attempted to fathom it’s depths, he felt he was still far away from grasping it. However, it was revealed to Moshe (Midrash Chukas). The Torah phrases this as “Zois Chukas HaTorah“, this is the statute of the (whole) Torah to teach us that we should approach all the mitzvos in the same way and treat them as chok’s. The Sfas Emes says that this is why it is called “tamei hamitzva“, since the main meaning is not reason but taste. The main approach to mitzvos is to treat them as annulling our reasoning to Hashem and being submissive to his desires that are seen in the mitzvos. We are to do them unquestioningly despite not understanding why. However, this is a very high level and a person must take things in stages and know where they are holding.