Mitzvot: An Artform

Jewish Mysticism, introduces us to a deeper understanding of the centrality of the Messianic Age and its preeminence over the Afterlife. In addition it also explains the Resurrection of the Dead and its qualitative edge over the preceding Messianic Age.

To better understand what the Resurrection of the Dead will accomplish in terms of the nature of G-d’s existence, let us analyze the relationship between the body and the soul.

Throughout this book we have referred to the duality of our existence. When we survey the purpose for which we exist there are also two goals. From the perspective of the soul, our existence within the physical world is the only way the soul can realize its full potential. The soul – by virtue of its stay in this world — is converted from a “standing” being to a “traveling” being.

From the perspective of the body, however, there is an entirely different focus. Existence revolves around the physical world. The reason the soul enters into this world, from the perspective of the body, is to reveal the potential of the body and the physical world at large.

These two perspectives translate into two totally different ways we look at the Mitzvot, the responsibilities G-d imposed upon us. From the perspective of the soul and its journey, every mitzvah we do liberates the soul from its bodily confinement. Every mitzvah enables the soul to discover a new and deeper dimension of spirituality within itself.

We can better appreciate the two perspectives by way of two analogies:

An actor, artist, musician, etc. are people whose task it is to show their creative abilities. When they perform there are inner talents and artistic potentials that are being realized. But, an artist cannot perform in a vacuum. The actor must have a stage, with scenery, filled with other actors. Even the audience has a share in eliciting the creative talents of the actor. The musician, likewise, has his props. His instruments, his uniform, etc.

When we analyze the relationship between the artist’s self expression with the stage and props that make it happen, it is obvious that the actor’s role is not to affect the props and other surroundings, but they – the props etc. – are all geared to elicit the inner potential of the actor or artist.

From this vantage-point we can view the Mitzvot as the “props” through which our souls (the artists) express themselves. Without the Mitzvot – and the entire material world, the stuff from which Mitzvot are made – our souls would not be able to grow. That means that the soul’s potential needs “external” stimuli. In this formulation, Mitzvot are a Divine “art-form.”

This approach to Mitzvot is what the eleventh principle of faith – of reward and punishment – is based upon. If the belief in reward and punishment is important for Judaism because it implies that we are accountable for our actions, then it should have been formulated as a belief in free choice.

In light of what has been said concerning the role of Mitzvot in allowing the soul to realize its potential, this is really what this principle is all about. We are to believe that a mitzvah is not just simply a good act, or an act that the world needs for it to be civilized, but that our soul’s very purpose of descending into this world and its future depend on what we do in this world. Every time we perform a mitzvah, the soul’s potential is unleashed and the soul will ultimately connect with its source in a qualitatively enhanced manner. Our soul’s fortune (i.e., reward and punishment) is inextricably tied up with Torah and Mitzvot.

From the book Safe Kabbalah, Part Three: Journeys of the Soul by Rabbi Heschel Greenberg, published by the Jewish Discovery Center.