Ahavah Rabah 10: A Meeting of Hearts
ודבק לבנו במצותיך…
…attach our hearts to Your commandments…
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We now ask Hashem to help us attach our hearts to His mitzvos. As we have mentioned, Hashem wants our hearts and minds deeply involved in His mitzvos. Performing the actions of the mitzvos is obviously necessary, but that is not the ultimate goal. Here we are asking for the higher level of attaching our hearts and minds to the mitzvos.
It is interesting to note that we do not say למצותיך–l’mitzvosecha, but rather במצותיך–b’mitzvosecha. If we said the word with a “ל” (lamed), it would mean that we want to attach our hearts and minds to Hashem’s mitzvos. However, the “ב” (beis) changes the meaning to in or with. The simple understanding would be that we are asking for help to put our hearts and minds into Hashem’s mitzvos, to perform them with a full heart and mind (“b’chol l’vavcha,” as we say in Shema).
Perhaps we can suggest that we also ask to feel the d’veikus with Hashem through (with) our mitzvos. As we have discussed in Ahavah Rabah 2 and elsewhere, the purpose of all of the mitzvos is d’veikus with Hashem. The more we think about Hashem, His Torah, and His mitzvos, the more attached we become. The more heart and mind we put into our mitzvos, the greater d’veikus we have with Hashem. Thus, we can utilize both meanings of the “beis” in these powerful three words: Help us to attach our hearts/minds into (performing) Your mitzvos (so that) we can come closer to You with Your mitzvos.
This brachah was composed by the Anshei K’neses HaG’dolah, which was made up of many N’viim and early Tana’im. As we have mentioned previously, HaRav Chaim Volozhin (Ruach Chaim, Avos 1:2) states that whatever we think into the words of our tefilos that were composed by the Anshei K’neses HaG’dolah, already were included through prophecy. Each person may daven according to his personal understanding. This allows us great latitude in personalizing our tefilos, which certainly aids our kavanah and heart. So while we have not yet found any previous source for this second understanding of “b’mitzvosecha,” we have license to include that in our tefilah.
Integrating Mitzvos into Our Daily Lives
We have opportunities to attach ourselves with Hashem by performing mitzvos much more often than we might think. Here is a common example:
When we walk instead of taking the car because we want to get some exercise and remain healthy, that is a fulfillment of the mitzvah of “ונשמרתם מאד לנפשותיכם–V’nishmartem M’od L’Nafshoseichem” – if we have kavanah to fulfill the mitzvah. With mindfulness, heart, and a few seconds of our time, we can grab an opportunity to connect with Hashem and perform a priceless mitzvah.
Rav Chaim Kanievsky was asked if looking both ways before crossing the street is also a fulfillment of this mitzvah and whether one must have kavanah before looking both ways. He responded yes to both questions. [sefer Kaasher Tzivah Hashem, daf 72, footnote 1]
Our brief format of the Weekly Tefilah Focus does not allow us to study the mitzvos in a formal manner. Therefore, we will continue, b’ezras Hashem, to present practical examples of how we can bring ourselves closer to Hashem by seizing many more mitzvos throughout our day with just a few seconds of awareness and mindfulness, and by elevating the quality of our mitzvos by performing them with greater enthusiasm, heart, and mind. May we be zocheh, b’ezras Hashem.