Is It Important to Follow Physical Commandments for Spiritual Growth?
All the commandments or Mitzvot are nothing more than expressions of spiritual laws dressed in actions of our world. In and of themselves, the physical acts have no independent power. When a person performs them only externally, mechanically, without inner correction, they produce no spiritual result. We see this clearly in how over generations, people have observed commandments in their external form, all the while intensifying their internal division, hatred, and egoism. This shows that something essential is missing.
Take the Shulchan Aruch. Alongside detailed ritual instructions, it speaks extensively about love of others, about correct and kind relationships between people. But these parts we treat as secondary, almost childish, as though they are not meant for serious adults. Instead, we elevate the external ritual above everything else. For example, the ritual of washing the hands. In its inner meaning it speaks about cleansing oneself from egoism, from the desire to grasp everything for one’s own benefit. It is not about water in the physical sense, but about purification of intention. The same is true of all commandments. Each one points to an inner correction of the heart, i.e., of the intention that we place upon our desires.
It is written that “a commandment without intention is dead.” Intention means the aim to correct our egoistic nature and direct ourselves at the quality of love, bestowal, and connection. Without this inner work, the external observance remains empty. Worse still, it can even strengthen egoism, because a person begins to feel righteous simply by performing actions, while their inner attitude toward others remains unchanged. This only deepens separation and division, even among those who consider themselves religious.
Today we have reached a critical state. The return to connection between us has become a necessity. Without restoring mutual responsibility, love of others, and unity above our differences, humanity will drive itself toward destruction. If we open the books of our sages, such as The Zohar, the writings of the ARI, and those of Kabbalist Yehuda Ashlag (Baal HaSulam), then we will see that they speak primarily about unity, the heart’s correction, and the revelation of the Creator in the connection between us.
The commandments were given as a means to transform egoism into love. If we return to their inner meaning, they will become alive again. If not, their outer shell will not save us.
