Q:
Is there any connection between the idea of a purpose of mitzvos is to be aware of Hashem, and the idea that the purpose of mitzvos is to refine our middos?
A:
Question: There’s a statement, לא נתנה מצוות אלא לצרף בהן את הבריות – mitzvos were given to refine people.
I must tell you, every mitzvah has a number of reasons. For instance, the mitzvah of paying if you did damage to your fellowman. It’s a mitzvah, you have to pay. That mitzvah is certainly a deterrent to refrain from doing damage, but you have to know in addition, every mitzvah has an overall and superior purpose, and that is to remind yourself of Hashem.
So when a man pays because he inflicted damage on his fellowman’s property, he must know that he’s paying because that’s the will of Hashem. He’s being reminded of the Creator who wants us to do that. And in addition, it has other purposes too. Mitzvos have many purposes.
For instance, if you see snails in a window, those disgusting creatures that people eat and you know the Torah says not, you can’t eat the shratzim, you have to know one of the purposes of the Torah is to avoid snail disease. There’s no question that Hakodosh Boruch Hu had it in mind. Once the snail disease gets into the body, the snails increase and multiply and the body becomes full of vermin. In some cases, it’s almost impossible ever to be healed. How lucky we are אשרינו, we can’t eat snails!
But we have to remember also that no matter how great are the benefits of keeping the mitzvos, the most important benefit is to remind us כי עם קדוש אתה לה’ אלקיך – you’re a people that’s holy and devoted to Hashem and because He elevated you to be His people, we have to have a special diet just to remind us who we are.
So when you eat kosher, kosher reminds you of Hashem. Like everything else does. So there’s an overall purpose, the general purpose that the world was created, והאלקים עשה שיראו מלפניו – to be aware of Hashem, besides all the individual special purpose of each mitzvah.
(January 1990)
