Intention💓 , excitement🔥 and passion ❤️ are the spiritual dimension of a mitzvah and it is common to perceive them as the key to forming a closer connection with G-d🌟✨🌟.

The truth is, though, that this is a misconception🧐. It is not true that G-d is found in spirituality more than in physical reality 😆...

Yes, Chassidut emphasizes the importance of the inner experience of the person and what she feels or experiences in her relationship with G-d. And yet, the connection we forge with G-d through our minds is _not inherently closer to G-d_ than the connection we create through fulfilling His commandments.

In fact, a relationship with G-d isn't created through what we do!

A relationship with G-d isn't possible to initiate from our side.

The only way to achieve any sort of connection with G-d is _on His terms_, the way He permits us to get close to Him. He determined that it would be through _our deeds_, through fulfilling the mitzvot He gave us.

So why bother at all with mindfulness and concentration and intent?

And why would the sages state that a mitzvah with no intention is like a body🧍 with no soul ✨?

Just like the physical body hides the G-dly spark that keeps it in existence, the action of the mitzvah draws down a hidden G-dly light. It is hard to notice the connection that is formed because it is concealed within us.

The intention we have when fulfilling a mitzvah is the soul of the mitzvah. As such, it draws down an incomparably greater divine light and energy than the body does.

Another way of looking at it is through the analogy of water in a cup.

There is plenty of water in the world but the cup can only hold so much. It is limited to holding only as much as its size permits.

The same applies to the words 🗣️of the prayers that we recite🤍.

Words are a limited expression of our rich and deep inner world , like a cup 🍵 that can only hold as much it can, but no more than that.

That is why very often, you have no words to express what your heart really feels.

Your mind knows and feels much more than what your mouth can express. Therefore, your intentions and feelings for G-d are often deeper and greater than what you can ever say verbally when you pray.

The same applies, of course, to any action or mitzvah that you fulfill. Your heart can feel a lot deeper than what is apparent from the deed that you did.

It is for this reason that your mindfulness and intentions are considered closer to G-d.

Your intentions do not bring you closer to G-d because thoughts are spiritual, but rather because the meaning, purpose, and connection we feel when we pray is really where the deepest bond with G-d is formed.

Our intent and the meaning we put into the mitzvot we do is unlimited…

When we do a mitzvah, G-d’s energy and light gets more revealed through the feelings we put into the deed, than from the deed itself.

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Now we will begin to understand the big difference between deed and intention.

As we said earlier, all created beings are divided into 4 categories.

Those 4 categories are further divided into 2 groups:

1️⃣*Inanimate objects*🏺💧 and *Plants* 🌳🪴

Whose physical bodies are all that we can perceive

2️⃣*Animals* 🦅🐘 and *People*👭🏻

Their soul and life force is much more prominent and discernible.

Similarly, the *body* of a mitzvah is divided into two:

*Active deeds* such as giving charity.

*Commandments done in thought or through speech👄*, such as praying or reciting blessings.

Active mitzvot are compared to the body of the commandment. Therefore, they correspond to the two lower levels of creations, which are *inanimate objects* and *plants*, which are primarily seen as just physical beings.

The mitzvot that require intent are like the soul of a body. These mitzvot correspond to the categories of *animals* and *humans*.