Inanimate or lifeless objects ⚱️💦

Plants 🌴🌱

Animals 🦁🦆

Human beings 👤👤

They all possess a body and a spirit.

It sounds funny, but in a certain way, a mitzvah is like any other creation 😉. It possesses both body 👤 and soul ✨.

A soul ✖️cannot function in this world✖️ without a body since it is incapable of interacting with physical objects. This is clear and straightforward.

The same applies to the motivation 😌 and passion we experience in our relationship with G-d. They require a physical action - a mitzvah - in order for them to have any sort of impact or meaning.

On the other hand -

A body with no soul can and does exist 👤. We can see it. It is incapacitated, but it exists in a tangible way.

Similarly, when doing a mitzvah, *action* is what matters most. We were put here in order to influence and change the physical reality of this world.

A soul - even the loftiest one - alone counts for nothing.

To be sure, G-d does not wish 🤚 for us to be lifeless 👥 bodies. We need to add spirit into our mitzvot and make them really meaningful 😍!

A mitzvah performed mindlessly is compared to an inanimate object or a plant, a non-sentient being.

Such a mitzvah is comparable to a person who is, G-d forbid, in a coma 🛌🏻😨, or _vegetative state_. The person is alive but his mind and emotions are inaccessible. Similarly, a mitzvah performed by rote has a body and G-dly spirit hidden deep within but lacks the involvement of the mind and emotions.

We want our mitzvot to reach the loftiest levels possible - like the categories of animal or even a human being.

What exactly gets elevated when we perform our mitzvot with passion and devotion?

Not the object used in performance of the mitzvah. That gets transformed through the act of the mitzvah.

What gets uplifted is your emotions and intellect -

The motivation and driving force that galvanized you to do the mitzvah.

There are two levels ✌️, one higher than the other, that our intentions and emotions can be elevated to:

🔸 The lower level is reached when you utilize your

*Innate intuition and emotion* 💛 to connect with G-d.

🔸 The higher level is accessed when your

*Intentions and feelings are achieved via meditation 🙄.*

First we’ll explore the higher level, “the penthouse of spiritual elevation”.

Someone who has developed a deep, mature relationship 🤝 with G-d

~ Thinks of Him often

~ Meditates

~ Slowly establishes rich feelings of love and awe of G-d 💛🧡🤍.

Through contemplation and meditation, she elevates her mitzvot to the highest category of creation - the level of Human Being.

Humans 🙎🏻‍♀️🙎‍♂️possess developed emotions and intellectual capacity 🧠 and indeed, it was these kinds of emotions and mindfulness that inspires the performance of this mitzvah.

Sometimes, though, your mitzvot are motivated by a love 💗 and awe of a lower level.

Love and fear of G-d at this level are comparable to an animal 🐹🐮 , which has natural instincts and sentiments. Although animals experience attachment, fear, and many other emotions, those feelings are not developed via the intellect. They are inborn, instinctual.

Animals react to whatever brings them pleasure with love and closeness. They react to things that hurt or bother them with hate or fear.

But don’t underestimate this type of bond with G-d! This natural, innate connection is incredibly powerful because it is always there, ready to be called up for Reserve Duty.

Your natural love and awe for G-d are _really useful tools to tap into_ when you are *undergoing difficult challenges* or when you find yourself *in an atmosphere not conducive to meditation.*

Since the love and awe already exists and is constantly present, you don't need to create them or ship them over

They are naturally with you - within you!

Do you remember where we get them from 🙂❔

We inherited them 💰 from our forefathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob!