The Essence of the Work in Torah and Mitzvot
One should crave being awarded the reward of a Mitzva (commandment/good deed). This means that through keeping the Mitzvot he will be rewarded with adherence to the Metzaveh (Commander).
Baal HaSulam, Shamati [I Heard], Article no. 227,
“The Reward for a Mitzva–a Mitzva”
When one can aim in order to bestow, this act is called “a Mitzva [good deed].”
Rabash, The Rungs of the Ladder,
“Concerning the Reward of the Receivers”
The work in Torah and Mitzvot begins primarily after one has been awarded repentance from love. Only then is it possible to engage in Torah and Mitzvot with love and fear, as we are commanded.
Baal HaSulam, “Introduction to The Study
of the Ten Sefirot,” Item 133
All the Mitzvot that are written in the Torah or the accepted ones, which the Patriarchs established, although they are mostly actions or words, they are all to correct the heart, “for the Lord searches all hearts, and understands all the inclinations of the thoughts.”
Rav Abraham Eben Ezra, Yesod Morah, p 8b
These were the words of our sages (Beresheet Rabba 44) when they asked, “Why should the Creator mind whether one slaughters at the throat or at the back of the neck?” After all, the Mitzvot were given only to cleanse people, and that cleansing means the cleansing of the turbid body, which is the purpose that emerges from the observation of all the Torah and Mitzvot.
Baal HaSulam, Matan Torah [The Giving of the Torah], Item 12
Our sages said, “The Torah and Mitzvot were given only so as to cleanse Israel.” This is the cleansing of the body until one attains a second nature defined as “love for others,” meaning the one Mitzva: “Love thy friend as thyself,” which is the final aim of the Torah, after which one immediately attains Dvekut with Him.
Baal HaSulam, Matan Torah [The Giving of the Torah], Item 15
If one’s intention in the Torah and Mitzvot is not to benefit the Creator, but oneself, not only will the nature of the will to receive in him not be inverted, but rather, the will to receive in him will be much more than what he was given by the nature of his creation.
Baal HaSulam, “A Speech for the Completion of The Zohar”
The purpose of the study of Torah is to come to feel the Giver of the Torah. If one does not place the goal of reaching the Giver of the Torah before one’s eyes, he is considered “a gentile,” meaning he has no need for faith, that is, to have a need to seek advice for achieving faith. This is why he is still regarded as “a gentile” and not as “Israel.”
Rabash, The Rungs of the Ladder,
“What are Torah and Work on the Path of the Creator”
The purpose of the whole Creation is that the lowly creatures will be able, by keeping Torah and Mitzvot, to rise ever upward, ever developing, until they are rewarded with Dvekut with their Creator.
Baal HaSulam, Matan Torah [The Giving of the Torah], Item 6
The whole of the Torah and the Mitzvot were given for the sole purpose of cleansing Israel, which is the cleansing of the body, after which he will be granted the true reward, which is Dvekut with Him, the purpose of Creation.
Baal HaSulam, The Arvut [Mutual Guarantee], Item 27
By accustoming themselves to keeping Torah and the Mitzvot in order to bring contentment to their Maker, they gradually depart from the bosom of the natural creation and acquire a second nature, being love of others.
Baal HaSulam, Matan Torah [The Giving of the Torah], Item 13
The Creator gave us Torah and Mitzvot, which we were commanded to do only in order to bestow contentment upon the Creator. Had it not been for the engagement in Torah and Mitzvot Lishma (for Her Name), to bring contentment to the Creator with them, and not to benefit ourselves, there would have been no tactic in the world that could help us invert our nature.
Baal HaSulam, “A Speech for the Completion of The Zohar”
By keeping Torah and Mitzvot, the purpose of creation—to do good to His creations—becomes revealed.
Rabash, Rabash—the Social Writings,
“The Importance of a Prayer of Many”
The meaning of the souls of the children of Israel is that they are a part of God Above. The soul cascaded by way of cause and consequence and descended degree-by-degree until it became suitable to come into this world and clothe the filthy corporeal body.
By keeping the Torah and observing its Mitzvot, it ascends degree-by-degree until its stature is completed, and it is fit to receive its reward from The Whole. This has been prepared for it in advance, meaning attaining the holy Torah by way of the Names of the Creator, which are the 613 deposits.
Baal HaSulam, “Introduction to the book,
From the Mouth of a Sage”