Skip to main content

The Inner Alchemy of Mitzvot - Arial Netzavim

B”H

Mystical Mitzvahs: The Hidden and the Revealed

The Inner Alchemy of Mitzvot


Adopted from the teachings of the Arizal Netzvim

When you look at the Mitzvot, you might think of them as simple rules: “Do this, don’t do that.” But beneath the surface, they are codes of energy alignment. Each one shifts the frequency of your relationship with the Divine.

There are two currents in this cosmic dance:

  • The hidden current is restraint. These are the passive commandments, the times you hold back, the moments you say “no” to what pulls you out of alignment. In Kabbalah, these connect you to Abba and Imma, the archetypes of wisdom and understanding. Their energy is quiet, like the steady heartbeat of a long-term love. It doesn’t shout. It doesn’t sparkle. It endures.

  • The revealed current is expression. These are the active commandments, the actions, the outward movements of devotion. They connect you to Zeir Anpin and Nukva, the archetypes of emotion and manifestation. Their energy is fiery, passionate, impulsive. It’s the young love that sweeps you off your feet.

Both currents are encoded in the very word Mitzvah. The first half of the word, when decoded through atbash, hides the sacred letters י־ה. The second half already holds the letters ו־ה. This is the paradox: every act of devotion contains both the hidden and the revealed, the restraint and the expression.

Think of it this way:

  • For example... when you refrain, from anger, from indulgence, from acting on impulse, you are tuning into the deeper frequency of love, the one that doesn’t need to prove itself. It is the kind of love that says: I will not harm, because my bond with You matters more than my momentary gains.

  • When you act, with kindness, with generosity, with prayer, you are allowing that same love to burst outward. You become the vessel through which hidden potential becomes visible reality.

In every healthy relationship, you need both. A marriage cannot thrive on gifts and affection if it is poisoned by criticism and contempt. And yet, restraint often cuts deeper than action. To hold back when it would be easier to lash out, that is devotion. To remain aligned when chaos invites you to collapse, that is love in its mature form.

This is the invitation of the Mitzvot: to walk the line between the seen and the unseen, to let your “no” be as sacred as your “yes.” To realize that the Divine does not only meet you in your actions, it also meets you in the space you leave open, the silence you honor, the energy you choose not to release.

When you understand this, you begin to see that every choice is not just about morality or obedience. It is about union. Each Mitzvah is a hidden marriage, a joining of currents inside the fabric of your being and the cosmos.

And so the Mitzvot are not far from you, nor beyond your reach. They are woven into your breath, your impulses, your restraint, your expression. Each one is an invitation to become the bridge between what is concealed and what is revealed.


 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Arizals Apples from the Orchard

B”H Av 5 5758 Today is the Yahrtzeit of the holy Arizal. It’s amazing how Divine Providence works. Over 27 years ago, a man (and now dear friend)  named Jim Damavandi walked through our doors for the very first time. We were still finding our way as a shul in Malibu, trying to figure out how to serve this beautiful, unique community. And then Jim showed up. Jim and I at the Wall in 2003 Jim wasn’t your typical shul guy. He came with, well, let’s just say, a mission, even if he didn’t call it that. If you were around in those days, you remember. He’d listen to my sermon… then call out, “Corruption!” (Yes, really!:-) ), and follow it up by quoting… the Arizal. Now, who was the Arizal? Rabbi Yitzchak Luria was more than just a brilliant rabbi, he was a spiritual revolutionary. He opened up the deepest, most mystical teachings of Torah. He showed us the inner wiring of reality itself, the Divine blueprint of heaven and earth. But let’s be honest: these teachings are no walk in the ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Elul: Returning to the Beloved Within

  B"H Elul: Returning to the Beloved Within Translated freely from a lesson by Rabbi Asher Farkash There are moments when the energy in the air shifts. The month of Elul is one of those times. The Kabbalists tell us, in Elul the atmosphere is no longer the same ,  it becomes charged with the frequency of return. It becomes saturated with the energy of Elul. Elul is not just a time on the calendar. It is a state of consciousness. The Sages gave us a key: The acronym of Ani l’dodi v’dodi li ,  “I am to my Beloved, and my Beloved is to me.” is Elul. What they are really saying is: this month is not about fear, or shame, or punishment. This month is about intimacy. About the rediscovery of love. When you begin to examine your life, when you do a soul accounting, your first reflex is often shame. You see where you fell short. You see the moments when you betrayed yourself. You see the gap between who you were and who you wanted to be. And normally, that realization hurts. It ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Kuntres Eitz Chaim 1

B"H The ancient wisdom of Proverbs whispers to us: “For a Mitzvah is a candle, the Torah is light; and ethical admonishment the path of life.” These words invite us into a deep, spacious mystery, one that calls us to pause and ponder: What is this “path of life”? Is it distinct from the Torah and its mitzvot, or is it their very flowering within us? And why this tender imagery—a Mitzvah as a candle, Torah as light? Let us sit with these questions, allowing them to unfold in the quiet of our hearts. In the Jewish tradition, the sages offer us a lens: a Mitzvah, they say, is like a single candle, its flame flickering, offering protection for a moment. A Mitzvah is a sacred act, a gesture of love that lights up the darkness but fades in time. Torah, however, is light itself—boundless, eternal, like the dawn breaking over the horizon, illuminating all things forever. The Shaloh, a mystical voice, speaks of Torah as a great bonfire, fierce and uncontained, while the sages evoke the ste...
Post a Comment
Read more