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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.


 

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