If all things are G‑d’s creation and all that happens comes from Above, what is special about a mitzvah?

Because as the world is created and recreated each moment, its details are not yet in place. That is left to us.

That is what we accomplish when we do a mitzvah: We connect scattered details into place so that the original meaning and purpose of each thing becomes clear and their divine energy can shine through.

That’s why the most powerful of all mitzvahs is the mitzvah of taking some of the money you have earned through your hard work, money with which you could acquire the things you like—and giving it to a worthy charity.

Every other mitzvah encompasses a specific aspect of yourself and a particular chunk of your world. The mitzvah of tzedakah encompasses all of you and all your world.

Everything you do, and everything that touches you, all at once, moves rapidly into place, finds its meaning, and begins to shine.

And so the sages say, “Tzedakah brings closer the world’s ultimate redemption.”

Tanya, chapter 37.

By Tzvi Freeman