To the Mekubbal or Chassid, the mitzvot are not only categorical imperatives of formal morality, acts of obedience and submission to G‑d. The term mitzvah is an idiom of tzavta - of being joined together. It implies being unified with the very act of the mitzvah and its contents, and thus also with the Metzaveh - the One Who Commanded It. Torah-study and mitzvot thus become the ultimate devekut - cleaving and attachment to G‑d Himself, the uniomystica.

The underlying premise of mysticism is the all-inclusive exhortation of "You shall be holy," a sanctification of one's total being, of the totality of life and the world. This is a premise that precludes perfunctory study of Torah or observance of mitzvot, let alone being a naval bireshut haTorah.

It is the `oil of Torah' that penetrates, permeates and illuminates one's whole being, and transforms man and Torah into a singular entity. Every action, therefore, becomes a vital reality. This consciousness is tested and verified by the concrete realization of the premise that the purpose of wisdom is that it inspire and lead to an application of teshuvah (return to our Divine roots) and ma'asim tovim (the actual practice of good deeds).

The sterile type of life and `scholarship' of the "donkey loaded with books," unfortunately, is quite symptomatic of the modern age and its method of alleged rational inquiry, of `logical positivism' and its atomizing games of linguistic analysis.

The mystical dimension forcefully counters this and bears a pervasive message of special relevance to modern man. With this message we are able to extricate ourselves from the contemporary mind- and soul-polluting forces that threaten to stifle us, and to find ourselves. For it is the tzinor -the conduit connecting us to ultimate reality. It is the stimulant causing "deep to call unto deep" - the profound depth of man's soul calling unto the profound depth of the Universal Soul to find and absorb itself therein. Thus it brings forth and establishes the ultimate ideal of unity, of oneness, on all levels.