“The orders of Hashem are upright, bringing joy to the heart; the command of Hashem is clear, enlightening the eyes” (Tehillim 19:9)
The Maharal (Tiferet Yisrael, Introduction) explains that the Torah guides a person along the proper path. With Torah, one walks securely, and does not grope in the dark. The pasuk (ibid. 11) states, “They (the mitzvot) are more desirable than gold, than even much fine gold.” Each mitzvah contains two essential aspects:
It is physically beneficial, as is self-understood. All the mitzvot help to perfect a person until he is complete. And it is intellectually effective. Man’s intellect obligates him to do mitzvot. This is what is meant by the above pasuk. The deep, inner Divine meaning in mitzvot is what makes them so cherished, above gold. Precious metals are beautiful to the eye, whereas the mitzvot are beloved by the mind.
Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai says (Midrash Tanchuma, Parashat Vayigash), “Hakadosh Baruch Hu told our nation: Honor the mitzvot, for they are My agents, and a person’s agent is like the person himself. If you honor them, it is as if you honored Me, and if you scorn them, it is as if you scorned Me.”
“You shall safeguard the matzot” (Shemot 12:17). Rabbi Yoshiyah states, “Do not read matzot (מַצוֹת), but mitzvot (מִצווֹת). Just as we are adjured to prevent the matzot from becoming sour, so are we adjured to do mitzvot before they spoil. One should hurry to do a mitzvah that comes his way (Mechilta, Bo, Parashah 9).
The Midrash (Sifri, Va’etchanan 36) relates about a king who tells his wife, “Adorn yourself with all of your jewelry so that you will find favor in my eyes.” So does Hashem tell Am Yisrael, “Decorate yourselves with mitzvot, so that you will be favorable to Me.” This is borne out in the pasuk in Shir Hashirim (6:4), “You are beautiful, My love, when your deeds are pleasing.”
“The entire word that I command you” (Devarim 13:1). The Midrash (Sifri, Re’eh 62) says that an easy mitzvah should be as beloved to you as a difficult one.
Rabbi Chananya ben Akashya says (Avot 6:11), “Hakadosh Baruch Hu wished to confer merit on Yisrael; therefore, He gave them Torah and mitzvot in abundance, as it says, “Hashem desired for the sake of its [Yisrael’s] righteousness, that the Torah be made great and glorious.”
The Maharal asks (Tiferet Yisrael 5) the following: If Hashem wanted to confer merit upon Bnei Yisrael, wouldn’t it have made sense to decrease the amount of mitzvot given to them, thereby reducing their obligations and making it easier to earn Olam Haba? Doesn’t an increase in mitzvot pose a greater burden upon them?
This question is not a question at all. Bnei Yisrael are inherently bound to Torah. Had they been given only a limited number of mitzvot, they would not earn as much merit as they do with the abundance of mitzvot that the Torah offers. Rabbi Chananya is saying that since Hashem wanted to grant Bnei Yisrael much merit, He offered them many mitzvot. Bnei Yisrael are inherently bound to the mitzvot, together with the reward they achieve by performing them. This is a wonderful merit for them.
