Q&A: The Purpose of the Commandments
Originally published:
This is an English translation (via GPT-5.4). Read the original Hebrew version.
The Purpose of the Commandments
Question
Hello Rabbi Michi,
I am a Jew who observes the commandments and see myself as obligated to fulfill God’s command as expressed in Jewish law.
I ask myself for whom or for what I fulfill the commandments. Is the goal to build something within me (it is not clear to me what, but perhaps obedience to God itself has value and makes me a “God-fearing” person, which has value in and of itself), meaning: is it for me, or is the purpose of observing the commandments only for some other need?
Answer
The obligation derives from the duty to obey God’s command. That is the purpose of the observance. The purpose of the commandments is the purpose that He set and wished to achieve. I do not know what it is.