Micah & The Mitzvot

Micah 6:8. It hath been told thee, O man, what is good, and what the LORD doth require of thee:

-only to do justly, and
-to love mercy, and
-to walk humbly with thy God.

Krum As A Bagel writes:

The manner in which Micah 6:8 has been interpreted over the millenia has been problematic from the perspective of those who adhere to Torah law. This verse has been cited as the justification for Bible-based movements such as Reform Judaism and Christianity to eschew halacha. After all, the verse says ki im, these are the only things God asks of us.

My thinking on this is that these (in Micah) are indeed the primary things G-d "requires" of us in terms of determining righteousness versus unrighteousness, and/or fitness versus unfitness. The mitzvot aren't given for the purposes of satisfying some requirement of us in terms of attaining righteousness or fitness. Importantly, I'm not sure that it's even kosher to view the mitzvot as primarily geared toward augmenting one's personal piety. I am inclined to think such thinking is not kosher.

The mitzvot are to enable the Divine Will to act within the world on a global scale. They are metaphysical connectors which enable Divine Action to work within the world of human action, creating a universal tapestry of the human and Divine. They really aren't primarily meant to be seen as pertaining to personal soul development. I think if a person sees the mitzvot as primarily pertaining to his or her own soul status, it really minimizes (and maybe even idolizes) the mitzvot. IMO, of course.

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