………”Many people believe that human beings cannot enter into a personal relationship with G-d. According to that view, such relations exists between people, but with respect to G-d there is only obligation: He commands, and we must obey.
That view is as destructive as it is prevalent. Those who think our connection to G-d is one of obligation only – I am commanded therefore I obey – tear the soul out of Judaism. The true Jewish view is just the opposite: Judaism enables finite Man to enter into a personal relationship with his creator.
The purpose of doing mitzvos is not the commandments themselves. G-d does not command our performance because he needs something from us. Rather the mitzvos are the path to reach him. Similarly, prayer is best understood as a one-way conversation with G-d, a conversation for the purpose of deepening the relationship.”
<Rav Yitzchok Kirzner, Zatzal>
