Rabbi Yisrael Baal Shem, peace be upon him, taught us to be wholehearted in our service of HaShem, blessed is He and to serve Him with simplicity.¹ Of primary importance is not to forget the Commandments we received directly from HaShemat Chorev² (Aseret HaDvarim-עשרת הדברים),³, your God, at Chorev etc.” and to study teachings of Mussar, that deal with developing good character traits and right conduct, on a daily basis, whether one studies a little or a lot.

footnotes: ¹ Deuteronomy 18:13 and Rashi there. ² Mount Sinai ³ Deuteronomy 4:9-10 – “Only beware for yourself and greatly beware for your soul, lest you forget the things that your eyes have beheld and lest you remove them from your heart all the days of your life, and make them known to your children and your children’s children – the day that you stood before HaShem

Make sure to always adhere to good character traits and right conduct and do not let a day go by without doing a mitzvah-commandment, be it a minor mitzvah or a major one. The mnemonic by which to remember this is the verse,⁴ “Be as radiant-Zahir-זהיר from a minor mitzvah as from a major one.” The word Zahir-*זהיר,*which is usually translated as “careful,” is related, in its root, to the terminology of the verse,⁵ “And they that are wise will be radiant-Yazhiru-יזהירוas the radiance-Zohar-זהרof the firmament.” This is to say that the soul should be as radiant and illuminated by the performance of a minor mitzvah as from a major one, for “the Merciful One desires the heart.”⁶

footnotes: ⁴ Mishnah Avot 2:1 ⁵ Daniel 12:3 ⁶ Zohar Vol. 2, 162b; Talmud Bavli, Sanhedrin 106b.