Woven through the book of Exodus is Moses' struggle to em- brace his vocation. Yet God also spoke to Moses to reveal commandments. The Ishpitzer rebbe, a student of the Kotzker, said there are two paths to God. At the same time, argues the Ishpitzer, it is mitzvot that enable one to find his voice. Without mitzvot, it is all too easy to get lost in the labyrinth of ego and unredeemed desire.
Divine commandments create a framework of direction and ethics.
Mitzvot are meant to guide us in differentiating between dreams and illusions, passion and pathology. They are intended as a tuning fork that helps us hear and adjust the music of our personal revelations. Only when the private call is forgotten, when the mitzvot we made the. ultimate end, have they become idols.