Choose Life. Choose Joy. Choose Geula.

There is a powerful idea toward the end of Parshat Acharei Mot: “Ushmartem et chukotai… asher yaaseh otam ha’adam vachai bahem” – “You shall keep My statutes and My laws, that a person shall do them and live by them” (Vayikra 18:5).

What does it mean to “live by them”?  Chazal tell us: it means we don’t die because of them. If a mitzvah endangers a life, with only 3 exceptions, we break it to save a soul. That’s how much Hashem values life.

But the Chiddushei HaRim takes it further. It’s not just about physical survival. V’chai bahem means mitzvot should bring life into us. They should energize us, uplift us, infuse us with purpose and vitality. Deracheha darchei noam—if a mitzvah feels like a burden, we’re doing it wrong.

That’s why the Tochacha says the curses came not from sin alone, but from “not serving Hashem with joy and a full heart.” The mitzvot are meant to be the path to the most joyful life possible.

And yet… It can feel hard. There are 365 “do nots” and only 248 “dos.” Being a Jew can seem like a long list of restrictions. But that’s only on the surface.

Hashem warns us: “Don’t follow the ways of Mitzrayim. Don’t imitate the ways of Canaan.”
And this warning echoes far beyond those two nations. It applies to any society that calls corruption freedom, that masks immorality as progress. But where does that path lead? To destruction. Emptiness. Exile.

Hashem isn’t limiting us. He’s protecting us from the lie of that kind of life.
He’s inviting us to something far greater: a life of truth. A life of light. A life of connection to Him.

That’s why He gave us so many mitzvot: not to weigh us down, but to raise us higher.
As Chazal say: “Ratzah HaKadosh Baruch Hu l’zakot et Yisrael, lefichach hirbah lahem Torah u’mitzvot.”  Hashem wants to give us merit. He wants us to succeed.  Every mitzvah—even the ones we wrestle with—is another opening to light. Another step toward Geula.

In Sefer Devarim, Moshe says: “I’ve placed before you life and good, death and evil… choose life!”  So choose life. Choose joy. Choose Geula.  Not someday. But now.

Because Geula starts when we stop surviving Torah and start living it.
With energy. With clarity. With a full and joyful heart.
And the more we do, the more Geula we feel—and the closer we bring the ultimate Geula, bimhera b’yameinu.