Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai revealed to us how this comes about: through sustained connection, קטירא בחד.
Making It Last
An important aspect of this connection is to meditate upon each mitzvah before performing it. Before a davening, before putting on tzitzis, before reciting ...שמע קריאת take a moment to contemplate what you’re about to do.
And once you have already done the mitzvah... once you’ve finished davening... think about where you’re going. There are so many mitzvos that you can fulfill during your day. We must draw out the deveikus so it continues to illuminate into our day—even in our eating. This doesn’t mean that a person can’t enjoy his food. But there are so many mitzvos that a person can meditate upon. There’s a mitzvah of ידים נטילת. There’s a mitzvah of הארץ מן לחם המוציא and המזון ברכת.
If you think about what you’re doing, you’re connected to the Ribbono shel Olam! If we think about it, there are mitzvos all around us, opportunities for sustained deveikus.
May we be zoche—in the zechus of the Tanna haEloki Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai—that the Ribbono shel Olam should illuminate for us, and we should merit to become closer to Him!
