Comfort, warmth, and a sense of fulfillment in the law

Comfort, warmth, and a sense of fulfillment in the law

"…the religious person is given not only a duty to follow the halakha (law) but also a value and vision. The person performing the duty seeks to realize this ideal or vision. Kant felt that the duty of consciousness expresses only a "must" without a value. He demanded a routine form of compliance, an "ought" without aiming at a value. As a soldier carries out his duty to the commanding officer, one may appreciate his service or just obey through discipline and orders. Kant's ethics are a "formal ethics", the goal is not important.   For us it would be impossible to behave this way. An intelligent person must find comfort, warmth, and a sense of fulfillment in the law. We deal with ethical values, not ethical formalisms. A sense of pleasure must be gained by fulfilling a norm. The ethical act must have an end and purpose. We must become holy."

Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, Mesorat HaRav Siddur, p. 112-3