GAW: .
1)To see Aggada sources for this understanding of the mitzvah of talmud torah [to connect with God], check up my previous post (page 4) in which I quoted numerous sources.
2) The Gemorah states that when one passes away and ascends to heaven, the second question he is asked is “Kavata Itim L’Torah”; may I ask, if one can halachically fulfill mitzvah of talmud torah with Kriyas Shema, then why are they asking him this in heaven, doesn’t every Jew recite kriyas shema twice a day,(and for halacha questions he may ask his rabbi)? Also see Midrash in Mishlei which states one is obligated to learn in his lifetime and remember as much gemorah as he possibly can; how does this not contradict with the gemorah Nedarim?
The answer is that there is another primary obligation in the Torah: “V’Uhavta Es Hashem Elokecha” and the midrash asks, how can one make himself love God? Answers the midrash, through “V’hayu hadivorim Ha’ela Al Livuvecha”-by placing the Torah words on your heart, that is how you will naturally acquire love (and grow in love) for God. So it’s actually this Torah obligation which obligates us to learn diligently gemorah and acquire as much gemorah knowledge that we can possibly obtain in our lifetime, as stated in midrash mishlei.
3) Of course halachically one fulfills a mitzvah w/o having an actual mystical kavana while doing the mitzvah. However, one must still believe in the truth of the agadda in talmud which states that when one does a mitzvah he creates an angel. Our obligation to believe in this is obviously learned from the mitzvah of “Lidivka Boa” since one cannot possibly obtain defeykus w/o believing in the mystical aspect of the mitzvos. [There is a clear difference between actual mystical kavana and general belief in the mysticism nature of all mitzvos.]
If all people in MO community really believed in this spiritual nature of mitzvos, then they would be naturally “motivated” to do more mitzvos of bein adam l’makom, and they would also naturally have a desire to be “Mehader” in those mitzvos, [and not seek to be merely “Yotzei”].