Moed Katan 29 "Go To Peace": From Strength To Strength for Moshiach

We end Masechet Moed Katan with the shortest daf I have seen: only one half of amud (a).  An esoteric and meaningful choice of ending, however.

It is not simple for the soul to leave the body, the rabbis tell us.  They use a number of metaphors to help us understand that not only does the soul resist leaving the body; the body holds on to the soul.  

We learn that we should be particular with our words when we are leaving people who are dying and people who have died.  Saying "go in peace", lech b'shalom, is different from "go to peace", lech l'shalom.  "Go in peace" speaks to the present experience of peace that a person has achieved.  "Go to peace" suggests that there is a timeline to a person's state of mind.  We are wishing this person to move forward into a state of peace.  One of the proof texts for this explanation is that the lamed in the word "to", or "l'", is the tallest letter in the Hebrew aleph bet.  Pointing upward, it is directing us toward a place of peace.

Finally, the rabbis praise those who go from the study hall to the synagogue or vice versa.  These people are following the words of Psalms (84:8), "they go from strength to strength, every one of them appears before G-d in Zion".  The rabbis teach us that while we must balance work with study and prayer, we are truly working toward the understanding of and observance of mitzvot when we move back and forth from study hall to synagogue.

In fact, the rabbis suggest, the greatest Torah scholars continue to go from strength to strength even when in Heaven.  They continue to move back and forth until G-d is in Zion and all people will be at peace.

The entire Talmud is predicated on a desire for Moshiach; Moshiach will come only when we are observing the mitzvot; the mitzvot can only be observed completely when the Temple is rebuilt; we must understand every mitzvah so that when the Temple is rebuilt we will be ready.  

But what about those of us who come from a modern, less traditional perspective?  What if my version of Moshiach is simply a metaphor for the energy that will surround us when we are able to do good for each other?  Can I honestly hold that the mitzvot are a necessary ingredient in the coming of that Moshiach?  Does it matter that I keep some of the mitzvot, or am I hastening Moshiach's arrival by "picking and choosing" the mitzvot that hold meaning for me?