In his approach, Maharal is fully rooted in classical Jewish sources. He emphasizes the connection between the moral and metaphysical realms, that the rules for human action and that action as well effect the cosmic order, for the Torah is the order of both man and of the world. Maharal begins his introduction by stating that man, created and functioning in a physical environment, dwells in darkness. He looks for light to illuminate a path to lead him towards the Divine. Although his intellect can serve as a guiding light, it is limited in ability, unable to clearly discern the path that brings man closer to G-d. The Torah therefore requires man to differentiate between activities that distance man from G-d, not accurately determinable by the human intellect, and activities that G-d desires, an illumination that only the Torah and its commandments can provide. Although a most profound and original thinker, Maharal presents and considers his ideas as traditional statements rooted in rabbinic literature.

Maharal was interested in and had considerable influence on Jewish pedagogical practice. This is much evident in Derekh Hayyim. For example, on Avot 6:7, “. . . learning in order to teach, learning in order to practice, . . .” Maharal comments on a Baraita (Sanhedrin 99a-100b), that one who studies Torah without review is comparable to a farmer who sows but does not reap, “nothing is more contemptible, for he leaves his produce to the birds, scorning his seed, and so is one who learns Torah without reviewing his learning.” Similarly, one who forgets his learning is like a woman who gives birth and buries her offspring, “and so is the person who forgets what he has learned . . . which is equivalent to scorning the word of the Lord.” Torah is a G-dly creation, comparable to the birth of a child. Therefore, causing its loss, by not reviewing one's learning, makes one liable with his life.

עם הסכמות ר' שלמה זלמן [ליפשיץ], ווארשא, ב שבט תקצ"ג; ר' ארי' ליב צינץ, ווארשא, ערב ראש חודש ניסן תקצ"ג.