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The Value of Hiddur Mitzvah
by Daria Jacobs-Velde
Good morning. Here we are together on Shabbat haShabbatot, the Shabbat of all Shabbats of the year- Yom Kippur. In preparation for today I was thinking about my life, and experiences I’ve had. During that reflection a particularly wondrous event that happened relatively recently came to mind. In fact, it was something we all went through together. Indulge me, please, as I bring us back to that time, and see how it relates to where we are today.
You know, although this just happened a short while back, I really still can hardly believe that it actually took place, but we all saw it with our own eyes! We were all witnesses. After experiencing the drudgery and misery of slavery under Pharoah, that crazy Moses finally (after 10 awful plagues!) convinced Pharoah to let us go, and Pharoah finally did! … Well, for a time at least. He sure waited until we were stuck between a rock and a hard place, or should I say, the sea and his army, barreling down upon us! My life had just started to flash before my eyes, when the sea slowly parted and we were able to start the trek across. Yes, the sea parted enough that we could start moving through. Okay, so we were able to start running through the sea and at last could try to flee from Pharoah’s army, but I was sure they would just keep chasing us, even once we reached the other side of the sea. Who would have guessed that the sea would return to its original depth once we crossed?! Man, was that close. All I can say is that a power beyond any of us does seem to exist in the world!
Come to think of it, this power doesn’t only operate through such large-scale awesome forces. Actually, in response to the quiet awe of seeing my brother’s new-born son last month, or the amazing perfect intricacies of flowers… and even insects!, I say to this boundless power: Zeh Eli v’anvehu- This is my G and I should glorify and honor that which is beyond me, and any of us, yet runs throughout this universe. Yes. That’s what I must do….
So, how about you? Yes, any of you sitting here this morning…Do you think that it’s worth recognizing and honoring, perhaps even glorifying this unbelievable power, spirit of the universe, oneness that connects all beings? This breath of all life that is the source of our self-realization and so much more? Well, I don’t know about you, but that seems like a pretty daunting task! How in the world do we recognize and glorify something that we can hardly understand or really name? How do we even relate to this awesomeness that lies beyond us, and runs through us? How do we actually connect and relate to such a vast mystery?
This isn’t only my question, actually. I was reading a book the other day and saw that a rabbi asked “How do we honor the one to whom all things belong?”
What’s that you say? Mitzvot? Those things about which we say, “asher kidshanu b’mitzvotav v’tsivanu…?” Those things that some people say 613 of them are based in the Torah? They, at their core, are supposed to help us relate to this mystery we call G? Mitzvot are supposed to help us connect to G? But aren’t mitzvot “good deeds?” Oh…they aren’t, you say? They are practices that help us connect with ourselves, with each other, and with G in a deeper way? They may happen to be “good deeds” but they are more than that? Hmmm… I guess it makes sense.
But you know what? Described like that, mitzvot sound great, but I also struggle with mitzvot. In my Jewish journey, actually, mitzvot often seemed to me to get in the way of connecting to the bigger picture. Mitzvot sometimes appeared to me as a means of checking off “supposed to’s, ” or actually commandments, coming from a G I don’t even believe in. It doesn’t mean mitzvot had to be this way, but that is certainly a danger that exists. For example, I remember noticing people saying blessings before or after eating. They would hurriedly say the appropriate words, eat, mumble through the next set of prescribed words, and continue on with the next activity at hand. They may have fulfilled a mitzvah, but it didn’t appear to me to be an effective method for me to connect more in life.
Last night R. Elliott spoke about the power of creating more spaciousness in our lives, even if it’s just for 2 5-minutes blocks a week. In a case such as I just described, slowing down a little around eating is one place where we can apply this. It will likely allow us to better appreciate the gift of food and the power food has to nourish us. Whether we say ‘prescribed words’ with conscious intentions, offer a blessing or kavannah from the heart, or simply take a moment to sit quietly as we look at the full plate of food while our stomachs are empty, and again at the empty plate with our stomachs now full, we can recognize that there are various ways to fulfill mitzvot.
This more conscious, intentional fulfilling of mitzvot carries with it some kind of embellishment, or beautification. Again, this beautification might be a personal offering, or a more deliberate offering of the tradition. But what we are doing is striving to not simply fulfill a mitzvah. Our tradition offers us many rituals to help us connect with each and with God. What could the world look like if we practiced them by going beyond what is required, beyond our regular way of doing things, with an end goal of making the outcome more beautiful? In Hebrew we call this hiddur mitzvah, the beautification of a mitzvah. For all of us who would like to connect and relate to our experiences in life with more meaning, more gratitude, more awe, and more humility, while surrounding ourselves with more beauty, hiddur mitzvah offers us just this opportunity. Not only that, but particularly as Reconstructionists hiddur mitzvah presents us with a wide framework for making such connections. At times Hebrew and the liturgy might help us bring a deeper level of meaning to our lives; at other times we might find art, dance, or music to be the most effective medium for us. The possibilities are endless. It all just depends on us.
But let me back up a little. What actually is this “hiddur,” and where does it come from? Why should I bother with it, and if I do happen to choose to “bother with it,” how should I do so?
1. What is hiddur mitvah? It literally means the adornment, embellishment, or beautification of a mitzvah, a practice that can put us in relationship with G., however we understand G.
In practical terms hiddur mitzvah is a personalizing, giving of ourselves, and opening our hearts in any number of ways that allow us to make unique, meaningful, beautiful contributions that connect us to G. This might look like buying a challah that’s a little nicer than others. It might mean setting the Shabbos table with extra care and using nicer dishes. During the sit-ins, hiddur mitzvah was practiced by those who wore their best suits. It is adding a different quality, attention, and level of holiness to one’s actions.
2. Where does this concept come from? The value of hiddur mitzvah actually comes from that very experience that I remarked about a short while ago- our unbelievable escape from Egypt and Pharoah, and safe arrival across the sea. It wasn’t only me who said it, by the way. You can read it in the Torah for yourselves- we all said it! Zeh Eli v’anvehu: this is my G. and I should glorify G. The rabbis heard us exclaim this and wanted to know more. “What does it mean for us to glorify G?” they wondered. “How do we do this?” Can we emulate Moses who wrote poetry that we still read today, and Miriam, who took her timbrel in her hand, leading us in song and dance? From these questions and examples, the rabbis developed the practice that still exists today of hiddur mitzvah.
The Talmud (Shabbat 133b) tells us about a R. Ishmael who pondered these questions as well. In typical Talmud-fashion, he had an answer at the ready. “How should we glorify G? Set before G a beautiful sukkah, etrog, tallit, Torah, etc.” He goes into the details of what this would look like. On Sunday, tomorrow, the Bnai Keshet community has the opportunity to help decorate the communal sukkah. Whether you participate in this event, or build and decorate your own sukkah, what will you do to make it extra beautiful?
This year, Bnai Keshet is commissioning a Torah scroll to be written. Why do we need another Torah? Couldn’t we just use photocopies instead of any of the scrolls? They’d be a lot lighter to lift at the end of the Torah reading! From the commissioning of the Torah, to the decisions around the quality of the parchment as well as the quality of the quill and ink that is used, hiddur mitzvah again comes into play
What about something many of us are familiar with? Life cycle events! From the birth of a child, to the celebration of their becoming bar- or bat-mitzvah, to weddings, we have opportunities for hiddur mitzvah. Unfortunately, as with anything, we can go astray even with hiddur mitzvah, getting carried away by the hiddur as we lose sight of the mitzvah.
In their comments, the rabbis offer a solution: no more than one-third of the cost of the mitzvah should be spent on its beautification.
3. Why should I bother with relating to this value?
a. Why should I bother relating to mitzvot, and specifically to beautification of these mitzvot?
Among other benefits, mitzvot contain within them the potential for opening, and connecting with one’s values. But why beautify them? To this I ask: why add beauty to anything? What does beauty offer us? There are many answers to this, so I will just take a moment to let you answer this for yourself. What does beauty offer us? What does the beautifying of mitzvot particularly offer any of us?
Here’s just a little anecdote about a personal experience with this recently: I’ve of course been thinking about this value a lot in preparation for today. The other day I was about to set out food for dinner for my partner and I. There was a little bit of food to go into a bowl. I reached into the cabinet, to our stack of bowls. On the top are the plainer ones, and the very top one was actually a slightly chipped bowl. Now, of course that bowl works perfectly fine, and sometimes provides a much-needed resource. In this case, it was also the most easily accessible. As I reached for it, the value of “hiddur mitzvah” whispered in my ears. I paused for a moment, deliberating what to do. I decided to experiment…I extended the small amount of extra effort to take a more colorful, not chipped bowl from the bottom half of the stack. From that point on, throughout the meal, I was very conscious of having made a deliberate choice to bring more beauty to dinner that evening by not using the slightly chipped, plain white bowl. In fact, extending the effort to use the more beautiful one positively affected the rest of the meal. I was actually quite surprised by the power of this little act.
b. Not only can this value easily change your individual lives, as I noticed it affecting mine, but it can also affect your community as a whole. In fact, this year you have the opportunity to work on exploring the meaning of this value and how it applies to your life together with this very community. The Bnai Keshet Values in Action Committee chose hiddur mitzvah as the value to be studied for the year 5768!
Of course, this value does not only apply to this year, but one can easily see how it is already a part of the community. Just think of the physical structure that this community chose to build as the synagogue. Those who built the synagogue, and many of them are here with us today, knew the value that beauty adds. Among so many aspects of the building, the amazing doors of the ark are a testament to hiddur mitzvah.
4. So how do I put it into action?
a. First of all, you’ll be hearing more about this from members of Bnai Keshet throughout the year!
b. In the meantime: what helps you connect? How can you make a unique contribution, and by unique I mean from your heart. When you and the person sitting next to you do the exact same thing- open yourself to the liturgy, to the tradition, to movement, singing, art, or other forms of expression, you of course each open in ways specific to each one of you. When you light Shabbos candles, set your Shabbos table, study Torah, choose a tallis, choose and use a menorah, give food for the food pantry drive that is happening right now, or create works of art, you each have a special potential for making these offerings more beautiful in a way that only you can do. You each have the opportunity to walk in your own path to holiness. You each have the gifts that will allow you a personalized spiritual practice through hiddur mitzvah. Know that it will not only affect the recipient, but it will also affect you.
So as we continue together with the prayers of our hearts on this Shabbat haShabbatot, this day of Yom Kippur – as we wear ourselves down by avoiding food and water, we also join together in community during these precious hours in order to try to open our hearts wider. Although it may be scary, we want to be living our potential. We want to be free from the gunk and confusion in our lives. We want our prayers heard. We want to feel the power of today. And we want to feel awe in our lives, a sense of meaning, and a sense of holiness. As you know, I, of course, cannot control whether any of this will come to fruition for you. But I can offer you the practice of hiddur mitzvah as a path for connecting more deeply to yourself, those around you, and God.
If you choose to journey into a practice of hiddur mitzvah, may you find yourself discovering your unique, more beautiful path to holiness.
Shana tova.
Good morning. Here we are together on Shabbat haShabbatot, the Shabbat of all Shabbats of the year- Yom Kippur. In preparation for today I was thinking about my life, and experiences I’ve had. During that reflection a particularly wondrous event that happened relatively recently came to mind. In fact, it was something we all went through together. Indulge me, please, as I bring us back to that time, and see how it relates to where we are today.
You know, although this just happened a short while back, I really still can hardly believe that it actually took place, but we all saw it with our own eyes! We were all witnesses. After experiencing the drudgery and misery of slavery under Pharoah, that crazy Moses finally (after 10 awful plagues!) convinced Pharoah to let us go, and Pharoah finally did! … Well, for a time at least. He sure waited until we were stuck between a rock and a hard place, or should I say, the sea and his army, barreling down upon us! My life had just started to flash before my eyes, when the sea slowly parted and we were able to start the trek across. Yes, the sea parted enough that we could start moving through. Okay, so we were able to start running through the sea and at last could try to flee from Pharoah’s army, but I was sure they would just keep chasing us, even once we reached the other side of the sea. Who would have guessed that the sea would return to its original depth once we crossed?! Man, was that close. All I can say is that a power beyond any of us does seem to exist in the world!
Come to think of it, this power doesn’t only operate through such large-scale awesome forces. Actually, in response to the quiet awe of seeing my brother’s new-born son last month, or the amazing perfect intricacies of flowers… and even insects!, I say to this boundless power: Zeh Eli v’anvehu- This is my G and I should glorify and honor that which is beyond me, and any of us, yet runs throughout this universe. Yes. That’s what I must do….
So, how about you? Yes, any of you sitting here this morning…Do you think that it’s worth recognizing and honoring, perhaps even glorifying this unbelievable power, spirit of the universe, oneness that connects all beings? This breath of all life that is the source of our self-realization and so much more? Well, I don’t know about you, but that seems like a pretty daunting task! How in the world do we recognize and glorify something that we can hardly understand or really name? How do we even relate to this awesomeness that lies beyond us, and runs through us? How do we actually connect and relate to such a vast mystery?
This isn’t only my question, actually. I was reading a book the other day and saw that a rabbi asked “How do we honor the one to whom all things belong?”
What’s that you say? Mitzvot? Those things about which we say, “asher kidshanu b’mitzvotav v’tsivanu…?” Those things that some people say 613 of them are based in the Torah? They, at their core, are supposed to help us relate to this mystery we call G? Mitzvot are supposed to help us connect to G? But aren’t mitzvot “good deeds?” Oh…they aren’t, you say? They are practices that help us connect with ourselves, with each other, and with G in a deeper way? They may happen to be “good deeds” but they are more than that? Hmmm… I guess it makes sense.
But you know what? Described like that, mitzvot sound great, but I also struggle with mitzvot. In my Jewish journey, actually, mitzvot often seemed to me to get in the way of connecting to the bigger picture. Mitzvot sometimes appeared to me as a means of checking off “supposed to’s, ” or actually commandments, coming from a G I don’t even believe in. It doesn’t mean mitzvot had to be this way, but that is certainly a danger that exists. For example, I remember noticing people saying blessings before or after eating. They would hurriedly say the appropriate words, eat, mumble through the next set of prescribed words, and continue on with the next activity at hand. They may have fulfilled a mitzvah, but it didn’t appear to me to be an effective method for me to connect more in life.
Last night R. Elliott spoke about the power of creating more spaciousness in our lives, even if it’s just for 2 5-minutes blocks a week. In a case such as I just described, slowing down a little around eating is one place where we can apply this. It will likely allow us to better appreciate the gift of food and the power food has to nourish us. Whether we say ‘prescribed words’ with conscious intentions, offer a blessing or kavannah from the heart, or simply take a moment to sit quietly as we look at the full plate of food while our stomachs are empty, and again at the empty plate with our stomachs now full, we can recognize that there are various ways to fulfill mitzvot.
This more conscious, intentional fulfilling of mitzvot carries with it some kind of embellishment, or beautification. Again, this beautification might be a personal offering, or a more deliberate offering of the tradition. But what we are doing is striving to not simply fulfill a mitzvah. Our tradition offers us many rituals to help us connect with each and with God. What could the world look like if we practiced them by going beyond what is required, beyond our regular way of doing things, with an end goal of making the outcome more beautiful? In Hebrew we call this hiddur mitzvah, the beautification of a mitzvah. For all of us who would like to connect and relate to our experiences in life with more meaning, more gratitude, more awe, and more humility, while surrounding ourselves with more beauty, hiddur mitzvah offers us just this opportunity. Not only that, but particularly as Reconstructionists hiddur mitzvah presents us with a wide framework for making such connections. At times Hebrew and the liturgy might help us bring a deeper level of meaning to our lives; at other times we might find art, dance, or music to be the most effective medium for us. The possibilities are endless. It all just depends on us.
But let me back up a little. What actually is this “hiddur,” and where does it come from? Why should I bother with it, and if I do happen to choose to “bother with it,” how should I do so?
1. What is hiddur mitvah? It literally means the adornment, embellishment, or beautification of a mitzvah, a practice that can put us in relationship with G., however we understand G.
In practical terms hiddur mitzvah is a personalizing, giving of ourselves, and opening our hearts in any number of ways that allow us to make unique, meaningful, beautiful contributions that connect us to G. This might look like buying a challah that’s a little nicer than others. It might mean setting the Shabbos table with extra care and using nicer dishes. During the sit-ins, hiddur mitzvah was practiced by those who wore their best suits. It is adding a different quality, attention, and level of holiness to one’s actions.
2. Where does this concept come from? The value of hiddur mitzvah actually comes from that very experience that I remarked about a short while ago- our unbelievable escape from Egypt and Pharoah, and safe arrival across the sea. It wasn’t only me who said it, by the way. You can read it in the Torah for yourselves- we all said it! Zeh Eli v’anvehu: this is my G. and I should glorify G. The rabbis heard us exclaim this and wanted to know more. “What does it mean for us to glorify G?” they wondered. “How do we do this?” Can we emulate Moses who wrote poetry that we still read today, and Miriam, who took her timbrel in her hand, leading us in song and dance? From these questions and examples, the rabbis developed the practice that still exists today of hiddur mitzvah.
The Talmud (Shabbat 133b) tells us about a R. Ishmael who pondered these questions as well. In typical Talmud-fashion, he had an answer at the ready. “How should we glorify G? Set before G a beautiful sukkah, etrog, tallit, Torah, etc.” He goes into the details of what this would look like. On Sunday, tomorrow, the Bnai Keshet community has the opportunity to help decorate the communal sukkah. Whether you participate in this event, or build and decorate your own sukkah, what will you do to make it extra beautiful?
This year, Bnai Keshet is commissioning a Torah scroll to be written. Why do we need another Torah? Couldn’t we just use photocopies instead of any of the scrolls? They’d be a lot lighter to lift at the end of the Torah reading! From the commissioning of the Torah, to the decisions around the quality of the parchment as well as the quality of the quill and ink that is used, hiddur mitzvah again comes into play
What about something many of us are familiar with? Life cycle events! From the birth of a child, to the celebration of their becoming bar- or bat-mitzvah, to weddings, we have opportunities for hiddur mitzvah. Unfortunately, as with anything, we can go astray even with hiddur mitzvah, getting carried away by the hiddur as we lose sight of the mitzvah.
In their comments, the rabbis offer a solution: no more than one-third of the cost of the mitzvah should be spent on its beautification.
3. Why should I bother with relating to this value?
a. Why should I bother relating to mitzvot, and specifically to beautification of these mitzvot?
Among other benefits, mitzvot contain within them the potential for opening, and connecting with one’s values. But why beautify them? To this I ask: why add beauty to anything? What does beauty offer us? There are many answers to this, so I will just take a moment to let you answer this for yourself. What does beauty offer us? What does the beautifying of mitzvot particularly offer any of us?
Here’s just a little anecdote about a personal experience with this recently: I’ve of course been thinking about this value a lot in preparation for today. The other day I was about to set out food for dinner for my partner and I. There was a little bit of food to go into a bowl. I reached into the cabinet, to our stack of bowls. On the top are the plainer ones, and the very top one was actually a slightly chipped bowl. Now, of course that bowl works perfectly fine, and sometimes provides a much-needed resource. In this case, it was also the most easily accessible. As I reached for it, the value of “hiddur mitzvah” whispered in my ears. I paused for a moment, deliberating what to do. I decided to experiment…I extended the small amount of extra effort to take a more colorful, not chipped bowl from the bottom half of the stack. From that point on, throughout the meal, I was very conscious of having made a deliberate choice to bring more beauty to dinner that evening by not using the slightly chipped, plain white bowl. In fact, extending the effort to use the more beautiful one positively affected the rest of the meal. I was actually quite surprised by the power of this little act.
b. Not only can this value easily change your individual lives, as I noticed it affecting mine, but it can also affect your community as a whole. In fact, this year you have the opportunity to work on exploring the meaning of this value and how it applies to your life together with this very community. The Bnai Keshet Values in Action Committee chose hiddur mitzvah as the value to be studied for the year 5768!
Of course, this value does not only apply to this year, but one can easily see how it is already a part of the community. Just think of the physical structure that this community chose to build as the synagogue. Those who built the synagogue, and many of them are here with us today, knew the value that beauty adds. Among so many aspects of the building, the amazing doors of the ark are a testament to hiddur mitzvah.
4. So how do I put it into action?
a. First of all, you’ll be hearing more about this from members of Bnai Keshet throughout the year!
b. In the meantime: what helps you connect? How can you make a unique contribution, and by unique I mean from your heart. When you and the person sitting next to you do the exact same thing- open yourself to the liturgy, to the tradition, to movement, singing, art, or other forms of expression, you of course each open in ways specific to each one of you. When you light Shabbos candles, set your Shabbos table, study Torah, choose a tallis, choose and use a menorah, give food for the food pantry drive that is happening right now, or create works of art, you each have a special potential for making these offerings more beautiful in a way that only you can do. You each have the opportunity to walk in your own path to holiness. You each have the gifts that will allow you a personalized spiritual practice through hiddur mitzvah. Know that it will not only affect the recipient, but it will also affect you.
So as we continue together with the prayers of our hearts on this Shabbat haShabbatot, this day of Yom Kippur – as we wear ourselves down by avoiding food and water, we also join together in community during these precious hours in order to try to open our hearts wider. Although it may be scary, we want to be living our potential. We want to be free from the gunk and confusion in our lives. We want our prayers heard. We want to feel the power of today. And we want to feel awe in our lives, a sense of meaning, and a sense of holiness. As you know, I, of course, cannot control whether any of this will come to fruition for you. But I can offer you the practice of hiddur mitzvah as a path for connecting more deeply to yourself, those around you, and God.
If you choose to journey into a practice of hiddur mitzvah, may you find yourself discovering your unique, more beautiful path to holiness.
Shana tova.
