Hidur Mitzvah: Doing It Better for God www.esynagogue.org www.rabbireflects.blogspot.com www.ehnt.org www.jonathanginsburg.net Rabbi Jonathan Ginsburg, Rabbi of the Ezra-Habonim, Niles Township Jewish Congregation of Skokie, is a native of Chicago.

Video Transcription

Shalom, I am Rabbi Jonathan Ginsburg. This video is about the concept in Judaism called Hidua mitzvah which is making something a mitzvah even better. I will give you some example, if you celebrates, you can have pizza around your regular table, watching TV, after you light candles or whatever it is, you do a Aka mitzvah or you can have a nice table cloth, your best dishes, your best food of the week sitting around half way, well dressed and celebrating. And that will be called Hidua mitzvah, beautifying the mitzvah for the greater glory of god or you can buy a pair of filling filatures, you could buy the cheapest set, does not look at some people spent more money on the idea that they want to use their resources and that way to show greater favor and loyalty and beautifications of the mitzvah for god. It is this concept or you can cover your shoe lace, you know jeans, t-shirt or you can come dressed up. Not to show off to other people but to show god a sense of greater respect, this is again the concept that Hidua mitzvah, the first time it is actually used in the bible is when it is described in the torah about Pre eyts hadar, the fruit of the goodly tree which is one of the items associated with to how they have some coat, we now believe that it is an attrogue, it is not clear exactly was referred too in the torah of the best tradition of eating the citron fruit. And some people are buy even more beautiful attro game for he do a mitzvah because there is a great movie out called ozpizim which is focused on this question of having very beautiful attro, now it does not mean you are not serving god if you do not spend your resources in that way. Some people of course get afford to that important place to do the mitzvah. But there is also the concept that we should think about of one were doing a mitzvah doing it the most elegant way possible in order to serve god in a beautiful way to show respect and not just do it slapstick or is easily but to actually put meaning in intent in spirit into it, the concept of beautifying the mitzvah, he do a mitzvah.