Page 40 - HaMizrachi Sukkot 5784 North America

A Beautiful Etrog or a New Dress?

Rabbi Yosef Zvi Rimon

hroughout the Torah there is a law economic abundance. The Torah even “Abba Shaul says, ּוה ֵו ְנ ַא ְו – be like Him.
of hiddur mitzvah, beautifying the stresses the joy of the festival as a result Just as He is compassionate and merci-
mitzvah. Don’t just perform the of this abundance, from bringing your ful, so should you be compassionate and
T mitzvah by rote. Make the effort harvest into the house (Devarim 16:13–14). merciful.”
to make your sukkah beautiful, your lulav On the other hand, too much economic Hiddur mitzvah is not just about spending
beautiful, your shofar, candlesticks and comfort can lead to us forgetting G-d. more money on a nicer pair of tefillin or
Sefer Torah beautiful. Chazal tell us that a person only rebels as a bigger chanukiah. It’s also about beau-
a result of satiation (Sifrei, Eikev 43).
However, there is a special hiddur with tifying the mitzvot between us and our
regards to Sukkot. According to Rashi For this reason, the obligation of hiddur fellow human beings, for through them
(Sukkah 29), a dry lulav is invalid for use on mitzvah is most pressing on Sukkot when, we become G-d-like. This means offering a
Sukkot because it is not beautiful. Tosafot after the harvest, our economic wealth is good word whenever we can, always smil-
(ibid.) disagree and gives another expla- most prominent. And just as we beautify ing at people, being respectful of other
nation: there is a special instruction to other mitzvot, this too transforms our opinions, listening intently and sincerely
acquire a beautiful set of the arba’a minim, physical wealth into part of our avodat to what others have to say, and so on.
the four species. Beautification does not Hashem, our spiritual wealth. A man once came to Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef
usually impair the performance of a mitz-
vah, but in this case it does. And indeed, Can we pray for money? and said: “Rabbi, this is the etrog I bought
this year.” “How much did you pay for it?”
unlike any other mitzvah, the widespread asked the Rav. “$100.”
custom is to search out a particularly Is it proper to pray for money if you
beautiful set of arba’a minim. Why? have enough money to pay for your The Rav knew that the man couldn’t afford
basic needs? Rabbi Nachman of Breslov such a price and that he could have bought
Firstly, the Torah commands us to take a very good etrog for $20. He asked him:
a “pri eitz hadar, the fruit of goodly trees” says that praying for one’s personal and
(Vayikra 23:40). Chazal explain that this seemingly mundane needs is a great thing “And did you buy your wife a new dress
(Sichot HaRan 233). Why?
for Sukkot?” “No,” said the man. “Hiddur
refers to an etrog. The Meiri thinks that
the obligation to beautify the mitzvah is Even if we attain the thing we are praying mitzvah is very admirable, but observing
solely referring to the etrog. We cannot for without prayer – such as money, food, ‘V’samachta b’chagecha, And you shall rejoice
on your festival,’ by buying your wife a new
deduce an obligation to beautify other success on a test, etc. – we should still
mitzvot because the word “hadar” is not pray for it. Without prayer, the attain- dress is much more important!”
an adjective but a noun. The Ramban, ment or achievement is disconnected Beautifying the mitzvot means beautifying
however, argues that the etrog is the most from G-d. With prayer, however, it rises all aspects of our lives, inside our homes
beautiful fruit, and so we must take the a level and becomes connected to some- and outside, because it indicates our love
most beautiful and “pleasing to look at” thing bigger than us. We link the physical for His mitzvot, which will then bring us
of each of the species. with the spiritual and uplift our physical closer to Him.
It is possible that the need for beauty is belongings to a much higher and more
connected not only to the arba’a minim but admirable plane.
to the entire festival of Sukkot. This is
based on the idea that the more economic Beautifying the mitzvot between each
abundance we enjoy, the more we need to other
beautify our mitzvot. Chag HaAsif, the har-
vest holiday – another name for Sukkot – The Gemara learns the obligation to beau- Rabbi Yosef Zvi Rimon
expresses tify the mitzvot is Head of Mizrachi’s Educational
from the verse Advisory Board and Rabbinic Council.
“ּוה ֵו ְנ ַא ְו י ִל- ֵא ה ֶז, He serves as the Chief Rabbi of Gush
This is my G-d Etzion, Rosh Yeshivah of the Jerusalem
and I shall College of Technology and is the Founder
beautify Him” and Chairman of Sulamot and La'Ofek.
(Shemot 15:2).
The Gemara
then adds an A member of the Mizrachi Speakers Bureau
mizrachi.org/speakers
important point:

40 |