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Why does hiddur mitzvah (מצוה)—beautifying the mitzvos—appear alongside emulating Hashem (ה׳) in the same pasuk (Zeh Keli v'anveihu)? Drawing from Mesilas Yesharim, the shiur explains that beautifying mitzvos creates yirah and awe, not love. Awe allows us to become batel to Hashem's identity, and through that hisbatlus—not mere imitation—we absorb His midos and truly become like Him.
The shiur opens with an observation about the pervasive theme of beauty on Sukkos (סוכות): the esrog, the decorations on the mizbei'ach (yofi lachem Mizbei'ach), and the phrase "Ani v'Ho" recited during Hoshanos. Ani v'Ho, which breaks apart the divine name, is the source for both hiddur mitzvah (מצוה) (beautifying mitzvos) and emulating Hashem (ה׳)'s attributes (mahu chanun af atah heyei chanun). The central question is posed: if the exact same word teaches both beautifying mitzvos and imitating Hashem, there must be a unifying concept connecting beauty and Divine emulation. Rabbi Zweig introduces a fundamental insight from the Mesilas Yesharim: hiddur mitzvah does not stem from ahavas Hashem (love of God), as one might assume, but from yiras Hashem (awe/fear of God). The concept is clarified through the nature of beauty itself—beauty creates awe and majesty, causing one to feel small and to place the object on a pedestal. This is reflected in the halacha (הלכה) that a melech (king) must project beauty (melech b'yofi tzaruch lih'yos) in order to inspire awe and maintain proper reverence, as learned in Bava Basra. Beauty inherently generates a feeling of distance, insignificance, and reverence.
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Bava Kamma (exact daf not specified), Sanhedrin (exact daf not specified)
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How could Avrohom keep the entire Torah before it was given, including rabbinical laws? The key insight is that mitzvos represent eternal spiritual realities, not just historical commemorations, so Avrohom could access these truths through his genuine search. His entire 172-year journey—even his early idolatry—retroactively became service of God once he reached ultimate truth.
