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What does the requirement to beautify a mitzvah (מצוה) up to a third mean—spend a third more money, or enhance its beauty by a third? The Gemara (גמרא)'s discussion reveals a fundamental machloket between Rashi (רש"י) and Tosafos (תוספות): whether hidur mitzvah is measured by financial devotion (yirah) or by the aesthetic improvement to the mitzvah object itself (ahavah). The shiur traces this dispute to deeper hashkafic roots in how we serve Hashem (ה׳).
The shiur opens by clarifying a previous discussion about the Gemara (גמרא)'s teaching that one is not obligated to spend all their money on a mitzvah (מצוה). The Raavad raises a difficulty: the Gemara in Kesubos limits spending to a fifth (chamesh) to avoid becoming poor and dependent on the community, while our Gemara in Bava Kamma speaks of spending up to a shlish (third). How can these be reconciled? Rabbi Zweig explains that Rashi (רש"י) distinguishes between different types of mitzvos. Some mitzvos require spending money (like tefillin that one must own), while others don't (like shofar or sukkah that can be borrowed). Additionally, some mitzvos have a special din of hidur—beautification. Only when both conditions apply—a mitzvah requiring expenditure AND having a din of hidur—does the requirement extend to a third. Otherwise, the limit remains a fifth. The Raavad follows this approach, explaining that the stricter standard of a third applies specifically where the Torah (תורה) demands both financial investment and beautification.
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Bava Kamma 9a-b
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