Hiddur Mitzvah.. beautifying ritual connection.

There is a concept in Judaism called Hiddur Mitzvah…beautification of the mitzvah. The Talmud teaches that we can strive to glorify G-d through the way mitzvot are performed, through the beautification of ritual acts. 

At Hiddur we love to help elevate through ritual connection. We make the a beautiful range of contemporary Judaica right here in South Africa with the hope of spreading light and love. Each of our products are made with soulful intention to be handed down from this generation to the next.

The beautification of mitzvot refers not just to physical beauty—it speaks to the beauty of spirit we bring to our rituals. Ritual acts are a kind of relationship, between us and our ancestors, between us and the Divine, and the more we open ourselves to those relationships, the more we can notice and appreciate the beauty in and around us. Physical beauty, in our challah covers and kiddish cups, does not replace the intentionality that generates meaningful connection and inner beauty, but it can be a spark that reminds us to appreciate the beauty in our traditions.

By enhancing religious objects and traditions, we add our own layer of connection. Humankind was created to respond to beauty which engages and stimulates our senses. Artistry adds personal dimension which helps us to enjoy and find meaning in religious acts.

There is holiness in creating connection to ritual by making it more beautiful.

The concept of hiddur mitzvah is derived from Rabbi Ishmael’s comment on the verse, “This is my God and I will glorify Him” (Exodus 15:2):

“Is it possible for a human being to add glory to his Creator? What this really means is: I shall glorify Him in the way I perform mitzvot. I shall prepare before Him a beautiful  lulav , beautiful sukkah, beautiful fringes (tzitzit), and beautiful phylacteries (Tefillin).” [Midrash Mechilta, Shirata, chapter 3, ed. Lauterbach, p. 25.] The Talmud [Shabbat 133b] adds to this list a beautiful Shofar and a beautiful Torah scroll which has been written by a skilled scribe with fine ink and fine pen and wrapped in beautiful silks.

The Midrash suggests that not only are mitzvot enhanced by an aesthetic dimension but so is the Jew who observes it:

“You are beautiful, my love, you are beautiful, through mitzvot . . . beautiful through mitzvot, beautiful through deeds of loving kindness, . . . through prayer, through reciting the “Shema,” through the mezuzah, through phylacteries, through Sukkah and lulav and etrog… [Midrash Song of Songs Rabbah 1.15].

There seems to be reciprocity of beauty through the agency of mitzvot: the Jew becomes beautiful as he/she performs a mitzvah. “But, conversely, Israel ‘beautifies’ God by performing the commandments in the most ‘beautiful’ manner…”

There are many ways to apply the principle of hiddur mitzvah. For example, one might choose to observe the mitzvah of kindling Hanukkah lights with a n inexpensive stamped tin Hanukkiah or one might make an effort to build one by hand or to buy a beautiful one. Some families might prefer an oil-burning hanukkiah, rather than one that uses the standard candles, in order to relate their observance of the mitzvah more closely to the times of the Maccabees, Certainly the mitzvah of lighting Hanukkah candles is fulfilled with any kind of hanukkiah, but by applying the principle of hiddur mitzvah, one enriches both the mitzvah and him/herself.

However, objects are merely material things that last only as long as their intended use…mitzvahs are forever.