Musar for Sukkah 75:1
שירי מצוה מעכבין את הפורענות שהרי תנופה שירי מצוה היא ועוצרת רוחות וטללים רעים ואמר רבא וכן בלולב רב אחא בר יעקב ממטי ליה ומייתי ליה אמר דין גירא בעיניה דסטנא ולאו מלתא היא משום דאתי לאיגרויי ביה:
even the ancillary parts of a commandment prevent calamities; for the waving is obviously a ancillary part of the commandment, and yet it stops harmful winds and harmful dews. And Rava said: And so too with the lulav. R. Aha b. Yaakov used to wave it to and fro, saying: This is an arrow in the eye of Satan This, however, is not a proper thing [to do] since it might cause him to incite him.
Mesilat Yesharim
The first subdivision of the first division, namely, piety in deed between man and G-d, its matter is for a person to fulfill the mitzvot in all their fine details to the furthest extent of one's ability. Our sages, of blessed memory, called these "the remnants of a mitzva". They said: "the remnants of the mitzvot prevent divine punishment" (Sukkah 38a). For even though the body of a mitzvah is fulfilled without them and one has already discharged his obligation, nevertheless, this is sufficient for the general masses of the Jewish people. But those who are Pious must only increase fulfillment in the mitzvot and not omit any detail whatsoever of them.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy