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Thought for the Day: Asher Kidishanu b'Mitzvosav

I try to learn one chidush regarding davening each day.  I will try out sharing a thought each day; your mileage may vary.

Why do we refer to all the mitzvos when making a bracha before doing any one miztva? For example, on washing our hands, why not just say, "baruch atah HaShem, asher tzivanu al n'tilas yadayim"? The Sha"ch answers it is because all mitzvos are interlinked; as it says in avos 4:2, "mitzvah goreres mitzvah" -- the performance of one mitzvah is inextricably linked to all other mitzvos.  Doing one mitzvah, therefore, has an effect on the entire system of mitzvos  Chazal tell us, as brought in the introduction to sefer Chafeitz Chaim, that each mitzvah corresponds to one or our limbs/organs/sinews.  It is therefore quite appropriate to realize (and proclaim) that the performance of any one mitzvah sanctifies our whole being.
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