Kotzk has some interesting
views on the function and performance of mitzvos:
Most schools of thought regard the actual act of performing a mitzvah to be the sacrosanct moment.
In
Kotzk, while obviously the act is vital, it is the hachana or preparation beforehand that is sacrosanct - and
the actual mitzvah act is carried out
on a rather perfunctory level, quickly and without fuss.[1]
For example, the Kotzker
Rebbe was known to have prayed quickly and without any ostensible, undue or external
signs of movement or emotion.
The act does not hold the pearl of spirituality
as much as does the preparation.
The essence and focus of spirituality is therefore
to be found in the build up, anticipation and preparation towards the mitzvah, instead of the ritual itself.[2]
In a similar vein, The Kotzker says that a person should be loved, not for whom they are or for what they have
done, but rather for the type of person they are striving to be.
[1] He
connects this concept, poetically, to the verse; ‘...to bring you to the makom (place) that I have prepared (hachinoti)’ [Shemot 23:20]. One is
brought towards the Makom (which can
also mean G-d) only through preparation (hachana).
The Hebrew reads; ‘velahaviacha el
hamakom asher hachinoti’
[2]
Amud HaEmet p. 58 par. 3
