I heard all of the following from Timmy Dempsey:
We are G-d’s representatives on earth, we have to be immaculate, we have to strive to be perfect, because we have to be sanctifying Hashem’s name in the world. Perfection is achieved only through perfect detail. Judaism needs the details. E.g. difference between a kosher and a non-kosher or between £15 and a £400 Etrog can be just one dot. But that makes such a huge difference.
– 2 parallels:
i) Buckingham Palace guards absolutely perfectly dressed. Buttons done up exactly, clothes ironed perfectly, exactly rightly fitted helmet, everything about them immaculate. Why? Because they are guarding the queen. They are representing her.
ii) A girl once asked her Rabbi in Semwhy covering x amount of her arm is ok, but x-1cm is completely forbidden. He answered with the following comparison:
Airplanes are amazing flying machines. Only possible because every screw is fastened correctly, because every part e.g. on each wing is shaped at the perfect angle, every wire is wired completely correctly etc. It takes one thing, any one thing to be slightly wrong, and the whole plane would crash and cause a serious accident. Those details make such a huge physical difference. How much more so we have to be careful that we have everything right to the millimeter when we are dealing with spiritual pursuits
