The Maharal in Derush L'Shabbas Hagadol asks why did the korban that Hevel offered protect him from being killed by Kayin for שומר מצוה לא ידע דבר רע? He answers that Hevel was not offered protection from hi korban because Hevel did not initiate the offering on his own but rather just followed in Kayin's footsteps. והבל הביא גם הוא, he also offered a korban, he followed the lead of his brother. The Maharal identifies this as a the definition of הבל (what was just read about in Koheles,) not having one's own existence, but looking for external inspiration and guidance.
We just concluded the holiday of sukkot which is as the Tur notes, parallel to Yaakov Avenu. The middah of Yaakov is emes, which means that he served Hashem equally at all times. This is the message of Sukkot, even when one is a temporary hut devoid of one's comforts, one's service of Hashem should not be altered. In other words, one's service of Hashem must come from within, one's own motivation and not as a result of external pressure. That is the message of the Maharal, even for mitzvah purposes, one's motivation must come from the inside and not from external factors.
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