Kedoshim
PARASHAT KEDOSHIM 5784
Be Holy, For I Am Holy
Kedoshim Tihyu
Parashat Kedoshim begins with an important mitzvah: “Kedoshim Tihyu - You shall be holy”. What is required of us to become holy? As one of the mitzvot d’Oraita we surely wish to fulfill it with the same level of stringency as all other mitzvot, such as tzitzit, tefillin, arba’at ha’minim, matza etc.
The Torah gives a reason for this mitzvah: “You shall be holy for I am holy, Hashem your G-d”. This seems a difficult way to convince people to be holy, after all, how can anyone compare themselves with G-d or even fathom His great holiness?
Prishut
There is a well-known disagreement between Rashi and the Ramban as to the meaning of this mitzvah. According to Rashi it instructs us to “abstain from arayot (immorality) and from sin”. In other words it is a general command to distance oneself from sin and thus to achieve kedusha. More specifically, it bids a person to avoid nisayon (a test), to stay far away from the edge of the pit of arayot. A person who does so by enacting a geder - a method by which he stays far away from the nisayon, will merit kedusha.
The Ramban disagrees. He holds that the mitzvah has no connection with arayot, per-se. It is, in fact, an instruction of perishut (abstinence), in other words we are commanded to be perushim and this will lead us to kedusha. He explains that the Torah forbade eating specific food items (the ma'achalot asurot) and forbade specific relationships (the arayot), but permits eating, drinking, and living with one's wife. If a person overly indulges in physical pleasures, says the Ramban, there is a danger that he will become "immersed" in permitted material pleasures and will ultimately become "a naval, but within the boundaries of the Torah".
The Ramban maintains that unless a person sanctifies himself and abstains from that which is permitted as well as from that which is forbidden, he is in danger of becoming submerged in the world of materialism and physicality and for this reason the Torah commands us kedoshim tihyu, to "be holy".
The Ramban also explains that after the Torah enumerates (in Parashat Acharei Mot) all the forbidden relationships (which are completely forbidden) it also commands (in Parashat Kedoshim) that we should abstain, to some extent, from that which is permitted.
This mitzvah sets Am Yisrael aside from all the other nations.
According to the Ramban the idea of kedusha is perishut, as explained above. In the words of the gemara in Masechet Yevamot (20a): “Said Rava: ‘Sanctify yourself with that which is permitted to you”, in other words, achieve kedusha by abstaining even from permissible things. Just fulfilling mitzvot and refraining from averot is insufficient to attain kedusha.
This message acts as an introduction to all the other mitzvot in the parasha. They are the specifics - the pratim, of this principle, the klal.
Aseret haDibrot
Rashi cites a Medrash (24:5) that relates that this parasha was said to Am Yisrael at Hakhel, when they were all gathered together. The reason for this is that “most of the basic principles of Torah depend on it.” In fact, the Medrash describes how each of the Aseret haDibrot are contained in the various verses in Parashat Kedoshim.
What was the necessity to offer another version of the Aseret haDibrot? Surely they had already been commanded at Matan Torah?
We will suggest two approaches to resolving this question.
A Personal Relationship
I saw one approach in a contemporary sefer - Yad Eged by haGaon haRav Zupnik Shlita. He explains that at this time Am Yisrael had already come to know Hashem. They knew His great deeds in redeeming them from Mitzrayim, from Matan Torah, and from His care from them in the desert. The pasuk thus stresses, “For I am Hashem your G-d” - in other words, I am the G-d whom you already know well, the G-d with whom you already have a personal relationship. Since we are beloved to one another your behavior towards me must be special and different.
This explains why there are a number of indications that the version of the Aseret haDibrot in Kedoshim is more personal than the original. Here in Kedoshim the Torah uses the plural expression on several occasions whereas at Matan Torah the singular is used: “Anochi Hashem Elokecha - Ani Hashem Elokechem”. “Elohei masecha lo sa’aseh lach - Elohei masecha lo sa’asu lachem”. This is indicative of a personal relationship to each person.
In short, this was a new version of the Aseret haDibrot with a more personal connection between Hashem and His people.
We may also suggest another approach, based on the connection between the Aseret haDibrot and the various mitzvot that appear in this parasha.
Avot and Toladot
The Rishonim state, famously, that the Aseret haDibrot are the basis for the entire Torah. Just as the laws of Shabbos comprise avot and toladot - primary categories and subsidiaries, so are all of the mitzvot toladot of the Aseret haDibrot. Thus, the necessity for the extra rendition of the Aseret haDibrot in this parsha is to emphasize that all of the other mitzvot discussed in this parsha are toladot.
Hashem wanted us not to simply perform the mitzvot in a “dry” fashion; He wanted us to remember that mitzvot are designed to purify us, to make us good people, to connect us with Hashem. They are not simply obligations to fulfill. The medium that achieves all of this is kedusha. This is the meaning behind the Torah’s introduction to this parasha.
Let us return to the words of Rashi and the Ramban regarding Kedoshim tihyu. Both Rashi’s explanation that we refer to abstention from arayot and the Ramban’s explanation that it refers to abstention from permissible things, lead to the same goal - kedusha. This is the only thing that can lead to perfection in avodat Hashem.
This was also our intent above. A person should not fulfill mitzvot without appreciating their deeper meaning, their profundities, the kedusha that they engender. This will have a profound effect on him. If he performs them “dryly” he will be happy to find exemptions. If he appreciates them more deeply and intends to attain kedusha, he will grow immensely and will not seek to exempt himself from them.
The version of the Aseret haDibrot in this parasha bids us to more deeply reflect upon the mitzvot. Rather than “Do not have other gods” (which appears in the original Aseret haDibrot), it states more cogently, “Do not make false gods for yourself”. Rather than, “Do not bear my name in vein” it commands more strongly, “Do not swear in my name”. Rather than, the general statement, “Remember the Shabbat to sanctify it”, it states more personally “Observe My Shabatot”. The same is true of many other examples. The approach overall is to dig deeper into Am Yisrael’s consciousness.
Chelek Elokai miMa’al
We will conclude by mentioning one of the Ohr haChaim haKadosh’s explanations of the words, “Be holy for I am holy”. We asked how a person is meant to fathom, much less emulate the holiness of Hashem. The answer is that Hashem created us with a part of Him inside of us. That is how we may emulate His kedusha - we have a part of Him!
Let us consider these matters carefully, strive for kedusha and a deeper attachment and appreciation of mitzvot.
Shabbat Shalom!
Rabbi Gad Bouskila
