אחרי מות – קדושים
This week’s Parsha opens with the commandment to be holy. Hashem commands us to be holy because He is Holy, and we are to try to emulate Him. This commandment is so important that Chazal say that the majority of the Torah is based on it. There are two basic explanations of what this commandment is referring to specifically. Rashi explains that this holiness is referring to the protocol given to us to distance ourselves from forbidden relationships. By doing this, we will be sanctified. The Ramban understands this commandment slightly differently. According to the Ramban, the holiness that the Torah is referring to here is to sanctify oneself through that which is permitted to him. Meaning to say, even activities which are permitted, such as Kosher food, and one’s relationship with their spouse, one should not over-indulge in these permitted pleasures, but should rather limit himself in these delights. For example, when a person is eating a meal, he must be very careful not to overeat if he wants to fulfill this dictum to be holy according to the Ramban. Or another suggestion given by the wise men is to leave a little of his food over in his plate and not consume the entire portion given to him. Another example where one can sanctify himself with that which is permitted to him is by limiting his idle chatter to a bare minimum. Even speech which is permitted, but not absolutely necessary should be curtailed somewhat, each individual according to their level. Perhaps another common example in which it is easy to breech the boundaries of this kind of holiness is by purchasing too many material possessions. Each person should evaluate which of his purchases are necessities, and which are luxuries, in order to properly guard his holiness. There is a third aspect of holiness which should be discussed and that is the holiness of the mind. The Gemorah comments that the thought of sin is even worse than sin itself. Perhaps this is because thought is abstract, and therefore by definition is limitless, whereas a person is quite restricted in the physical amount of sin he can perform on a daily basis, even if he wanted to. In any event, we find that the Torah demands of us to even sanctify our minds and our thoughts by dedicating them to notions of holiness and purity.
However, the Slonimer Rebbe asks two powerful difficulties on the explanation of both the Ramban, and Rashi. The commandment to be holy sounds like an active commandment – i.e. that something must be done actively in order to fulfill it. Yet both the Ramban and Rashi explain it as more of a passive commandment, to be fulfilled by merely not doing something. Furthermore, the Mesillas Yesharim quotes a Braisa in Sotah which says that abstinence leads to holiness, whereas according to Rashi and the Ramban, abstinence is holiness. The Rebbe explains, based on the Mesillas Yesharim, that true holiness is reaching the level in which indulgence actually becomes abstinence. When a person partakes of the pleasures of this world with the sole intention to serve his Creator, then the physical pleasure which he derives actually becomes a spiritual activity, and this level is called holiness. However, the Mesillas Yesharim goes on to say that this particular level is so lofty, that it cannot actually be achieved by human beings, and can only be given as a gift by Hashem after we have strived to attain it for some time. When a person does achieve this level of holiness, he should be aware that he will be living with Hashem on a constant basis, not only while he is pursuing his spiritual endeavors, but even when he is meeting his physical needs! With this explanation, we can understand why Rashi and the Ramban did not actually spell out the active part of holiness, because a person cannot achieve it without God’s help. Rashi and the Ramban only spelled out the passive activities which a person must do to attain holiness, because these are the only aspects which are in our hands. When we perform this facet of holiness faithfully, we can rest assured that Hashem will help us to reach the active stage in which all of our physical pleasures become acts of holiness.
Parenthetically, R’ Tzadok Hakohen explains beautifully that the same language of “sanctification” is used when a man marries a woman. A wedding cannot take place unless the groom says to his bride, “Behold, you are sanctified to me”. This refers to the two explanations of sanctity that we gave. Firstly, a man is telling his wife, “Behold, you are special to me, meaning that you are now only permitted to me and forbidden to everyone else.” And secondly, he is telling her that she is now designated only for him – meaning that all of her thoughts from now on will revolve around her new husband, and around nothing else. Similarly, when we are sanctified for God, we are now forbidden to run after extraneous pleasures because these detract from our focus on our Creator, and furthermore, when we reach the level in which we have betrothed ourselves to God, all of our acts, physical and spiritual, will be only to please Him.
Perhaps we could conclude with the words of the Ari Z”l. The Ari would explain that the commandment to be holy is strange in that it is in the future tense. The Torah says, “And you will be holy” instead of, “And you shall be holy” like it normally says. The Ari comments that this is to teach us that we must always be looking for the next level in holiness. It is not enough to merely achieve holiness and then stop. We must always be looking for the next step in advancing our level of holiness. When Rav Shach was addressing his Yeshiva one time, he quoted the Midrash which says that the Torah commands us in holiness twice whereas the angels are only referred to as holy one time. Rav Shach explained that the reason why human beings are commanded in holiness twice, is because they have an evil inclination who is very devious, and seeks every possible way to remove any lofty level that a person has achieved. So the first commandment is to achieve the holiness, and the second one is to maintain it by constant struggle and toil to advance ourselves in this lofty trait. When my father passed away, they found in his journal that he accepted upon himself to never stop increasing his level of holiness and to continually minimize his already meager indulgence of worldly pleasures.
May we all merit to achieve continued growth in true holiness!