BY: DP BLOG
In the opening words of this week`s parsha we read:
"קְדֹשִׁים תִּהְיוּ כִּי קָדוֹשׁ אֲנִי יְ־הֹוָ־ה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם:"-
You shall be holy because I Hashem your G-d am Holy.
(Leviticus 19:2).
Much has been said about the concept of kedusha in Judaism, which is often translated as holiness, and here we will present what may only be a simple understanding, yet one vital to our identity as a nation. Rashi on the verse explains that kedusha refers to distancing oneself from forbidden sexual relations and sin; in separating oneself from those things, one finds holiness.
The Talmud in Yevamot 20a extends the demands of what it means to be "kadosh", stating:
אמר רבא: קדש עצמך במותר לך
"Rava said: Sanctify yourself also regarding that which is permissible to you."**
That is to say,the mitzvoth (commandments) of the Torah have many of technical details, like the laws of forbidden relations which Rashi refers to, and surely as Jews we must adhere to them What Rava is saying is that one must read between the lines of all those laws, and when he feels it necessary, distance himself even from what is technically permitted. Keeping the mitzvoth is about keeping the letter of the law, but it also recognizing the spirit of the law and maintaining its integrity as well.
The Ramban (Nachmanides)) explains:
The meaning of this is that since the Torah has warned against forbidden sexual relations and forbidden foods, while permitting relations with one's wife and eating meat and wine, the lustful person can find a place to...be of "the guzzlers of wine and the gluttons of meat", and converse at will of all licentious things (since no prohibition against this is specified in the Torah). He can be a hedonist with the Torah's permission. Therefore, after enumerating the things which it forbids entirely, the Torah says: "Be holy." Constrain yourself also in that which is permitted."**
Kedusha is a state of mind,a philosophy to live by. As the Ramban explains, one could theoretically live the life of a hedonist, and not out-step the boundaries set out by the Torah.The injunction to be "Kedoshim"(holy) therefore demands of us to not only act according to law, but to uphold its spirit as well.
Only in that way may we merit to fulfill our designation as G-d`s "kingdom of priests and holy nation", a מַמְלֶכֶת כֹּהֲנִים וְגוֹי קָדוֹשׁ (Exodus 19:6).
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** translations taken from Rabbi Levi Osdoba, director of the Belle Harbor Torah Institute. You can read find his Divrei Torah here: http://www.belleharbortorah.com/
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