You might have heard, here or there, that a big part of
Jewish life is to be holy. Are you there? Yeah, me neither. The fact is that
most of us must, must think of passages with commandments for being holy as sources
of inspiration and aspiration. I am inspired to aspire to holiness. I want it,
and, more than that, I want to want it even more. The ever-prevailing question,
however, is how do I truly attain it?
Talking about holiness is not new, and Parshas Acharei- Mos/Kedoshim
is particularly well known for the conversation, for the repetitive instruction
to be holy for Hashem is holy. The final such statement, in the penultimate
pasuk, has, however, a slightly different tone to it: “And you all shall be to
me holy-ones, for holy am I, Hashem; and I have set you apart from the nations
to be for Me” (Vayikra 20:26).
This isn’t the typical commandment to be holy. This is an existential
statement about the Jewish nation. You are holy and you are separate from the
nations and you are claimed. You, as a nation, cannot be any other way – people
may fall away from the nation, but the nation will always be a holy core that
is irrevocably attached to Hashem. It is almost like a closed circuit in which
one thing leads to another that leads back to the beginning so that all must
perpetually exist together. Rabbi Shimshon Refael Hirsh says: “God has breathed
in us with the breath of life emanating from His holy being. This breath of
God's holy nature is the cause of our ability to be holy, and the reason for
our duty to be holy is against the holiness of God, to Whom we belong, Who has
given us the command to be holy; and who only recognizes us being His as long
as we do not deny our belonging to Him, but show it by striving to attain
holiness.”
Being holy isn’t easy. It’s about action, and thought, and
motivation. It’s about understanding that being set apart from the nations is
because in order to be what Hashem needs us to be, we have to be different. We
have to have a unique identity as those who are striving to make the ultimate
connection, which is not an easy job – and you’re welcome, nations of the
world. We know this is not an easy job because this verse comes after a long string
of commandments that show us how striving to be holy, to follow Torah, comes
into every walk of life – whether that be eating or hiring employees or etc.
It should be noted that Rav Hirsh does not highlight Jewish
exclusivity. In fact, quite the opposite, he says on this pasuk: “It is as one
who first picks out the best from the lesser good and then goes on an on
picking out the good ones; but one who picks the bad out of the good, throws
the bad away, and has nothing more to do with them.” So that in no wise does
Jewish thought look on the choice of Israel as a rejection of the rest of
humanity. It regards the choice of Israel only as a beginning, only the
restarting of the spiritual and moral rebuilding of mankind, only the first
step to that future where many nations will attach themselves to God, and
become His people, and Israel's sanctuary will not only be the central heart of
Israel but the centre of mankind who will have found their way to God.”
Being holy requires separation, but we can never forget our
deeper mission, which is to be a light unto the nations to bring them to see
Hashem in the world. They won’t always like us. They might often hate us. But
Hashem made a promise, and it has remained true, that there is a Jewish nation
that holds fast and strives with all of their might to give themselves to
Hashem, to live truly holy lives – mind, body, and soul.
Right now, in the 21st century, we have many
enemies among the nation longing to pull us away, knock us down, and even make
us disappear. They will not succeed, and if we want to be part of the reason
why, we must act – inside and out – in the path of Hashem.
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