Parashat ‘Kedoshim’ begins with a commandment declared before the entire nation due to its great importance. “You shall be holy” (Leviticus 19:2).
God demands that the people of Israel be “holy.” But what does this statement truly mean? We are accustomed to commandments that operate within the boundaries of the permissible and the forbidden. But what are we supposed to do to be holy?
A common misconception is understanding the concept of holiness in a negative sense – holiness means refraining from things that are permitted to others. Why is this a mistake? Because that which is forbidden is a transgression, and that which is obligatory is a commandment. So, where does holiness fit into our daily lives?
Rambam (Maimonides), the greatest halachic authority of all generations, rejects the view that holiness demands withdrawal from the world, self-denial, and separation from society. In his well-known words, God did not create a person to detach from humanity and live in isolation. He supports this with the verse: “He did not create it a waste; He formed it to be inhabited” (Isaiah 45:18).
The incorrect use of the term “holiness” is one of the major stumbling blocks for those who have not correctly understood the purpose of creation. For example, no person is exempt from the commandment of marriage, despite the potentially negative, materialistic connotation it may carry.
According to Judaism, married life is neither the opposite of holiness nor in conflict with abstinence. On the contrary, when a Jewish man marries, he says to his wife, “You are hereby sanctified to me” because a life of mutual respect and giving is true holiness.
Jewish celibacy is the opposite of holiness
While in Christianity, Catholic and Orthodox priests are obligated to remain celibate and are forbidden to marry, in Judaism a life of celibacy and abstinence is the opposite of holiness.
When a person fulfills the purpose of creation with proper intent, and when his actions reflect his obligations to both his creator and to other people (the realms of bein adam laMakom and bein adam le’chavero), this is holiness. As the Rambam writes:
“One who follows this path all his days serves God continually – even when engaged in business, even during intimacy – because his intent in all he does is to meet his needs so that his body will be sound and able to serve God… About this the sages commanded: ‘Let all your actions be for the sake of heaven.’ And as Solomon said in his wisdom: ‘In all your ways, acknowledge Him’” (Rambam, Hilchot De’ot 3:2–3).
When a person earns a living honestly to provide for himself and his family and blesses and thanks the creator for all the good – that is holiness in its purest form. According to Kabbalah, holiness dwells only in a joyful heart. Any other kind of conduct is the opposite of holiness, especially if someone’s life in abstinence brings sorrow to his loved ones and those around him.
Hassidic rabbis would often hold festive meals together with their followers and, through joy and spiritual elevation, would teach the masses how to turn a physical act into sacred service, like the service of the kohen in the Temple. From this ideal emerged the widespread hassidic custom of the tish.
Our sages said that in the absence of the Holy Temple, a person’s table serves as an altar and atones for sins (Talmud Bavli, “Menachot,” 96). Consider this: Not fasting or self-denial, but the table – that is what atones. The table, like the one in the Temple, symbolizes sanctified materialism. Even within the Temple, a table stood with loaves of bread upon it.
“You shall be holy.” The midrash on our portion says, “You might think [you can be] like Me; therefore it says, ‘for I, the Lord, am holy’ – My holiness is above your holiness.” These words of our sages seem puzzling. Could anyone truly imagine being as holy “as Him” (as God)? But the explanation is that God is clarifying the type of holiness He expects from us.
Don’t aim for lofty, angelic separation “like Mine” but live a human holiness – the kind of life for which I created the world. ■
The writer is the rabbi of the Western Wall and Holy Sites.