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ב"ה

Me? Holy?

Friday, 1 May, 2015 - 2:29 pm

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I’ve got an unusual question for you: Are you holy? I said it’s unusual because so many people don’t relate to the concept and their eyes gloss over when they hear the word. “Me? Holy? I don’t even know what that means!”

What does it mean to be holy? It’s an important question because in this week’s Torah portion we are instructed: “Be holy!”

Rashi understands this verse as being a reference to forbidden relations, “Be holy, by refraining from forbidden relations.” In other words, holiness is achieved by creating a border, a limitation. It’s not only about adding, it’s also about limiting and creating the proper environment for holiness.

Seemingly in an effort to clarify exactly what it means, the Torah continues, “Because I, G-d your G-d, am holy.” Great, that makes it better - G-d is holy, therefore I should be too? How does G-d being holy help me become holy? On the contrary I would think that G-d’s holiness, as it were, is out of my reach!

In explaining the continuation of this verse, the Midrash seems to make it more difficult to understand. “‘Be holy,’ the verse states. You might ask,” the Midrash explains, “can you be as holy as G-d? So the verse continues ‘because I, G-d your G-d, am holy,’ my holiness is much greater than your holiness.”

I see, the Midrash is concerned that I might get too full of myself and think that I can be as holy as G-d. So it’s clarifying the matter; just so you know, G-d’s holiness is greater than yours.

Is that all the verse is communicating?

The Chassidic masters explain this commentary slightly differently. It’s not an admonishment to someone who is too full of themselves; it’s not a reminder that we are not able to achieve a dimension of holiness on par with G-d. It’s to encourage those of us who doubt ourselves: Am I worthy? I’m not holy! I’m jealous of my co-worker’s raise and my friend’s new car! I’m not a holy person! I have an ego, and I get angry; I can be selfish and I don’t always go to shul. How can I be holy?

As a response to this the verse continues, “Because I, G-d your G-d, am holy.” As the Midrash explains G-d is telling us, “my holiness is greater than your holiness.” We don’t have to be limited by our negative traits and ill-informed prior decisions, we have the ability to tap into G-d’s holiness.

The message of this verse then is a highly motivating one - “Be holy,” create a space for holiness to thrive by embracing restraint, even in a limited sense according to our ability. “Because I, G-d your G-d, am holy,” through our limited effort we are granted the ability to soar and achieve according to G-d’s ability.

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