25 Apr KEDOSHIM: KEDOSHIM TEHIYU

It states in this week’s
parashah, Kedoshim Tehiyu, “You shall be
holy.” A similar pasuk is (Vayikra 11:49),
“Vehiskadashtem Vihisim Kedoshim,”
“Sanctify yourself, and you shall become
holy.” The Chasam Sofer zt’l translates the
latter pasuk “Pretend you are holy and you
will become holy.” This is an important
piece of advice. Above we have discussed
becoming holy through Torah study. The
Chasam Sofer tells us another way to reach
this. One should pretend that he is holy, and
he will be holy.
Think about how those who fear Hashem
would act and act that way as well. It may
begin shelo l’shmah, but Chazal say “Mitoch
Shelo L’shmah Ba L’shmah” eventually it
will be l’shmah.
The Chinuch (mitzvah 16) writes, “Don’t
ask me, my children, why Hashem gave us
so many mitzvos to remember the miracles
of yetzias Mitzrayim? Wouldn’t one mitzvah
be sufficient to commemorate the miracle
and that the memory never cease from our
children? This isn’t a wise question. Your
youthfulness brought you to ask such a
question. Now, my son, pay attention and
listen to what I tell you. A person becomes

what he does. His heart and thoughts follow
his actions, whether good or bad. Even a
total rasha whose thoughts are corrupt all
day long, if he devotes himself to studying
Torah with hasmadah and to keep the
mitzvos, even when his intentions aren’t
l’shem Shamayim, he will immediately
change, and he will begin becoming
righteous. This is because the heart is drawn
after one’s deeds. If a person is a perfect
tzaddik, his heart is pure and straight, he
desires Torah and mitzvos; however, if he is
busy doing corrupt deeds, even if only by
force, with time, he will abandon his
righteous ways and become a total rasha. It
is known and true that a person is influenced
by his deeds. Therefore, Chazal (Makos 23:)
say, ‘Hakadosh Baruch Hu wanted to give
merits to Bnei Yisrael, so He gave them a
large Torah with many mitzvos.’ This is so
we will always be occupied with Torah and
mitzvos, and then it will be good for us in
the end. The good deeds will make us
righteous, and we will inherit eternal life.
Therefore, pay close attention to what you
do because your deeds influence you and
draw your heart. After you know all of this,
you won’t ask me why we have many
mitzvos to remember yetzias Mitzrayim. We
do many deeds in memory of yetzias
Mitzrayim, which will cause us to remember,
as we explained.”

Rebbe Yochanan of Stolin zt’l said that this
Chinuch is the foundation of chassidus. As
the Chasam Sofer taught, “Pretend that you
are holy, and you will become holy.” Your
good deeds will influence how you think and
who you will become.
The Or HaChaim was once a guest in the
home of simple, G-d fearing people, and he

couldn’t understand why he felt a strong
aura of kedushah in their home. At first, he
thought they were from the thirty-six hidden
tzaddikim, but he soon realized that it wasn’t
so. “So where did this holiness come from?”
he wondered.
One day, the family was reminiscing about a
wealthy guest who visited their home.
The guest was an old, wealthy man, and the
family would honor him immensely. Every
time he came, the elderly man brought
valuable gifts to each family member.
However, there was one issue with
which they didn’t see eye to eye. The
family enjoyed serving Hashem with
passion, and this upset the elderly man.
He believed fervor should be inside
one’s heart. Externally, he felt, one
should serve Hashem without any signs
of enthusiasm.
On one of his visits the old man said,
“Why do you say birchas hamazon so
loud? Hashem hears quiet brachos too.
Furthermore, your zealous ways make
your guests feel uncomfortable and
embarrassed because they feel they
aren’t as frum as you are. In my opinion,
it is wrong to say birchas hamazon so
loudly.”
The family accepted his mussar and
betnched in silence.
The old man was pleased that they
listened to him and gave each of them
another gift.
Sometime later, the old man returned,
and as always, he gave costly gifts to
each family member. On Friday night,
the family began to sing Shalom
Aleichem joyously and loudly, and the
old man became edgy once again.
“There’s no reason for all this fervor!”
he shouted. “Say it silently!” and the
family obeyed.
The old man gave them some more
presents.
One year, the old man showed up in their

home on erev Pesach,
and he distributed
presents to the family
members. The baal
habayis greeted him
joyfully and invited
him to the Seder. The
old man replied, “I
can’t be at your Seder if you’re going to
shout out the hagaddah and act silly. I will
only join you if you agree to be silent at
the Seder. Do as I teach you. Keep the
fervor in your heart. Don’t show it on the
outside.”
The baal habayis said that he’d have to ask
his wife. She said, “When he stole our
birchas hamazon, I was quiet. Then he
took away our Shalom Aleichem, and I
also forgave him. But I refuse to give up
the Seder night.”
The old man said, “I shouldn’t have given
you all those presents since you don’t listen
to me.”
The baal habayis was worried the old man
would ask them to give back all the fancy
presents he had given them over the years,
but his wife saw things differently. She said
to her husband, “Gather all the presents and
give them back to him. I don’t want them,
and I don’t want to hear his false rebukes.”
The Or HaChaim listened in astonishment as
the family repeated this story. He said, “Now
I understand why there’s a holy aura in your
home. That man was the yetzer hara trying
to uproot your temimus. The, Chuchmas
Nashim, the wife’s wisdom, Bunsa Beisa,
saved your home.”
It is important to show enthusiasm and
excitement for the mitzvos. Even if initially,
you are pretending that you are excited with
the mitzvos, this will influence your heart. It
is possible that sometimes the family didn’t
have genuine fervor when they benched,
sang Shalom Aleichem, and made the Seder.
Still, their actions demonstrated enthusiasm
and excitement, which opened their hearts
until it became genuine.
The Mesilas Yesharim (ch.12) writes,
“Acting with zerizus will create hislahavus.
When one feels himself doing a mitzvah
with eagerness, it will ignite a fire in his
heart. If, however, he moves about
sluggishly, his spirit will die down and be
extinguished. Experience testifies to this.
You know that the most preferred avodas
Hashem is with the heart’s desire and the
longing of the neshamah, as it states
(Tehillim 63:2), My soul thirsts for You; my
flesh pines for you.’ If this feeling isn’t
burning in his heart, it is good for him to act
with zerizus because this will rouse the
yearning in his heart. His outer deeds will
awaken his inner feelings.”
This is the lesson of “Vehiskadashtem
Vihisim Kedoshim” and “Kedoshim Tehiyu”
Act like those who are holy, like those who
desire the mitzvos, and it will become your
reality.