21 Apr FROM ORDINARY TO EXTRAORDINARY

Springtime is known to be the season for
school trips. Trips to parks and museums.
Lag B’Omer trips and graduation trips. I
think of my own school days, the
memorable trips taken.
Before each school outing, a teacher
would give us “the talk”. She would tell
us that people would identify us as being
part of Am Yisroel. We are on display.
Our actions are being observed. How
important it is for us to behave in a refined
manner, to act in a way that makes a
Kiddush HaShem. We are seen as
HaShem’s emissaries, and how it is
important to live up to that position.
This week, we read the double portion of
Achrei Mos – Kedoshim. We often speak
of the kedoshim, holy ones who perished
al Kiddush HaShem, sanctifying the
name of HaShem, in a world of hateful
anti-Semitism.
There is yet another level of kedoshim.
Each and every one of us has the

opportunity to live al Kiddush HaShem.
To conduct our lives in a way that brings
honor and respect to HaShem’s name.
The parsha opens with HaShem
instructing Moshe to speak to “Kol adas
Bnei Yisroel”, the entire assembly of the
Jewish nation. To relay the message of
“Kedoshim tehiyu”, to be a holy people.
(Vayikra 19:2) The mission statement of
Am Yisroel.
We may think that being a kodosh, a holy
individual is reserved for a select few. For
those with high and lofty neshamos. For
the learned and pious. The Torah teaches
otherwise. The mandate of kedoshim
tehiyu was proclaimed to kol adas Yisroel,
the entire nation. Not just Moshe and
Aaron. Not just the Kohanim, zekeinim
(elders) or nesiim (princes). Everyone is
included. Men, women and children. No
one is too young or too old. Too learned
or too simple. Too rich or too poor. We
can all live our lives as kedoshim,
sanctifying HaShem’s name wherever we
go, whatever we do.

How is this possible? We say
every day in our morning
prayers, “Elokai, neshama
sheh’nosatoh bee, tehora hee,
HaShem, the soul that you
have given me is pure. …
Atah nefachta bee, You
breathed it into me”.
HaShem’s spirit is within
each and every one of us. It
enables us to live a life of
sanctity. To reach the greatest
heights of kedusha. HaShem
gives us the potential, we just
have to actualize it.
Kol adas Bnei Yisroel, the entire assembly
of the Jewish nation. One is never too
young. Esther Malka Goldschmidt relates
a true-life story that touched her
personally. She was working as a
receptionist in an office in Lakewood.
One day, a non-Jewish couple came in for
an appointment. The wait to see the
manager was long, and the woman started
up a conversation with Esther Malka. She
asked her if she lives in the neighborhood.
When Esther Malka nodded yes, the
woman continued.
The woman spoke of having grown up
in Lakewood, living on Vine Street,
right next to the Jewish girls’ school.
Esther Malka got excited – that was her
school, Bais Kaila. The woman
continued and shared her memories.
She told of sitting on her front porch
steps as a young girl, and how she loved
watching the Bais Kaila high schoolers
walk by in their light blue shirts and
navy skirts. But the most lasting
impression on her was how friendly the
girls were. They would wave, say hello,
and give her a big smile. She
remembered one girl in particular, who
would stop and talk to her. Ask how she
was doing, and wish her a good day.
Her name was Kaila. The woman
smiled, I will always remember her –
Kaila from the Kaila school. A memory
so strong, so beautiful, that when the
woman had a little girl, she named her
Kaila.
The power of a smile. A wave. A
friendly hello. It doesn’t take much.
Just a few kind words, a nice gesture.
My zeide, HaRav Avraham HaLevi
Jungreis zt”l, would often say, “Ess
kost nisht kein gelt” – it doesn’t cost
any money. Small acts of kindness that
mean so much.

Never too old. I think of my grandmother,
Rebbetzin Miriam Jungreis a”h, known
simply as Mama. Mama was full of life,
never giving in to her aches and pains.
She was always cooking and baking for
others. My zeide founded a kiruv yeshiva.
Twice a day, Mama made her way to
Zeide’s yeshiva. She would be there
when the busses arrived, to wish each
child boker tov. At dismissal time, Mama
would be there once again, giving each
child a snack – always asking to hear a
bracha. This was Mama’s daily routine
until she was well into her eighties. Mama
touched so many lives. Through her
kindness, she brought so many to a Torah
way of life. Kedoshim tehiyu, a mitzva
given to an entire nation. Then and now.
Never too weak. Mama would collect
gently used clothes and distribute them to
the needy. A job Mama never gave up,
even when she was frail and weak.
Rav Eliyahu Dessler zt”l (1892-1953)
teaches that through acts of kindness and
giving one can elevate themselves to a
high level of kedusha. With repeated acts
of chesed, one becomes a baal chesed,
and an oheiv chesed. Rav Dessler
emphasizes that achieving the level of a
kodosh is an accessible, everyday calling
expressed through small acts of kindness.
Living as a kodosh leaves an impression
on those around us – but has an effect on
us as well.
When we live our lives as kedoshim, holy
people, we are the beneficiaries. We
become better people. We learn honesty
and integrity. Kindness and compassion.
Love and understanding. Patience and
tolerance. We elevate our very being. The
cheilek Eloka mi’maal, the portion of
HaShem from Above, within us shines
out.