07 May PARSHAS KEDOSHIM: KEDUSHA: A PERSONAL MITZVAH THAT NEEDS THE COMMUNITY

“And G-d spoke to
Moshe saying: ‘Speak
to the entire
Community of Israel
and tell them You must
be Holy, for I the L-rd
your G-d am Holy.’”

[Vayikra 19:1-2]
The Medrash comments that this pasuk was
said “be’Hakhel,” namely, it was said to all the
Jewish people together. In contrast, most of
the Torah was taught to Moshe, who taught it
to Aharon, who taught to Aharon’s sons, who
taught to the Elders, etc., etc. However, Moshe
taught this parsha in everyone’s presence.
Why is this parsha different? The Medrash
answers because most of the fundamentals of
Torah are dependent on this parsha of
“Kedoshim Tiheyu — You shall be Holy.”
The simple interpretation of this Medrash is
that since there are so many important laws
that are contained in this parsha, it was said in
the presence of everyone.
However, perhaps the Medrash means
something else. Perhaps it means that the
specific mitzvah of ‘You shall be Holy’ is so
important and has so many of the fundamentals
of Torah dependent upon it, that this mitzvah

itself was given publicly.
According to the Ramban, this mitzvah
teaches us how to live and act as Jews. The
Ramban explains that if not for this mitzvah, a
person could conceivably be a “naval birshus
haTorah,” meaning, he could be an observant
Jew, and simultaneously a glutton. He could
live an obscene life within the parameters of
the Torah. He could eat as much as he wants;
he could indulge in all the physical pleasures
of life; and it might all be ‘glatt kosher.’
If not for this mitzvah, such a person could be
called a Tzadik. However, the Torah says,
“You shall be Holy”—you must abstain. You
must act with restraint, with holiness. Do not
indulge. Do not be a glutton. That is the
mitzvah of Kedoshim Tiheyu. It is so vital that
it had to be said to the entire nation together.
The Shemen HaTov explains that a person
cannot be Holy unto himself. Even though it is
an individual mitzvah, the individual needs the
help of society. If someone lives in a society
that is indulgent, it becomes very difficult for
that individual to remain a ‘Kadosh’ [holy
person].
In order to achieve “You shall be holy,” the
cooperation of a person’s family, city and
nation are required. The parsha needed to be

given to everyone together.
When everyone is involved in
conspicuous indulgence, it
becomes almost impossible
for an individual to act with
restraint.
We see this very clearly in the
society in which we live today.
Rampant hedonism surrounds
us, where people instantly
gratify their every whim and
wish. We live in a society that
does not know about kedusha.
The only way we can
personally achieve this
mitzvah of “You shall be
holy,” is if we not only work on ourselves, but
we elevate those around us and try to live
among people who also share the ideal of
Kedsohim Tiheyu.
It must begin with the individual. As the
Chassidic Rebbe, Reb Bunim, is quoted as
having said, when he was young, he thought
he could change the world. As he got older, he
saw he could not change the entire world, but
at least he could change his city. As time went
on, he saw that even that was beyond his
grasp, but he said, “I will at least change my
neighborhood.” When he saw that that was not

working, he said, “I’ll at least try to change my
family.” When he saw that that failed as well,
he said, “I will need to try to only change
myself.”
However, once he succeeded in changing
himself, then he saw that his family was
different, his neighborhood was different, his
city was different, and in a sense the entire
world was different.
When working on this mitzvah of “Kedoshim
Tiheyu,” we cannot go it alone. We need to
work on ourselves, and then our families, and
then our neighborhoods, and then our societies.