בס''ד
The
transmission of the Torah from Moshe to the Jewish people was performed in a
very particular manner, leaving nothing to chance in ensuring its legitimacy
and integrity. Moshe was to teach all of
it to all the Jewish people himself, which may lead us to question why we are
told by Chazal that due to the fundamental Torah principals contained within Kedoshim,
this particular Parsha was said in an assembly of all the Jewish people? If what we have said is accurate, then this
Parsha is surely no different to any of the others?
As
its name suggests, the theme of this Parsha, is one of holiness. The Zohar states that when the Jewish people
reached this section of the Torah, they rejoiced. But why particularly here? You see, explains the Darchei Mussar, before
the Jewish people were gathered together and instructed with the words “you
shall be holy”, they assumed that holiness would be the domain of the few. Those who could live a life far from
physicality, cut off from the needs of the flesh, would be able to attain
holiness. But for the average person it
would be simply inaccessible. So when
Moshe turned to all the Jewish people and enjoined them all to be
holy, the people exulted in the knowledge that holiness must be within the
reach of each and every one of them.
This is the reason for the emphasis of this Parsha being related before
all the Jewish people. To teach us this
very message, of the universal potential for holiness.
There
are those religions that see holiness as the purview of only the most lofty of
individuals, who entirely shun a life of bodily pleasure, choosing to live one
of asceticism. This, however, is not a
Jewish belief. Our Parsha begins with a
directive to be holy and then continues with an array of diverse commandments,
each one of which carries within it the power to divest greater holiness on the
one who performs it. Whether it be honouring parents and the
elderly, ethical conduct in business or providing for the impoverished, each
one of these mitzvos are means to achieving holiness and each one of them lifts
us beyond our previous state. Every
mitzvah that we do, every tiny good deed or act of kindness, every chance we
take to be better, imbues us with godliness and brings us closer to our purpose. These sparks of holiness are all around us,
in every moment of our lives. We must
only reach out to grab them to embrace the holiness they bring.
*May the holiness of Shabbos
cultivate the holiness in us*
לעילוי נשמת לאה בת אברהם
לרפואה שלימה: שרה יעל בת
ברכה אסתר
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please let me know if you enjoyed this week's Musings or if you have any other comments that you would like to make about the ideas discussed. I would love to hear from you.