Friday, 5 May 2017

Miller's Musings Parshas Achrei Mos-Kedoshim: Holier Than Thou? No, Holier Than Now!


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

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