Parashat Kedoshim

Parashat Kedoshim is almost exclusively a list of mitzvot (commandments) that cover a wide array of topics: idol worship, how to treat disenfranchised people, Shabbat, and sexual mores among them. Many of the mitzvot are punctuated with a phrase reminding the listener of the source of these commandments: אֲנִי ה׳ אֱלֹקיכֶם, אֲנִי ה׳, וְיָרֵאתָ מֵּאֱלֹקיךָ אֲנִי ה׳; I am the Lord your God; I am the Lord; and you will fear your God, I am the Lord. Why are so many of the mitzvot punctuated in this manner? The answer to these questions may lie in the second verse of the parashah, in which God speaks to Moshe:
דַּבֵּר אֶל־כׇּל־עֲדַת בְּנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל וְאָמַרְתָּ אֲלֵהֶם קְדֹשִׁים תִּהְיוּ כִּי קָדוֹשׁ אֲנִי ה׳ אֱלֹקיכֶם׃
“Speak to the entire nation of Israel, and say to them: Be holy, for I am holy, the Lord your God.”

Here, God tells Bnai Yisrael that we are to emulate God by being holy (kadosh). How can we do this? We can start by following the mitzvot in this parashah. However, the message goes deeper. We can take the command to be holy and read it as a larger imperative. We must live our lives in a kadosh fashion beyond this list of mitzvot. In order to do this, we must first understand what, exactly, it means to be kadosh.

Rav Shimon Shkop, who published his seminal work Sha’arei Yoshar, used Midrash Vayikra Rabbah (24) to help define this term. First, the midrash quotes Pharaoh from Sefer Bereshit when he is appointing Joseph as the second in command:
וַיֹּאמֶר פַּרְעֹה אֶל־יוֹסֵף אֲנִי פַרְעֹה וּבִלְעָדֶיךָ לֹא־יָרִים אִישׁ אֶת־יָדוֹ וְאֶת־רַגְלוֹ בְּכל־אֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם:
Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh; yet without you, no one shall lift up hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.”

The midrash notes the parallel in language between that used by Pharaoh and that used by God in Parashat Kedoshim: אני פרעה/אני ה׳; I am Pharaoh/I am the Lord. The midrash explains:
(בראשית מא, מ): אַתָּה תִּהְיֶה עַל בֵּיתִי, יָכוֹל כָּמוֹנִי, תַּלְמוּד לוֹמַר (בראשית מא, מ): רַק הַכִּסֵּא אֶגְדַּל מִמֶךָּ, גְּדֻלָּתִי לְמַעְלָה מִגְדֻלָּתֶךָ
Genesis 41:40 reads: [Pharaoh said to Joseph] “You will be in charge of my court.” You might think Pharaoh meant to say “as powerful as I.” Therefore, scripture goes on to state: “Only with respect to the throne shall I be superior to you.” (ad loc), i.e. my greatness is above your greatness.
Then, the parallel is drawn:
“קְדשִׁים תִּהְיוּ,” יָכוֹל כָּמוֹנִי תַּלְמוּד לוֹמַר: “כִּי קָדוֹשׁ אֲנִי ה׳,” קְדֻשָּׁתִי לְמַעְלָה מִקְדֻשַּׁתְכֶם.
“Be holy,” one might think God means “as holy as I,” therefore scripture goes on to state: “For I am holy, the Lord,” My holiness is greater than your holiness.

Through a close reading of the pesukim, the midrash teaches us that God reminds us here at the beginning of the parashah and throughout that God is the ultimate source of, and the ultimate form of, kedusha, holiness. And though God commands us to be holy, we should not come to the conclusion that our kedusha is on the same level as that of the One who imbues holiness. Just as when Pharaoh says to Joseph: “I am Pharaoh,” it is a reminder of his position above Joseph, so too HaShem reminds us here: אני ה׳, I am the Lord — do not confuse your kedusha with Mine.

Rav Shkop uses this important reminder at the beginning of the parashah to define kedusha. It is the very act of being aware of the difference between our kedusha and that of the Creator that makes us holy. In order to be holy, a person must have an awareness of that which surrounds them that is greater than themself. Then, says Rav Shkop, it means working against one’s own self-interest to better that which surrounds them. The same way HaShem’s actions, since the creation of the world, are dedicated to improvement of the universe, which is outside of Godself, so too are we commanded to live with such a dedication to something greater than ourselves.
    
This week, we commemorated Yom HaZikaron, the Israeli Memorial Day, remembering those who, in the most selfless of ways, gave of themselves towards something greater. These kedoshim, holy people, are models of the mitzvah of kedoshim tihyu. It is through their selfless acts for the greater good that we were able to transition to Yom HaAtzmaut on Wednesday night, to be able to celebrate Jewish sovereignty in the Land of Israel.

Throughout this parashah, HaShem exhorts us to remember: There is something greater than us that we must work selflessly for. A greater good, a better society, a better world — all are part of our mission as a holy people. May we, in the wake of our mourning of Yom HaZikaron and the celebration of Yom HaAtzmaut, find in our lives the inspiration to act in a holy way.