Kedoshim | Holy - How?

 

     The second of this week's two parshiyot begins and ends with an injunction to be holy. At the start of Parashat Kedoshim, in Leviticus 19, the Torah states "The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 'Speak to the whole Israelite community and say to them: You shall be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy'" (verses 1-2). And at the parasha's end, in Leviticus 20, the Torah repeats this idea: "You shall be holy to Me, for I the Lord am holy, and I have set you apart from other peoples to be Mine" (verse 26).

 

     Holiness is certainly a dominant theme in Judaism - we have holy days, holy books, holy people, holy objects, even our language - Hebrew is called LASHON HA'KODESH - the holy tongue. And while achieving sanctity might be a difficult task, defining it seems to be fairly straightforward: to be holy means to be separated, distinct from other elements in a group. Thus Shabbat is elevated from the other days of the week; Israel - the Holy Land - is considered exceptional among countries; Jerusalem - the holiest among Israel's cities; and the Temple Mount is the holiest spot in the city, site of the BEIT HA'MIKDASH - the sacred Temple.

 

     Interestingly, God is also called holy in our tradition (as in the verses quoted above) although our definition does not at first seem to fit with Him. Can we say that God is elevated among... other gods? No, obviously the Torah does not believe that other gods exist for comparison. In Isaiah chapter 6 the Lord's ministering angels introduce a call that has become part of our daily services: "Seraphs stood in attendance on Him. Each of them had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his legs, and with two he would fly. And one would call to the other, 'Holy, holy, holy! The Lord of Hosts! His presence fills all the earth!" (verses 2-3). Targum Onkelos, the ancient Aramaic translation to the Bible, provides one of the standard interpretations for this verse: "God is holy in the exalted heavens, God is holy on earth - the product of His strength, and God is holy forever and ever." Well, if to be holy means to be separate, then Onkelos is telling us that in fact, God is holier than everything - he is above earth and space and time. He is so holy that He is completely separate from anything within our experience. 

 

     Rabbi David Zvi Hoffman, a 19th century Biblical commentator uses this point to explain a curious detail in the text of the Torah.  Rabbi Hoffman, in his commentary to Leviticus 11:45, reports noticing that whenever the Torah - in the Book of Leviticus - uses the word holy in reference to God it is always written with plane spelling, meaning with the letter VAV so that the Hebrew root has four letters: KAF-DALET-VAV-SHIN: KADOSH; whereas when the word is used in reference to man, it is always written with deficient spelling, meaning without the letter VAV, giving the Hebrew root only three letters: KAF-DALET-SHIN: KAD'SH. Indeed a quick glance at the Hebrew original of the two verses quoted above will illustrate this point.  Leviticus 19: "Speak to the whole Israelite community and say to them: 'You shall be holy - KED'SHIM, for I, the Lord your God, am holy - KADOSH;'" and in Leviticus 20: "You shall be holy - KED'SHIM to Me, for I the Lord am holy - KADOSH, and I have set you apart from other peoples to be Mine." Interpreting this phenomenon, Rabbi Hoffman explains that the Torah is hinting that man can never be completely holy. Unlike God who is totally separate from everything, man can only attain holiness relative to his fellow men. A spiritual person who separates himself from sin or corruption is still a man trapped in the physical confines of his body forced to eat and sleep and participate in the other actions he shares with his species.

 

     What does the Torah mean by commanding the nation to be holy? Actually, we might ask whether verse 19:2 is in fact a mitzva - perhaps it is merely a statement of fact. What I mean by this is that other references to holiness in the Torah seem to indicate that a state of holiness is a direct result of obeying God's commands. Numbers 15, for example, contains the well-known passage of tzizit: "Speak to the Israelite people and instruct them to make for themselves fringes on the corners of their garments throughout the ages... Thus shall you be reminded to observe all My commandments and be holy to your God" (38, 40). The Torah could either be saying here that tzizit are meant to remind Jews to observe mitzvot and to act holy, or these verses could mean that obeying the Torah will automatically make the Jews holy.

 

     Even our definition of holiness can be understood both ways. Certainly the Jewish people are different from the other nations by virtue of their unique code of law. Thus observing the mitzvot naturally separates us - hence our holiness. But perhaps the Torah wants us to consciously and directly set ourselves apart from the world and commands us to effect this exclusivity. How is the mitzva fulfilled? Ramban (Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman, 13th century) explains how in perhaps the most famous interpretation of our opening verse.

 

     Ramban feels that Leviticus 19:2 is in fact a call to go above and beyond the dictates of the law. The commentator explains that it is possible for a Jew to strictly observe the Torah's commandments and still to be a vile and disgusting person. For example, the Torah does not forbid the consumption of alcohol or the eating of meat and so a Jew who's a drunken glutton would be acting well within his rights. The Torah does not limit the frequency of a married couple's intimacy (other than family purity restrictions) making it permissible for people to over-indulge themselves. But the Torah knows that taking advantage of the letter of the law offends the spirit of the law, and so, writes Ramban, "having detailed those prohibitions which are outrightly outlawed, the Torah makes a general command to separate oneself from the permitted." This means that the Torah is giving a subjective command for people to set their own personal limits. Sanctity for the Jew now takes on two levels: he is holy because his lifestyle differs from the rest of the world's; and extra restrictions make him even holier than he must be.

 

     Rambam (Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon, 12th century) takes the opposite approach to our verse, linking it with a host of other statements in the Torah in the formation of a guiding principle. As an introduction to his book, Sefer HaMitzvot, in which he lists the Torah's 613 commandments, Rambam outlines 14 rules which serve as criteria for determining whether an idea qualifies for the list. For example, his first principle states that only Biblical commandments are included in the 613 to the exclusion of Rabbinic creations such as Chanukah candles or the celebration of Purim. His reasoning for this is that he feels that the traditional number 613 refers only to mitzvot which were given to Moses by God and not to later creations. We are concerned with Rambam's fourth principle.

 

     In this rule, Maimonides writes that he will not include on the list any Biblical statement that is a general formula rather than a specific commandment. "There are commandments and warnings in the Torah which do not hint at any one thing but include many injunctions - as if the Torah were saying 'Observe all that I have ordered you to do and desist from all that I have forbidden you from' or 'Do not transgress anything that I have instructed you.' Now it does not do to count these sorts of statements as separate commandments since they do not command the performance of an individual action nor forbid doing a prohibition.  Thus the Torah says 'Be on guard concerning all that I have told you' (Exodus 23:13); 'You shall observe My laws' (Leviticus 19:19)... but people have erred in this matter counting [on the list] 'Be holy' as a distinct positive commandment, without realizing that by saying 'Be holy' and 'You shall sanctify yourselves and be holy' (Leviticus 20:7) the Torah is making general statements to observe the entire law. It is as if the Torah were to say 'Be holy by fulfilling all that I [God] have commanded you and by avoiding all I have prohibited."

 

     (To be sure, Ramban apparently does not consider 'Be holy' specific enough to warrant its own berth on the 613 list either; but he does seem to give our verse more meaning than Rambam by describing the power it has over the individual. See Ramban's commentary to Rambam's fourth principle for a broader discussion of this.)

 

     Let us present another reference to Jewish holiness which will help develop the positions of our two scholars. Within the system of benedictions instituted by the rabbis of the Talmud there is a type of blessing uttered before performance of a mitzva. The curious feature in this category of berakhot is that all of the blessings of this type are recited over ritual commandments and there are no blessings to accompany interpersonal obligations. As is well known, Judaism comprises mitzvot that are essentially between man and God - known as MITZVOT BEIN ADAM LA-MAKOM (e.g. observance of Shabbat, kashrut, tefilin) and those that govern our relationships with other people - MITZVOT BEIN ADAM LA-CHAVERO (e.g. charity, respecting one's parents, not stealing). Of all the hundreds of commandments, however, there are only a handful whose performance are preceded by a blessing. For example, no berakhot were instituted for negative commandments which is why we don't say a blessing upon avoiding non-kosher food or upon resisting the urge to steal.  But why are there no blessings for commandments between people?

 

     The Torah Temima written by Rabbi Baruch HaLevi Epstein (19th century) offers one explanation in commenting on Exodus 24:12.

"The solution to this problem seems simple to me: within the construction of benedictions [for mitzvot] is the phrase 'who has hallowed us with His commandments and commanded us' [the blessing for affixing a mezuza for example, is 'Blessed are You, O Lord, our God Master of the Universe, who has hallowed us with His commandments and commanded us to affix a mezuza'] which indicates that through fulfillment of the specific mitzva, we become sanctified and separated from the other nations who do not perform these actions. This idea is only valid with regard to MITZVOT BEIN ADAM LA-MAKOM like tefilin, tzizit, sukkah, lulav and the like which are not practiced by the nations. On the other hand, when it comes to MITZVOT BEIN ADAM LA-CHAVERO we find non-Jews equally active in the performance of such actions like charity, returning lost objects, and visiting the sick. The phrase 'who has hallowed us with His commandments and commanded us' is therefore inappropriate for these sorts of mitzvot, because we are not any different from non-Jews by their fulfillment."

 

     How does this prominent cultural factor introduced by the Torah Temima contribute to our debate? Rabbi Epstein argues that the Jews are only holy by virtue of their ritual law because that is what separates them from everybody else. Is this view supported by either Rambam or Ramban? Let us return to the beginning of our parasha. Following the instruction to be holy (or promise of holiness) the Torah goes on to present a long list of mitzvot. In fact the entirety of Leviticus chapter 19 is one commandment after another. What is interesting is that many of the laws in this collection dictate interpersonal relationships including such classic statements as "You shall not hate your kinsfolk in your heart. Reprove your kinsman but incur no guilt because of him. You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against your countrymen. Love your fellow as yourself: I am the Lord" (verses 17-18). A student of mine, Adrianne Sigal, explained the chapter contrary to Rabbi Epstein's approach, saying that the Torah specifically includes MITZVOT BEIN ADAM LA-CHAVERO to tell us that holiness is not only achieved through performance of rituals but, through proper treatment of other people.

 

     While it may be true that non-Jews treat each other as fairly and generously as Jews do (or as Jews ought to) there can be no avoiding the fact that the Jew's treatment of his fellow Jew is often guided by law. The Jew does not give charity because it is a nice thing to do, but because the Torah commands it. So while the action of a Jew might be similar to that of a non-Jew, ideally, the motive should be completely different. And because the driving force for these mitzvot is the will of God there should really be a set of benedictions for them as well. 

 

     It seems to me that the whole purpose for even reciting a blessing before a mitzva is to formally recognize the reason for an action - he who recites a blessing on a mezuzah is stating that he is not putting up a mezuza as a good luck charm or because it matches the decor, but because the Torah commanded him to. Similarly, were we to recite a blessing before giving charity I believe that we would be expressing Rambam's understanding of holiness - fulfillment of all areas of the Torah makes us a holy nation.  (There are other explanations given for the problem of the benedictions besides the Torah Temima's. For example, one theory states that nearly every interpersonal mitzva involves helping another person.  Reciting a blessing before giving charity, visiting the sick, or burying the dead, looks like one is thanking God that somebody else needs help, thereby giving the Jew an opportunity to do a mitzva- this is inappropriate. See Encyclopedia Talmudit's article on Birkat HaMitzvot for more information.)   Finally, the presence of interpersonal Mitzvot in our Parasha supports Ramban's position as well. While much of the Oral Torah is concerned with the legal complexities of civil law, the rabbis recognized that they could not possibly legislate every single human interaction to the degree that they could cover the ritual law. Perhaps this explains why Pirkei Avot (Ethics of our Fathers), a collection of ethical statements, is included in the order of mishna dealing with damages and other crimes. The rabbis are stating that very often human behaviour cannot be governed by a set of rules, but general statements have to be made such as "Shammai says: greet everybody with a cheerful face" (Avot 1:15). The Torah itself includes such an all encompassing command in "Love your fellow as yourself." And perhaps Ramban would interpret 'Be holy' in a similar vein: in dealing with your fellow person, don't limit your behaviour to the letter of the law, go above the law and out of your way to treat him as you would have him treat you.