Well Pesach is over. After almost two weeks my sister in-law, her husband and four children, ranging in age from 9mos – 6yrs, have returned to Los Angeles. Our eldest daughter has returned to University. Our house is slowly returning to normal and quiet. During Pesach, our home was quite busy with many children playing, singing, dancing, laughing, whining and occasionally crying. Grown-ups asked, told, and commanded children to “pick up” “clean up” “eat over the table”, “wash up” “lower your voice”, “stop yelling” and a myriad of other things that parents constantly say to their children. Each of these, reminders, warnings, and commands was followed by an age old parental mantra. When challenged by our children with that simple three lettered word, “why?” We responded, “Because I am your parent and I SAID SO!!!!” For some reason, our children consistently forgot that we were their parents, and they needed constant reminding. For some reason our children needed constant reminders as to who was in charge.
This Shabbat we read from Parsha Kedoshim. Kedoshim is the plural form of the adjective Kodesh, which means holy. In this particular case the antecedent for Kedoshim is Kol Adat B’nai Yisroel – the Entire Assembly of the Children of Israel. All of Israel is Holy, why? As we will read over and over again in a mantra-like fashion, Ki Kadosh Ani Adonai Eloheichem – Because Holy am I the Lord your God. We are holy because of our sacred relationship to God. Interestingly, the rest of the Parsha does NOT concentrate on the relationship between God and humanity. Instead, the Parsha outlines the moral and ethical behavior that we are commanded to display towards our fellow human being. Keeping in mind that we are all created B’Tzelem Elokim – the Image of God; we are urged to imitate God. We are reminded to treat others as we would treat God.
The plethora of ethical behaviors outlined includes “do not place a stumbling block before the blind”, or “a workers wage shall not remain with you overnight until morning”. Even the Golden Rule, urging us to treat others as we hope to be treated is part of Kedoshim. The great Talmudic Sage Rabbi Hillel, explained to an individual who wanted to learn Torah while standing on one leg that this one rule embodies the essence of Torah “the rest are the detail” (Shabbat 31a). V’Ahavta L’Rei’echa K’Mocha – You shall love your fellow human being as yourself (Lev 19:18). Rabbi Akiva, another Talmudic Sage, explain that this is the fundamental rule of the Torah (Jerusalem Talmud Nedarim 9:4). Rabbi Avraham Yehoshua Heschel explained that this commandment does not mean to love saintly and righteous people – it is impossible NOT to love such people. Rather God commands us to love even people whom it is hard to love. However we do not “love” to our detriment. After each of these ethical reminders God provides the mantra Ki Kadosh Ani Adonai Eloheichem – Because Holy am I the Lord your God. Did Bnai Yisroel suddenly forget who they were? Did Bnai Yisroel suddenly forget who God was? So soon after standing at Sinai, receiving the Aseret Dibrot, making the regrettable decision to worship the Egel Zahav, engaging in national tshuva, and constructing a mishkan , did Bnai Yisroel really forget that they are part of a sacred relationship? Perhaps these ethical statements and the re-iteration of many of the commandments are put into the context of human relationship because it is much easier to see the immediacy and relevance of these commandments in human terms. At the same time we need to be reminded that we follow these commandments for two reasons: 1) because I said so and 2) because we have it in us to be holy, to be Godly.
This is the first Shabbat following Pesach and we are nearly two weeks into the counting of the Omer. With the counting of each day, we take a moment to work on a different shortcoming in our spiritual development so that when we receive the Torah on Shavuot, we are as spiritually pure as possible. Let us begin with this most fundamental of rules. V’Ahavta L’Rei’echa K’Mocha.
Peace,
Rav Yitz
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