Perashat Ahare Mot-Kedoshim

Perashat Ahare Mot-Kedoshim

This week we read two perashiyot, Ahare Mot and Kedoshim.  In both perashiyot the Torah gives differing perspectives regarding the observance of the missvot, the commandments.  

In perashat Ahare Mot, we are commanded not only to observe the missvot, but to actually, “live through them” – “ve’hai bahem” (Vayikra 18:5)  Ramban (18:4) explains that these words provide us with a great insight as to how we should perform the missvot:  the more we live to do missvot, the more the missvot will give us life.  He goes on to describe four levels of missva observance.   The lowest level is to fulfill missvot in order to receive a reward.  The next level is to do missvot out of yira’ah – fear of G-d, and to increase one’s share in Olam HaBa, the next world.   The third level is to perform missvot out of Ahabat Hashem, out of Love of G-d, while still being engaged in worldly matters.  The highest level is one who whose sole purpose for living is to perform missvot.  The optimal situation is to strive to reach this highest spiritual level  where we are able to focus totally on the fulfillment of missvot to the exclusion of all else.  This notion is reflected in the Arbit prayer, where we describe Torah and missvot as being, “Hayyenu VeOrekh Yameynu” – our lives and length of days.  We are describing a scenario where we aren’t simply living and doing missvot - rather we live to do missvot!  This perspective calls upon us to fit our lives into doing missvot and not simply to try to fit the missvot into our own lives.

Perashat Kedoshim offers an alternate reason as to the observance of the missvot, and that is the imperative with which the perasha opens:  “Kedoshim Tehiyu” – G-d says to us, “You shall be holy,” just as I am.  What does it mean to be holy?  We find an interesting dispute amongst our sages concerning the nature of holiness.  According to Rashi and the Rambam, the missvot are the mechanism through which one becomes holy.  Thus, the charge to be holy is a directive to fulfill G-d’s commands as outlined in the Torah; the missvot themselves are a path to holiness.  Ramban and Ramhal have a different approach.  They suggest, based on the Midrash, that holiness is achieved by going “above and beyond” the requirements of the missvot.  According to this approach, to be holy is to do what is good and right – even if it was not explicitly commanded, and to refrain from that which is wrong and immoral, even though it may not be forbidden by the strict letter of the law.  Holiness, can therefore be defined as “going the extra mile” beyond what the missva demands (without, of course adding to, or subtracting from, it). In this approach, ‘to be holy’ means that each person must build upon the Torah’s wisdom and use their own intuition to uncover new moral ground.  Each of us has the responsibility to determine what is right or wrong in those areas that the Torah did not explicitly mention, and then to voluntarily act upon these conclusions.  

Taken together, these perspectives offer us guidance as to how to live our lives in accordance with the Torah and G-d’s will.  We must realize that the missvot are literally our life-blood and must plan our lives around them, rather than just find the time to schedule them into our busy lives.  At the same time, we are charged to perform the missvot with holiness.  Whether that means that the missvot themselves are a means to that end or whether we use our human intuition and initiative to inspire us to strive to go “above and beyond” what we are commanded – the performance of the missvot will hopefully draw us closer to the Boreh Olam.