Parshas Kedoshim
by Rabbi Yaakov Menken
"You shall be holy, for I am holy, HaShem your G-d... You shall sanctify
yourselves, and you shall be holy, for I am HaShem your G-d" [19:2, 20:7]
Immediately after telling us to "be holy," G-d instructs us to fear our
parents, guard the Sabbath, avoid idolatry, and more. The implied lesson
is then made explicit: "sanctify yourselves, and you shall be holy."
Holiness doesn't happen by accident. We make it happen through our study
and our actions.
Holiness isn't easy, either. Moral behavior requires restraint when we
want to fulfill our desires. Some would prefer to avoid the necessary
study and effort, and some will even attempt to convince you that trying
is a waste of time.
First, they trot out examples of supposedly moral individuals who, despite
their studies, engaged in immoral behavior. Then, extrapolating wildly,
they tell you that this proves that the studies themselves are of no
benefit.
To understand the fallaciousness of this approach, let us take a different
example. Is it true that anyone who plays basketball on a regular basis
will become a Michael Jordan, or achieve professional talent? We know that
most do not. But it would be ridiculous to then conclude that it is all a
matter of natural ability, and practice causes no improvement.
Not every physicist becomes Albert Einstein, and not every pre-med becomes
a capable surgeon, but only after years of study and practice is it even
possible.
So if someone reputed to have studied the Jewish laws against gossip
should ever stumble in this area, can we argue that someone who studies
these laws daily is just as likely to gossip as anyone else? To say that
is to imagine that moral behavior is somehow different and distinct from
every other area of life.
The Torah tells us otherwise. It is no different: we must study and
practice in order to grow. "Sanctify yourselves, and you shall be holy."
And the Torah tells us that this is our obligation as Jews.
The following story illustrates what a person can become, if he will only
make the attempt -- and what he can accomplish.
My wife's grandfather, Rav Zvi Elimelech Hertzberg zt"l, studied and
practiced holiness every day. Congregation Beth Abraham, which he founded
here in Baltimore, still commemorates his yahrtzeit on the 27th of Nissan.
This year, Dr. Aaron Siegman provided this anecdote.
The Rav was sitting out on his porch, studying one evening, in the days
when the synagogue and his home were the same building. An elderly man
walked by, and then paused. He asked Rabbi Hertzberg, "how much are
tickets for the High Holy Days?"
"Here," replied the Rabbi, "we have three types of tickets. For those who
can afford it, they pay what they want. For those who cannot afford it,
they are welcome to join us anyway. And for those who not only cannot
afford it, but do not have enough to 'make Yom Tov' [prepare the holiday
meals], we give them tickets, and we give them something with which to
'make Yom Tov.'"
On Yom Kippur morning, this man came to the synagogue for prayers. And
when they recessed in the afternoon, he asked permission of the Rabbi to
address the congregation.
He introduced himself to the assembled -- who reacted with some surprise,
for his name was well-known. He then said that he came over alone from
Minsk, Poland, as a boy of 14. He got off the ship on the eve of Yom
Kippur, and wandered the streets that day before finding a synagogue in
time for Kol Nidrei.
At the synagogue entrance, he was stopped by a guard who asked for his
ticket. When he said that he had none, the guard called the Gabbai of the
synagogue, to whom the boy explained his situation.
"I'm sorry," said the Gabbai. "If you do not have a ticket, you cannot
pray here."
"For fifty years," concluded the man, "I have not entered a synagogue.
Only your Rebbe made it possible for me to return."
Rabbi Hertzberg made it look easy, but it's not. It takes a great deal of
effort -- effort which will surely be blessed with success. "Sanctify
yourselves, and you shall be holy."
Good Shabbos,
Rabbi Yaakov Menken
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