From: JoshHoff@aol.com
Sent: Friday, May 02, 2008 3:38 AM
To: JoshHoff@aol.com
Subject: Netvort:parshas Kedoshim,5768
A Life Apart
By Rabbi Joshua (distinctly known as The Hoffer) Hoffman
This week's parsha begins with a command to the entire Jewish people to
be holy, as the Torah tells us, "Kedoshim tiheyu" - you shall be holy
(Vayikra 14:1). What does holiness consist of? Rashi tells us that it implies
separation in matters of forbidden sexual unions, while the Ramban says that it
is a more encompassing requirement, enjoining us to exercise restraint even in
matters which the Torah permits. Thus, a person has a wide range of kosher
alcoholic drinks which he can enjoy, but if he drinks constantly and becomes a
drunkard, he will be violating this command. My teacher, Rav Aharon
Soloveitchik, zt"l, explained, in discussing the Rambam's rule of the
middle path, that any one drink of a kosher alcoholic beverage that
someone imbibes does not constitute a violation of any particular commandment,
but if he becomes a drunkard, then, in his overall behavior he has violated the
Rambam's principle, which is based on the Biblical command to walk in God's
ways, and, if I recall correctly, would also be violating the requirement of
'Kedoshim tiheyu' as explained by the Ramban. Rav Tzvi Shachter recently
explained, according to the Ramban, that what the Ramban is telling us is that
the commandments of the Torah should not be seen as a certain number of
individual, independent precepts which we must observe, but as an overall
prescription for a certain kind of lifestyle, that we must follow. We may add
that since we were told at Mt. Sinai, before receiving the Torah, that we are
to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation, it is the Torah which guides us
in reaching this goal. Although Rashi, as we have seen, seems to limit his
explanation of the mitzvoh of kedoshim tiheyu to the area of arayos, or sexual
matters, I believe that, based on Rabbeinu Bachya's comments on the beginning
of the parsha, we can argue that Rashi also sees this mitzvoh as prescribing a
specific Jewish lifestyle.
Rabbeinu Bachya notes that the end of the previous parsha, Acharei Mos,
contains a list of forbidden sexual relationships, and it is in this
context that we must also understand the command to be holy. Seen in this
context, he says, the Torah commands each spouse, both husband and wife, to
maintain pure thoughts while having permitted relations. He also emphasizes
that both men and women are included in this requirement, since, as the midrash,
cited by Rashi, tells us, this parsha was said to the entire people. Rabbeinu
Bachya then goes on to explain how the following verses, also, are connected to
maintaining holiness even within permitted relations. Thus, for example, the
reference to observing Shabbos is brought here because the main time for such
relations is on Friday night. When the Torah tells us not to turn to idols
(Vayikra 19:4), he continues, it is also a veiled reference to the prohibition
of gazing at women, and that the subsequent mention, in that verse, of the
prohibition of making molten gods is a veiled reference to thinking of another
woman while having relations with one's wife. In this regard, it is interesting
to note that we often find, in Scripture, that avodah zarah - worshiping a
being other than God - is likened to having relations with someone forbidden to
us. Although Rabeinu Bachya does not say this, I would like to suggest that the
connection between the references to arayos and the prohibition of avodah zarah
has a wider implication, which then enables us to say that the command to be
holy, even when explained as referring to restrictions within permissible
relations, requires us to follow a specific Jewish lifestyle.
We have mentioned in the past the comment of Rav Yosef Dov Soloveitchik,
zt"l, concerning the advice that Bilaam gave to Balak, to cause the Jews
to sin at Ba'al Peor. He told him to station beautiful women outside their
tents to tempt Jewish men. When the Jewish men approached these women to sin,
the women told them that they must first worship Pe'or. The men succumbed, and
God immediately punished them, bringing about hundreds of thousands of deaths.
Why was this particular incident so heinous that so many people were killed?
Rav Soloveitchik explained that while arayos by itself, and avodah zarah by
itself, are each terrible crimes, neither by itself poses a threat to the
continued existence of the Jewish people. However, when the two are combined,
they constitute a lifestyle of completely unbridled behavior, a lifestyle which
is in complete contradiction to all that the Torah stands for, and, thus
merits immediate retribution.
Following Rav Soloveitchik's explanation of the incident at Peor, we can
also explain that the references to restrictions within forbidden relations are
followed by the prohibition of avodah zarah because the two violations together
bring about a lifestyle that is in total opposition to what the Torah expects
from us, namely, to be a holy nation. The Kesav Sofer points out that the
midrash cited by Rashi, mentioned above, which says that this parsha was said
to the entire people, is telling us that even though, when Moshe taught the
rest of the Torah, he taught it to Aharon four times, to his sons three times,
to the elders twice, and to the entire nation only once (see Eruvin 54b), in
this instance he taught it only once, to the entire nation together. Although
the Kesav Sofer explains this phenomenon in his own way, perhaps we can explain
that Moshe did this to emphasize that the entire nation, not only the
kohein, is enjoined to be lead a holy lifestyle. Although the kohein has
an extra level of holiness as embodied in the laws surrounding his service in
the Temple, still, the entire people was charged, at Mt. Sinai, to be a holy
nation, which entails adopting a lifestyle, based on the mitzvos of the Torah,
which leads to a personality that can inspire the rest of the world to
recognize God and His workings in the world, as well.
Netvort archives are temporarily available at http://www.yucs.org/heights/torah/bysubject/
Please address all
correspondence to the author (Rabbi Hoffman) with the following address -
JoshHoff @ AOL.com.
To subscribe to Netvort, send a message with subject line subscribe,
to Netvort@aol.com. To
unsubscribe, send message with subject line unsubscribe, to the
same address.
Wondering what's for Dinner Tonight? Get new
twists on family favorites at AOL Food.