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And you shall be holy
people to Me… (Shemos 22:30)
What does it mean to
be holy? How do we practically do this?
The Kotztker Rebbe
commented on the verse, “And you shall be holy people to Me… (Shemos 22:30)
“HASHEM has plenty of holy angels but what he desires most is “Holy
People”. What does it mean to be a Holy People?! How is that done?
I remember one of my
Rebbeim telling us that when the Chofetz Chaim would lick a stamp to put on
an envelope he would have in mind that the letter might just merit someone
the Mitzvah of Tzedaka and the possibility to participate in supporting the
Torah learning in Yeshiva, which will lead to an amplification of Kovos
Shemaim – The Honor of Heaven.
For most everyone
else we can presume that the natural and default mindset and ulterior
motivations are “Kina, Taiva, and Kavod HaMotzei es HaAdam Min HaOlam – the
jealousy, desire, and glory seeking that take a man out of the world.”
What is Holy? What is
Holy living? Maybe we can learn from the opposite of Holy. At the
conclusion of Shabbos Kodesh we declare during Havdala, “Boruch HaMavdil
Bein Kodesh L’Chol” –“Blessed is He Who separates between the Holy and the
Chol?” What is Chol? Some translate it as profane, whatever that means.
Literally Chol means sand. What is there about – Chol-sand that stands in
stark juxtaposition to Holy?
Pick up a handful of
sand and study it ever so briefly. It is a loose collection of little
pebbles. That fistful of sand has no meaningful organization. There is no
top and no bottom. There is no beginning or end. It represents a life of
disconnected experiences that have neither rhyme nor reason, no profound
unifying theme or meaningful connection. It’s a loose collection of life
experiences, albeit exciting and even thrilling, but in the final analysis,
“sound and fury signifying nothing”.
In contradistinction,
what then is Holy? Holy is when there is a connection between all those
loose pebble. All of our life’s experiences are like a string of pearls on
a single golden thread.
The only day in Torah
life that actually has a name is Shabbos. We count every day each day only
as it relates to and leads us closer to Shabbos. Shabbos is a Holy day. We
are commanded to “Remember the Day of Shabbos” not only on Shabbos but even
on the days of the week.
We are working for
and cooking for and preparing for and waiting for and anxiously
anticipating Shabbos. That gives the possibility that every part of every
day is infused with the Holiness of Shabbos. That is one giant beautiful
golden thread and there are many more too.
So, Holiness is not
just when we are doing seemingly Holy and spiritual activities but even the
ordinary and mundane is made extraordinary and sublime with a single
thought as we had described by the Chofetz Chaim.
A Rebbe of mine told
us that when writing a check, it is important to write in the “memo”
section on the lower left hand side of the check something that explains or
justifies why this check is being written. What is the purpose of this
purchase?
Does it connect with
something that adds Kovod Shemaim? Does it connect with Shabbos Kodesh?
Does it bring you closer to HASHEM? Does it further HASHEM’s plan for the
world? If so, then great! If not, then think again! Why am I expending my
finite time and limited resources on this?
If we can just assign
or consciously have in mind some ultimate meaning for whatever we are
doing, whether it is eating, or drinking, or sleeping, or even breathing.
That simple but profound thought then breathes holiness into our otherwise
banal lives and we are transformed into that which HASHEM desires more than
His many armies of Holy Angels. We are capable of living in this world the
life of a Holy People.
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