Meta-Mitzvot
Our recent pieces have examined the hashkafah of some of the Torah’s central mitzvot. In addition to these and the many other mitzvot that relate to particular circumstances, the Torah adds several mitzvot that facilitate its broader goals. These meta-mitzvot are necessary because the Torah cannot possibly address every circumstance people encounter.
The Torah’s meta-mitzvot present the spirit of Torah law and the overarching goals of Torah life. These goals help us know what to strive for and how to properly address situations not covered by the more specific mitzvot.
Holiness
We begin with the Torah’s first meta-mitzvah: Sefer Vayikra’s directive of “Kedoshim tihiyu - Be holy.”
The concept of kedushah appears earlier in the Torah, but not as a commandment. The first Biblical reference to kedushah, which appears in the first section of the Torah, concerns time. Hashem completed the seven days of Creation by sanctifying Shabbat. Shabbat differs from the rest of the week; it is a holy day.
Sefer Shemot applies kedushah to places and people.
In the sefer’s third perek, when Hashem appears to Moshe at Har Sinai through the burning bush, He tells him to remove his shoes because “he stands on holy ground.” G-d’s word sanctifies time; His presence sanctifies place.
The next time Hashem spoke to Moshe at Har Sinai, in Parshat Yitro, He extended the concept of kedushah even further by applying it to man. Hashem tells Moshe to propose an eternal covenant to the Jewish people. If they enter the covenant, they will become His holy nation. Just as Hashem sanctifies time and place, so He sanctifies people - the Jewish people.
As mentioned above, Sefer Vayikra takes kedushah a significant step forward. Kedoshim tihiyu teaches us that we attain a higher level of kedushah by living our lives properly. Holy is not only what we are, but also what we need to develop.
Two Types of Kedushah
Putting Sifrei Shemot and Vayikra together, we see that there are two aspects of kedushah: who we are and what we must become.
Later parshiyot in the Torah develop both these aspects of kedushah.
Sefer Devarim describes the first. Two parshiyot command us to avoid sin because of our natural holiness: Parshat Va’etchanan uses our kedushah as a reason to avoid idol worship and intermarriage, and Parshat Re’eh uses it as a basis for what we eat and the importance of maintaining our physical dignity.
Parshat Mishpatim relates to the second, higher level of kedushah - the holiness we attain through our actions. The parshah encourages us to become holy by refraining from eating treifot (unhealthy animals). Parshat Kedoshim extends this idea by identifying additional mitzvot and actions that help us achieve kedushah.
The Zohar Hakadosh associates the two forms of kedushah with two conjugations of the term kedushah: kadosh and kodesh. Kadosh connotes inborn holiness, whereas kodesh connotes holiness achieved. The Zohar states the idea this way: “First, people are [naturally] kadosh; later, they can become kodesh [through their actions].”
Rav Soloveitchik noted an essential distinction between the two levels of kedushah: The first is national, while the second is personal. The first level of kedushah began with Hashem imbuing the entire Jewish people with holiness at Har Sinai. The soul of each member of the Jewish people contains this holiness. The second level of holiness is personal; each individual Jew reaches their own level based on their personal choices.
Korach’s Mistake
An appreciation of both levels of kedushah is vital for growth. One who thinks that kedushah is only acquired can mistakenly view it as merely a coincidental matter of choice and not intrinsic to our identity. Conversely, mistaking it as merely inborn can lead us to believe that we have nothing higher for which to strive. We are already holy and thus already who we need to be.
Korach took this second approach. His rallying cry was that “the whole nation is holy.” In his mind, Moshe and Aharon had no right to put themselves above the rest of the nation. Hashem made us all holy at Har Sinai; Moshe and Aharon could not possibly be any greater.
The truth was that although all Jews have a natural holiness, we are meant to achieve more. Those who do, such as Moshe and Aharon, are at a higher level.
The Jewish View
Rabbi Jonathan Sacks noted that Judaism has long been at odds with broader society on this issue.
Cultures around us saw man as complete in his natural state. The Greco-Roman philosophy celebrated the human body’s natural form and thus rejected the mitzvah of brit milah. They felt that G-d created man and the world in their final form. Modern man has a similar view of human emotional and spiritual states. We are what we feel we are and do not need to grow or develop further.
Judaism disagreed with the ancients about our physical state and disagrees with contemporary society regarding our emotional state. In fact, our positions on the two issues are connected. Just as G-d commands us to change our physical state, so He expects us to develop our emotional and spiritual states.
Hashem imbued us with holiness to encourage us to seek more of it. We should recognize and appreciate our natural kedushah and use this recognition to inspire us to attain higher levels of holiness.
Our next piece will examine how we realize our full potential for holiness.
Rav Reuven Taragin is the Dean of Overseas Students at Yeshivat Hakotel and the Educational Director of World Mizrachi and the RZA.
His new book, Essentials of Judaism, is available at rabbireuventaragin.com.