Click Here to Sponsor Daily Halacha
"Delivered to Over 6000 Registered Recipients Each Day"

Download print

Parashat Kedoshim: What Does “Holy” Mean?

Parashat Kedoshim begins with the command of "Kedoshim Tiheyu" – that we be "holy."

The term "holy" conjures up different associations among different people, the common denominator being that they have a hard time defining it. When people are asked to define the term "holy," they start waving their hands and speaking incoherently, or perhaps begin describing some pious person who they feel embodies the ideal of "holiness." But if the Torah commands us to be "holy," we need to do much better than that. If we are obligated to be "Kedoshim," it behooves us to have a clear idea of what this entails.

When a couple gets married, the groom declares to the bride before giving her the ring, "Hareh At Mekudeshet Li" – that she is "Mekudeshet." Literally, this word means "holy," but clearly the groom’s intent is not to declare that his bride is now "holy" because she is marrying him. Rather, his intent is to proclaim that she is set apart and designated for him. Until that moment, she is like other women in the world, but now she is designated for her groom, set apart and distinct from all other women.

Similarly, when a person wishes to consecrate an animal as a sacrifice, he declares, "Hareh Zeh Hekdesh" – "Behold, this [animal] is sacred." An animal cannot be "holy" in the conventional sense of the term. It follows its instincts and has no moral or spiritual conscience such that it could achieve "holiness" in the sense of piety and attachment to G-d. But this is not, technically speaking, what "holiness" really means. When a person proclaims, "Hareh Zeh Hekdesh," he means to say that the animal is now different and special. It is not the same as other animals. All other animals are ordinary, but this one is special, designated for the lofty purpose of being brought as an offering to the Almighty.

This is what "holiness" means. It means being different, distinct and special. It means being set apart for something beyond the norm, beyond what is ordinary for everything or everyone else.

On the basic level, then, "Kedoshim Tiheyu" means being different and distinct from other nations of the world. It means striving for and maintaining a moral standard that is discernibly higher than that of the rest of the world. "Kedoshim Tiheyu" requires that the Jewish people must stand out through their refined, moral conduct and their devotion to G-d’s laws. It requires us not to feel satisfied with the standards that other nations find acceptable. We must be different and live on a fundamentally higher plane.

It might be tempting to follow the standards and norms of our society, to enjoy the convenience of doing what the others around us are doing. But the command of "Kedoshim Tiheyu" obligates us to strive for more, to ensure that we stand out through our moral standards, that people notice how we are different and live on a higher plane. This is the true meaning of "holiness." Acting as others do is not sufficient. We are to be "Kedoshim" – noticeably distinct and special, so that we bring honor and glory to G-d.


Related Parasha
Parashat Ahare Mot- Planting Our Spiritual Trees - 2023 Year
Kedoshim- The Reward for Honoring Parents - 2022 Year
Parashat Ahareh Mot- Feeling Hashem’s Presence - 2022 Year
Shevi'i Shel Pesah- Achieving True Freedom - 2022 Year
Pesah: Remembering the Root Cause of the Egyptian Exile - 2022 Year
Parashat Ahare Mot/Kedoshim: Keeping Hashem’s Presence Among Us - 2021 Year
Parashat Kedoshim: Complementing One Another - 2020 Year
Parashat Kedoshim- Understanding the Three Years of Orla - 2019 Year
The Hafetz Haim’s Theory of Relativity - 2019 Year
The “Intoxication” of the Seder - 2019 Year
Kedoshim: Kedusha – A Group Effort - 2018 Year
Parashat Kedoshim: The Right Way to Criticize - 2017 Year
Parashat Kedoshim: Modern-Day Idolatry - 2016 Year
Parashat Ahareh-Mot: The Impact of Our Actions - 2016 Year
Pesah: G-d’s Promise at the Shores of the Yam Suf - 2016 Year
Pesah- Reward for a Kiddush Hashem - 2016 Year
Parashat Kedoshim: Giving Criticism - 2015 Year
Parashat Ahare Mot- The Lesson of the White and Gold Garments - 2014 Year
Parashat Kedoshim: Paying Workers on Time - 2013 Year
Parashat Kedoshim- Parenting and Holiness - 2011 Year
Shabbat Morning Class - Pesah - 2011 Year
Sefer/Parasha:
Parashat Vayera: Akedat Yishak & Akedat Abraham
Parashat Lech Lecha: The Influence of a Sadik
Parashat Noah: When the Going Gets Rough
Bereshit: G-d’s Signature
The Sukka and Torah Commitment
Yom Kippur: Throwing Away Our Arrogance
Parashat Nisavim: It Depends Only on Us
Parashat Ki Teseh: The Pinhole of Repentance
Elul: The Time is Now
Parashat Reeh: The Reward for Early Struggles
Parashat Ekeb: The Synagogue and the Bet Ha’mikdash
Parashat VaEtchanan: Nahamu Nahamu
Parashat VaEtchanan: Nahamu Nahamu
Tisha BeAv- Having Our Prayers Answered Through Unity
Parashat Matot: Permissible “Mesira”
1002 Parashot found