Shabbat Parshat Bamidbar - 5763
“Kedushah” and “Taharah,” Holiness and Purity - Revisited

Before beginning Sefer BaMidbar, and taking leave of Sefer VaYikra, also known as Torat Kohanim, the Law of the Priests, who were holy and pure individuals, I would like to revisit a major topic of last week’s D’var Torah, a comparison between “Kedushah,” Holiness, and “Taharah,” Purity. This time, I will attempt to view those concepts from a somewhat different perspective; namely, that of Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto (1707-1746), author of “Mesilat Yesharim,” “The Path of the Upright.” We will see that his approach fits nicely with the coming Holiday of Shavuot, the “Time of the Giving of the Torah,” because the Torah was HaShem’s gift to the People of Israel, His means of raising us to the level of “a Kingdom of Priests and a Holy Nation.” And Luzzatto views holiness ultimately as a gift from G-d.

“Mesilat Yesharim” is based on a “beraita,” a text from the time of the Mishnah, one step below the Mishnah in authority, cited in Masechet Avodah Zarah 20b. There, Rabbi Pinchas ben Yair, a Torah scholar from the sixth (and last) generation of Tannaim (120 C.E.-200 C.E.), lists a sequence of 9 or 11 behaviors (the 10th and 11th are “Ruach HaKodesh,” a Spirit of Holiness, and “Techiyat HaMetim,” the ability to revive the dead; both of which are obviously gifts from G-d).

The sequence of the first nine, beginning with “The study of Torah raises one to the level of watchfulness, watchfulness raises one to the level of energetic performance of the Commands, energetic performance of the Commands raises one to the level of cleanliness, etc.” differs according to various versions of the beraita. In all of the versions, “Kedushah” is above “Taharah;” in one of the versions, “Kedushah” is the highest of the nine. This is the version elaborated by Luzzatto in “Mesilat Yesharim.”

The following is a translation from Hebrew to English of selected portions of the chapter, “The characteristic of ‘Kedushah,’ Holiness:”

“The concept of Kedushah has two aspects: It begins with service, and concludes with reward; its beginning is human effort, and its conclusion is a Divine gift. This means that it begins with the human being sanctifying himself by his own effort, and it ends with the person being the object of sanctification, as it were, from the outside. This is the meaning of what the sages say in Masechet Yoma 39a, ‘A person sanctifies himself to a small degree, and he is then sanctified to a tremendous degree; his efforts are from below – and he is sanctified from above.’ ”

“However, because it is impossible for a human being to place himself on that level, because that is beyond his power, for in the end he is corporeal and only flesh and blood, therefore I have said that in the end, the grant of holiness is a present. For what the human being can do is only to invest his full effort in the pursuit of Truth, devote himself to Enlightenment, and sanctify his actions in the World of Deed, but the end is that the Holy One, Blessed is He, guides him to this path that he has chosen to follow, and He will envelop him in His Holiness, and make him holy,...”

“And behold, it is true that for the human being who makes himself holy with the holiness of the Creator, even his physical acts are converted literally into spiritual entities. An example is the eating of sacrificial offerings, which is in itself a Positive Command of the Torah, regarding which the Sages say (in Sifra on the verse in VaYikra 10:17, ‘Why did you not eat the Sin-Offering in a holy place, for it is most holy; and He gave it to you to gain forgiveness for the sin of the assembly and to atone for them before HaShem?’); ‘the Priests eat, and the owners of the Sacrifice receive atonement!’ ”

“And now you can see the difference between the one who is pure (‘tahor’) and the one who is holy (‘kadosh’). Regarding the one who is pure, the material acts that he performs are only compulsory acts, and he has no intention with regard to them, other than their necessity, and it is by that means that they emerge from the category of ‘evil’ that inheres in the material, and become ‘pure.’ But they do not reach the level of the holy, for were it possible to dispense with them, that would indeed be preferable. But regarding one who is holy, who cleaves at all times to HaShem, and his soul travels among the enlightened Truths in his love and reverence for his Creator, for him it is as if he walks before G-d in the ‘Realm of Life’ even here in This World. And indeed such a person is considered as a Sanctuary and as a Temple and as an Altar. And he embodies the statement of the Sages (Bereshit Rabbah 62:6), ‘And the L-rd arose from him’ (Bereshit 35:13) – ‘The patriarchs served as the Chariot of HaShem.’ And they also say, ‘The Righteous serve as the Chariot of HaShem!’ For the Divine Presence dwells, as it were, upon them, as He dwelt in the Temple.”

(We also see from this how at Sinai, the Jewish People had to be on the level of “Taharah,” attained by a temporary suspension of marital relations- as indeed Moshe had to be at all times, because the relationship with Moshe was, as it says in BaMidbar 12:8, ‘mouth to mouth would I speak with him’ - as a pre-requisite to rising to the level of “Kedushah,” as the Jewish People did at Sinai - pf)

“But this is true only if his mind and all of his cognitive powers are fixed permanently on His Greatness, May He be Blessed, and upon His Majesty and upon His Holiness, to the point where it becomes as if he attaches himself literally to the Exalted Angels, while he is yet in This World. And I have already said that a person cannot accomplish this on his own; all he can do is arouse himself towards that goal and try to achieve it. And this is only possible if there are already found within him all the worthy characteristics which we have mentioned till this point – from the beginning of ‘watchfulness’ through ‘fear of sin;’ with these he can enter the Holy Precinct and be successful. For indeed if these preliminary characteristics are lacking, it is as if he were a stranger or possessed of a physical defect, about whom it is said (BaMidbar 18:4), ‘And a stranger may not approach..’ But once he has prepared himself with all of these, if he continues to increase his attachment to HaShem by means of his strong love... he will separate himself from material things slowly but surely, and in all his actions and in all his movements he will steadily focus his heart inwardly on his attachment to HaShem, then there will be poured upon him a spirit from Heaven, and the Creator, May He be Blessed, will cause His Name to dwell upon him, as He does with all His holy ones, and then he will literally become as if an Angel of HaShem, and all his actions – even his most material – will be like sacrifices and Divine worship.”

“And you, dear reader, know as well as I, that I have not by any means completed the discussion of the various levels of Righteousness, and I have not said all that should be said regarding this topic, for there is no end to the subject matter, and for one who contemplates this subject, there can be no completion. But I have said just a bit concerning all the behaviors that are listed in the Beraita upon which I have based this essay, and what I said can serve as a starting point from which to expand the discussion of these topics. Because the way is open and the path has been shown to walk in an upright way. And regarding all similar matters it is said in Mishlei 1:5, ‘Let the wise listen and the insightful take heed.’ And as it says in Masechet Shabbat 104a, ‘If someone chooses to become purified, he is assisted from above.’ And again in Mishlei 2:6, ‘For HaShem grants wisdom; from His mouth comes knowledge and understanding.’ So that every single person may walk in an upright path before his Creator.”

“May the One Whose Name is Blessed open our eyes in His Torah; May He teach us His ways, and guide us in His pathways. So that we may merit to give honor to His Name, and behave in a manner pleasing to Him.”

“May the Honor of HaShem be forever, and let Him rejoice in His creatures. Let Israel rejoice in its Maker, and the Children of Zion rejoice in their King. Amen. Amen. Amen.”

“This work is finished and complete; May it be a source of praise to the Creator of the Universe.”

Rabbi Pinchas Frankel

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