Shnayim Yomi - Acharei Mot - Kedoshim - R'vi'i - #4 - Rabbi Reuvein Brand - Defining Kedusha

Re'eh for Acharei Mos Kedoshim. This is the transition point. Whenever you have a double parsha, we split the parsha in Re'eh, so we conclude the parsha with the the shevi, which would be the last aliyah of Acharei Mos, and then we're going to begin Kedoshim. We conclude with these uh the types of behaviors, bestiality, and other things which are inappropriate relationships from a Torah standpoint. And then we move to parshas Kedoshim, which is the Torah portion that has the most densely populated mitzvahs of any parsha. It's a small parsha, and it's packed with mitzvahs. Kedoshim tiyu, we are encouraged the Ribono shel Olam tells us we are meant to be holy, which Rashi says uh prushim, we should be separated from arayos, from illicit relationships that we referred to in the previous parsha. The Ramban tells us stay away from things that are excessively gluttonous. And then from there we learn to make sure that we observe Shabbos and honor our parents. Be'om zivchei chesed, we have to make sure to eat our carbonos in a certain fashion. Uh making sure that we take care of all the poor people in our neighborhoods. The the mitzvahs of peret and olos and pe'ah, all of the different gleanings that we need to make sure to leave for other individuals, to make sure that the unfortunate, the the people who are underprivileged, Rachmana litzlan, the Ribono shel Olam gave us who have more the opportunity to help them. That's a key mitzvah that appears in this first section of parshas Kedoshim. But how do you define kedusha for us l'ma'aseh, especially as it relates to arayos? What does that mean? So the Heiliger Reb Shimon Shkop, the great rosh yeshiva from a century ago in Europe, Reb Shimon Shkop, has a masterpiece in lomdus. It's called Sha'arei Yosher. It's a very complex legal work, but the hakdama to the Sha'arei Yosher, the introduction is this beautiful treatise on what is Kedoshim tiyu. Because the Medrash says, "Yachol kamoni, maybe you could be as holy as Hakadosh Baruch Hu?" Did you think? Yes, but no. Kedusha sheli l'ma'alah mikdushaschem, the Medrash says. My holiness is greater than yours. So says Reb Shimon, "What kind of havamina was that? Who had a havamina that we could be as holy as the Ribono shel Olam, who's purely ruchni, ein or ein sof?" What does that mean? So Reb Shimon Shkop Shkop says, me redefine kedusha for you." Amazing. He says, "Kedusha is altruism. It's generosity. That's what kedusha is. So, now I can understand, he says, "Of course, when it comes to spirituality, to transcending materialism, of course, we're not in the same parsha, so to speak, at all as the Reb Moshe but maybe when it comes to giving, to altruism, olam chesed yibaneh, Hakadosh Baruch Hu created this world with altruism, maybe we could be just as altruistic with others." Tell me what I know, we're never going to get to that level of pure altruism for what Hakadosh Baruch Hu does for us, ki lo yistakfu l'fanav koach, we'll never be on, you know, fully appropriate to Hakadosh Baruch Hu to repay that debt. We never could, it's impossible. When we do mitzvahs, it doesn't help Ribono shel Olam, kiveyachol, it helps him give us. It's purely altruistic, but the point is is that the more altruistic we are, the more we're connected to our inner kedusha. And this is why, perhaps, when we refer to marital intimacy, we refer to it as kedusha, because when people are creating a marital bond, especially physical intimacy, which involves tremendous vulnerability, that's the opportunity to really focus on and give to the other person. And that's really what marital harmony is about, it's the opportunity to give to the other person in the most deep and intimate ways. And that is an expression of Reb Shimon's definition of kedusha, kedoshim tihiyu, of being holy, being altruistic.